• Based at our Melbourne, Burwood Campus
• Full-time and fixed term for 3 years
• Level A $74,024 - $99,512 , Level B $104,619 - $123,739 + 17% Superannuation

Founded in 1974, Deakin is a public university in Victoria with 61,000 students across five campuses: Melbourne Burwood, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront, Warrnambool, and the online Campus. We are a progressive and open-minded university, with the highest student satisfaction in Victoria and consistently ranked in the top 1% of the world’s universities.

The Blue Carbon Lab is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary research team focused on understanding and responding to the impacts of global change on freshwater, coastal and ocean ecosystems. BCL offers innovative research solutions aiding in mitigating climate change and enhancing our blue economy, while simultaneously supporting aquatic biodiversity, economic growth, capacity building, and community wellbeing.

The Research Fellow will undertake research to determine the non-market benefits of coastal and inland wetland restoration and quantify people’s willingness to pay for goods and services provided by wetlands. The appointee will test market designs for blended finance by assessing the suitability of various financial mechanisms (biodiversity credits, reverse auctions, covenants, tax breaks or carbon credits) that could incentivise private landowners to restore coastal and inland wetlands to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The appointee will undertake a cost-benefit analysis, including financial and economic assessments incorporating non-market values and ‘willingness to pay’. This work aims to deliver a business case to guide policymakers/land managers in the design of restoration programs for coastal and inland wetlands.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Initiating, designing and conducting high-quality research and creative activities generating high-impact outputs
• Engaging collaboratively to develop novel and high-quality research or creative activities
• Ensuring a high impact of the research activities with the community
• Seeking of funding for research and creative activities
• Building a national reputation, based on a growing body of work recognised for quality, excellence, and impact
• Initiating, designing, conducting and leading intra- and inter-disciplinary research collaborations, to enable major breakthroughs in knowledge and understanding and solutions to complex problems
• Initiating, designing, conducting and leading the development of industry partnerships and collaboration to enable major breakthroughs, and innovative solutions for future translation into real-world impact
• Supporting and leading applications for external competitive and other funding, and demonstrating sustained efforts
• Building track records of timely delivery of outcomes for industry partners
• Initiating, designing, conducting and leading innovation and translation into policies, frameworks, strategy, priority setting and other outcomes to create a positive impact
• Initiating, designing, conducting and leading innovation and translation into products, services, new ways of operating and other avenues to create a positive impact
• Supporting the attraction of external funding for the commercialisation of research activities
• Building a portfolio of policy and strategy influence, generation of products, services or other innovations with positive real-world impact
• Providing effective mentoring to HDR students to support career development and employability
• Establishing/expanding industry network to create opportunities for placements

Key selection criteria for this role:

Qualifications and experience

• Masters (for level A) or PhD in environmental, marine and/or agricultural economics, or a related discipline.
• Emerging reputation in research through (first author) publications, reports, conference presentations and other academic outputs.
• Ability to gather and analyse data from diverse sources to support economic analysis of natural resources (markets and policies).
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to establish good working relationships with colleagues.
• Only for level B candidates: at least two years of postdoctoral experience in a similar field.

Desirable Selection Criteria

• Practical experience working on agricultural and/or environmental issues in Australia
• Success in obtaining external research funding
• Strong technical proficiency in economic modelling (e.g., choice-modelling, travel-cost method), cost-benefit analysis and financial assessments of government/global projects, particularly in environmental sustainability, conservation, and ecosystem restoration
• Experience collecting primary and secondary data and developing analytical frameworks on choice modelling, cost-benefit analysis, policy/market analysis, business model analysis

A position description is attached.

Successful applicants will need to comply with vaccination mandates imposed by the relevant state/territory government. Applicants who attend third-party sites to undertake University activities will also be required to comply with any other directions or requirements in place at the third-party location.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Frequent/Regular/Infrequent travel will be required describe further (e.g., interstate or overseas travel is required or regular travel within Victoria, not including between campuses)
• Drivers Licence
• Working with Children Check

Please submit your updated resume and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria and the desirable selection criteria. Please state in the cover letter which level you are applying for (I.e., level A or B).

For a confidential discussion regarding this position, please contact Peter Macreadie (Professor of Marine Science) via [email protected] using the subject line: Associate Research Fellow / Research Fellow - Environmental Economist enquiry via EthicalJobs.

Are You Ready?

Deakin is a Victorian university with a global impact. We are an agile, dynamic, and innovative university committed to making a positive impact through our excellence in education, research and innovation and the contributions we make to the wider community.

We understand that our reputation has been built on the dedication and expertise of our staff and we offer a dynamic and diverse working environment with opportunities to grow and develop careers. We believe that a progressive, thriving culture will ensure that people choose to come, and stay at Deakin and contribute to our ongoing success.

We value diversity and aim to build an inclusive environment that champions, embraces and respects differences. We support and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people of all abilities, cultures, sexual orientation, and genders.

We understand that our academic workforce is increasingly diverse, and we recognise academic careers may be placed on hold throughout many life circumstances. Achievement relative to opportunity places more emphasis on the quality, as opposed to the quantity of research outputs. In your application, we strongly encourage you to comment on your achievements relative to opportunity.