The Institute is looking for someone to fill the position of Qualitative Researcher. Please see the bulletin below for the qualifications required, duties and responsibilities and the application process:

‘Impacts of and adaptation to sea-level rise’ is a research project conducted jointly by UPD – Institute of Biology and ETH Zürich. This project seeks to understand how coastal communities have been impacted by sea-level rise and other coastal hazards as well as how these communities have tried to adapt. 

For this project we seek an experienced qualitative researcher. Tasks include:

• Identify, contact, and interview residents of coastal communities (approximately 50%);
• Identify, contact, and interview relevant stakeholders in these communities, including community leaders, NGOs, government agencies, businesses, and agriculture/aquaculture associations (approximately 30%);
• Identify and recruit local community facilitators / Research Assistants to assist with identifying and contacting potential interviewees as well as processing permits;
• Translate project information/consent documents into Filipino, assist with processing necessary permissions to carry out this research in the study communities, and seek out relevant existing datasets (approximately 10%); and
• Oversee and ensure good quality of transcription of interviews; translate these transcripts into English (approximately 10%).

Candidates (preferably from coastal areas in Bulacan or from nearby municipalities) should have a demonstrable record of the following skills:

• Experienced with qualitative interview and social research methods in similar community settings as well as with similar stakeholder groups, from identifying potential research participants to building rapport and carrying out effective interviews;
• Fluent in written and spoken Filipino;
• Fluent in written and spoken English; ability to communicate clearly on topics related to the research; and
• Ability to work independently and problem-solve

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in environmental science, the humanities or social sciences, OR a Bachelor’s degree in another field in combination with documented training and extensive experience in qualitative research methods; 
• Given the current Covid-19 crisis, candidates would need to have access to their own workspace (ideally at home) with a good internet connection. At present we plan all of this work to be conducted remotely (telephone/skype/zoom), but depending on how the Covid-19 situation develops, the qualitative researcher might carry out some field visits to study communities.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in the humanities, social sciences, environmental social sciences, or related fields 
• Experience with field qualitative research on topics related to natural or environmental hazards, coastal hazards, livelihoods, poverty, migration, climate-change adaptation, and/or disaster-risk reduction
• Experience with qualitative research methods in academic research projects (while we do consider qualitative research experience gained through project evaluations valid, experience gained in academic settings is preferred)
• Experience with qualitative analysis methods 

Compensation will be negotiated based on qualifications and experience.

If interested, please submit your letter of intent and curriculum vitae to:

Dr. Severino G. Salmo, III,
Institute of Biology, UPD
sgsalmo@up.edu.ph

and Dr. Jamie McCaughey
ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Institute for Environmental Decisions
jamie.mccaughey@usys.ethz.ch