Postdoc to explore whether financial tools can be developed for application in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors

Description

The College of the Environment fosters existing and new collaborations between outstanding faculty, staff and students who are engaged in the study of: the solar system and Earth’s dynamic land, water and atmosphere; the development and application of environmental engineering and technological advances; and the impact of policy and human actions on the environment, and the management of natural resources.

The School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) is dedicated to sustaining healthy marine and freshwater environments. Our school comprises one of the largest and most diverse academic aquatic and fisheries sciences programs in the United States. Our faculty conduct innovative research from the organism to the ecosystem scale, and are recognized leaders in aquatic biology, sustainable fisheries management, and aquatic resource conservation.

The School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences values the strengths and professional experience that students, faculty, and staff bring to our community. We are committed to providing excellent education to all of our students, regardless of their race, gender, class, nationality, physical ability, religion, age, or sexual orientation. We are proud of the different roles that our students, staff, and faculty play in the community of the School and in the College of the Environment. We recognize that science is richer, and the SAFS community is more vibrant when a diverse group of people participate in the SAFS community.

The School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) at the University of Washington seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Scholar to be supervised by Dr. Christopher Anderson and Dr. André Punt.  The position is supported by an award from David and Lucile Packard Foundation and is part of an working group hosted by the  Ocean Modelling Forum.

The research will be co-supervised by Dr. Christopher Anderson and Dr. André Punt.  The research conducted in Dr. Anderson’s lab focuses on understanding how the incentives presented by different forms of fishery management affect fleetwide economic and social outcomes, and especially how fisheries can support sustainable livelihoods and communities. The Punt lab is dedicated to the development and testing of methods for assessing the past and current status of fish, invertebrate and marine mammal populations. Members use these assessments as the basis for forecasts that evaluate which methods for managing these populations will best achieve the goals established by society for those populations.

Coastal communities around the world are facing climate shocks that impact income, livelihoods, and food-security, which can ultimately define their long-term prosperity. Many coastal communities are already economically depressed, and climate shocks like extreme marine heatwaves can be detrimental to the economic viability of many fishing and aquaculture operations. A major difference between food producers at sea and those inland, is the availability and use of financial risk management tools. For example, financial instruments such as insurance help farmers manage climate shocks such as drought. Why then are similar risk management tools not available to coastal communities so that they can protect themselves from marine climate shocks. The goal of this project is to find out why, and to then design financial tools specifically for coastal communities whose economic productivity is threatened by climate shocks like marine heatwaves.

The postdoctoral researcher will: 

·       Be a member of an international transdisciplinary group of researchers at the University of Washington, Oregon State University, and CSIRO (Australia) who work in the natural and social sciences as well as with industry partners.  This will involve travel to collaborate with the project team.

·       Conduct bio-economic analyses as identified by the group and postdoctoral researcher. Likely topics include:

o   Building a bio-economic model of a fishery that includes impacts of climate shocks, with which to examine the usefulness of various insurance scenarios.

o   Calculating financial risk (e.g., parametric insurance prices/payouts) for specific fisheries (e.g. Dungeness crab on the US west coast) and judge its viability.

o   Exploring how indemnity for a specific fishery will change in the coming decades under climate change, and how insurance can be used for climate adaptation in fisheries.

·       Project deliverables include:

o   Journal articles that summarize the results of the analyses.

o   Presentation to scientific and industry meetings.

University of Washington Postdoctoral Scholar appointments are for a temporary, defined period not to exceed five years/60 months, including any previous postdoctoral experience. The salary for this position will be $69,264 per year, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination. Postdoctoral scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.

Qualifications

Mandatory Qualifications:

Candidates will have confirmed Ph.D. by the start date, in a relevant discipline (e.g., stock assessment, quantitative ecology, statistics, natural resource economics, financial modeling).

Qualifications:

Successful candidate will:

·       Have experience with fisheries science, marine systems, quantitative ecology, economic modeling, actuarial science, and/or risk analysis.

·       Have experience using and programing in python and/or R; experience using spatial and temporal data (e.g., fisheries economic data and oceanographic data); and interest working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.

·       Adopt a rigorous and scholarly approach to their science, with evidence of this from presentations and publications,

·       Demonstrate informed curiosity, with the ability to generate novel scientific questions,

·       Be internally, intrinsically motivated to answer the project’s overarching research questions,

·       Be a reliable team member who collaborators can always count on to come through on their promises,

·       Be a respectful, professional, and generous team player who goes the extra mile to help their colleagues and maintains strong collegial bonds,

·       Be an effective mentor for junior colleagues,

·       Have a positive attitude in the face of obstacles or setbacks; have the professionalism to take these inevitabilities in stride,

·       Have excellent time management skills; accomplish research goals by creating realistic but ambitious plans and initiating open communication when plans need to be adjusted,

·       Have the willingness and the courage to discuss issues openly (i.e., to give and receive feedback, to celebrate successes, and to discuss ways to overcome challenges).

Application Instructions

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but those received by May 31, 2024, will be considered as a priority in the first screening. The position will start as soon as possible, but no later than Sept 1, 2024. An earlier start date may be required for candidates who will need more time for training.  The initial appointment will be 100% FTE for one year, with potential renewal.

All applications should be submitted through Interfolio. To apply for this position, please include the following in your application:

·       A letter of intent explaining why you are a good candidate for this position.

·       A current CV

·       PDFs or DOIs of any written materials that demonstrate your previous research experience and your rigorous and scholarly approach to science.

·       Contact information for at least three references in order of importance.

For any queries about this position, please reach out to Dr. André Punt at aepunt@uw.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Benefits Information

A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.

Commitment to Diversity

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).

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Disability Services

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.