Call for applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellowship position

The Gauteng City- Region Observatory (GCRO), a partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, Gauteng Provincial Government and organized local government, is recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, attached to the Quality of Life (QoL) survey project, with a particular focus on the use of the data to inform decision-making.

The QoL survey, run every two years, has become GCRO’s flagship project. It provides a regularly updated understanding of the quality of life, socio-economic circumstances, satisfaction with service delivery, psycho-social attitudes, value-base and other characteristics of residents in Gauteng. It serves as a tracking and diagnostic tool, affording a rich information resource for policy-makers, business, civil society and the public wanting to see where progress is being made, and where concerns remain. Randomly selected adults (18+ years old), across all wards of the province, are interviewed in person, where they live. This provides a large and spatially fine-grained dataset, which has particular value in the context of a diverse and highly unequal province. The GCRO launched the results of the sixth iteration of this unique survey in September 2021. The survey data has fed into a wide range of analyses and outputs over the years. GCRO and our partners at the Africa Centre for Evidence, University of Johannesburg are interested in exploring ways of increasing the use of the survey in decision-making within Gauteng.

The GCRO welcomes applications from recent doctoral graduates for this two-year fellowship, funded by the University of Johannesburg. The position is available from the second semester of 2022. The fellow will need a background in quantitative social science, survey methodology, or related fields. The fellow will be expected to pursue QoL-related research for academic publication, and will also gain some experience in government engagement, and management of a large survey project. The fellow will have substantial scope to define the exact focus of their work within these parameters, working closely with the QoL team. The fellow will be required to generate two units of research output per year. This is a full-time position and fellows may not hold salaried employment elsewhere during the tenure of the fellowship.

The successful candidate will be awarded an annual stipend of R300 000 for each year of their contract. The candidate will additionally be provided with office space and a laptop.

Applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

● Applicants should hold a relevant Doctoral degree completed not more than 5 years ago (relevant fields include geography, sociology, political science, economics, regional and urban planning, development studies, public health, statistics or another discipline related to scope specified above);

● A track record of relevant peer-reviewed publications;

● Experience in the analysis of quantitative datasets and familiarity with statistical packages such as SPSS, Stata or R.;

● A proven interest in the use of evidence in decision-making, the science-policy interface, science communication or similar;

● Ability to formulate a realistic proposal for the work they would undertake during the fellowship;

● Ability to communicate effectively in English, and to communicate scientific findings in an accessible fashion;

● The applicant must adhere to the COVID-19 regulations of the University of the Witwatersrand (https://www.wits.ac.za/covid19/vaccine-implementation/) and the University of Johannesburg (https://www.uj.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/covid-19-mandatory-vaccination-policy-19-nov2021.pdf).

● Appointments will be made in terms of the University of Johannesburg Employment Equity policies.

The following attributes will be advantageous:

● Experience working on research projects and academic publications as part of a team;

● An emerging researcher aged 40 or younger;

● Interest or experience with interdisciplinary work;

● Interest of experience in government at local, provincial or national spheres;

● A strong interest in survey methodology, and research methodology in general;

● An interest in supporting thinking and planning for subsequent iterations of the QoL survey;

● Interest in providing mentorship and support to junior colleagues, particularly those registered for a PhD;

● Advanced data analysis or data management skills;

● Experience in working with spatial data; and

● Fluency in a South African language other than English.

Application process:

In order to apply, please submit the following documentation to info@gcro.ac.za by 16:00, 3 May 2022:

● CV

● Cover letter detailing the ways in which the applicant meets the postdoc requirements

● Academic transcript

● Copy of published journal paper