Post-Doctoral Research Fellow / Senior Research Fellow, Tourism

• SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW
• JOONDALUP CAMPUS 
• ALEVB $105,832 TO $125,043 P.A (POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW) OR ALEVC $128,880 TO $148,089 P.A. (SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW) 
• FULL TIME, FIXED TERM (2 YEARS)

Overview

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a leading multi-campus university in Western Australia serving communities nationally and internationally. For 17 years in a row, ECU has achieved a 5 (out of 5 star) star rating for teaching quality in the 2023 Good Universities Guide (GUG). ECU is ranked in the world's Top 100 universities under 50 years old in the 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Rankings, and in the Top 400 THE World University Rankings.

The School of Business and Law is accredited by AACSB International and develops industry-ready graduates through high-quality teaching and learning experiences and engaged applied research. The School offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate coursework, executive education, and research degrees designed to give students relevant theory, practical work experience and critical employability skills.

In 2022, the School’s Business and Economics discipline was ranked in the Top 250 on the THE World University Rankings, an improvement of over 200 places and two bands in just three years. The School is Australia’s ‘top-ranked business school for quality’ in the inaugural Australian Financial Review BOSS Best Business Schools list. 

As part of an exciting expansion plan, the School of Business and Law will move into the $853 million world-class facilities of the landmark ECU City Campus at Yagan Square in the Perth CBD in 2026. This state-of-the-art Business, Law, Creative Industries and Technology Campus will be where innovative and creative thinkers, adaptive learners and global citizens meet to become the leaders of tomorrow. ECU’s CBD campus will bring together streams of teaching and research with unique synergies for growth and development. This is unequivocally the most exciting time of all to join the University as it embarks on this transformational journey.

The Role

Tourism has both positive and negative economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts on destinations and sustainable tourism can be defined as a development approach to maximize positive and minimize negative impacts. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been widely acknowledged to serve this purpose and as a guiding framework for sustainable tourism. Achieving this purpose needs an innovative and efficient ecosystem. Moreover, tourism is a complex system with several stakeholders involved with different levels of power, interests and desires. Thus, managing the interests and conflicts of these stakeholders needs an effective ecosystem. SDG 17 highlights the importance of partnership between different stakeholders to achieve other SDGs and several studies in tourism has stressed the same. However, effective partnership can be one of the main components of this ecosystem, but not all. In the wider domain of sustainable development, this ecosystem has been indicated as governance or good governance, and several studies is tourism emphasized the importance of governance to achieve sustainable tourism. However, there is lack of understanding about the components, structure and enablers of tourism governance which facilitate achievement of sustainable tourism in destinations. Therefore, this project aims to develop an effective and efficient governance ecosystem for tourism destinations by involving all key stakeholders using a participatory approach to achieve sustainable tourism. 

The School is seeking to appoint a top researcher to work alongside an esteemed Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Research Fellow to undertake a participatory research approach to achieve a sustainable governance ecosystem for destinations. Therefore, the candidate should be familiar with this approach and ready/interested to be involved in this type of research. The candidate will have a role in supervising HDR students involved in different aspects of the project. Passion for quality research is a key requirement. Successful candidates must be willing to collaborate on other related research projects.  

Skills & Experience

• PhD degree in tourism or relevant field
• A good track record of publication in quality journals (Minimum five A or A* publications)
• Preference given to candidates with research background on “Sustainable Tourism”
• Strong methodology knowledge and analytical skills of both qualitative and quantitative methods. 
• Willingness and experience of writing research grant applications
• Strong interpersonal communication and presentation skills
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Demonstrated evidence of contribution to previous research projects
• Ability to work independently and demonstrate initiative
• Ability to participate in fieldwork without supervision

You will also demonstrate personal attributes that are congruent with the University’s values of Integrity, Respect, Rational Inquiry, Personal Excellence and Courage.

Benefits & Remuneration

This full time, fixed term position (2 years) attracts remuneration of $105,832 to $125,043 (Level B -Post-Doctoral Research Fellow) or $128,880 to $148,089 (Level C – Senior Research Fellow) plus 17% University superannuation contribution.

ECU supports a work/life balance for staff. Benefits such as flexible working arrangements may also be negotiated to meet your personal circumstances.

ECU has an Award-winning Health and Wellness Program and an extensive range of staff benefits across entertainment, financial, health, travel and consumer goods and services.

For information on the benefits of working at ECU, please visit our website Employment Opportunities Overview.

Contact

Interested applicants are welcome to contact Associate Professor Marie Ryan m.ryan@ecu.edu.au for further information.

How to Apply

Upon application, please include a cover letter addressing the relevant selection criteria. In addition, a research statement of no more than two A4 size pages, an up-to-date CV, and relevant supporting documents of prior research. We also welcome applications from candidates who have submitted their PhD dissertation and awaiting their graduation.

Closing Date:

Applications close on Wednesday 18th October 2023 at 11:59 pm AWST.

ECU is a diverse and inclusive workplace reflecting the differences in society. Specific strategies and initiatives are in place to address underrepresentation of specific groups. Applications are encouraged from suitably qualified people from all backgrounds. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply.