Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as economics, environmental science, social science, systems sciences, geography or data sciences?
• Contribute to research to drive sustainability and improve nutrition outcomes.
• Join CSIRO – Australia’s leading scientific research organisation! 

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

This Postdoctoral Fellowship will be within the CSIRO-UQ Food System Horizons Initiative. The overarching vision of the Food System Horizons Initiative is to help build a new and better-informed national conversation on food system transformation that is inclusive of different stakeholder visions, ambitions and values, and identifies a range of solution pathways to Australia’s food system futures.  

The Postdoctoral Fellow will make significant contributions in developing the evidence base and associated tools to establish a framework of the Australian food system. The framework will have the capacity to monitor and report performances across key dimensions of the food system (e.g. nutrition/health, economic, social, and environmental), help assess and compare the rate and robustness of progress over time, explore interrelationships, identify gaps and vulnerabilities, summarize environmental footprints, and present outlooks. As such, the research will inform about the status of the current Australian food system, contribute to engagement discussions in the Asia Pacific region, and underpin the discourse on a transformative agenda for the future, supporting the aim to strengthen resilience and sustainability within broader regional and international contexts
 

Your duties will include:

• Review current tools, methods and data to assess performance of the food system and identify gaps and unmet needs.
• Co-develop methodological frameworks to advance the evidence base on the performance of Australia’s food system, evaluating progress across nutritional, economic, social and environmental dimensions in relation to societal goals and sustainability criteria.
• Test and apply the framework to evaluate the overall performance of the food system, including retrospective and prospective perspectives, resulting in report/publication, followed by periodic updates.
• Identify priority areas for the Food System Horizons’ Initiative to pursue in partnership with industry and government.
• Contribute to developing the conceptual approach and operational engagement of Food System Horizons, integrating individual research into the broader vision and objectives of the initiative, evident through written contributions, presentations, and engagement in research proposals as active team member.

Location:  St. Lucia, QLD

Salary:  AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure:  Specified term of 3 years

Reference:  90000

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as economics, environmental science, social science, systems sciences, geography, data sciences.  Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or part-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated experience with quantitative and qualitative methods as well as development of databases with relevance to benchmarking and assessing food system performance.
• Demonstrated experience with food systems analysis and familiarity of informed theories of system transformation. 
• The ability to work collaboratively and effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, potentially regionally dispersed research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents and Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia (visa sponsorship may be provided to eligible onshore candidates).  Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

To enter a CSIRO site, CSIRO will require you to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (or show a valid medical exemption from vaccination). If you are unable to meet this requirement, then you must return a negative result on a Rapid Antigen Test (within 48 hours prior to attending site) and wear a face mask whilst on the CSIRO site. These requirements apply if you are attending a CSIRO site as part of a recruitment process.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

24 November 2022, 11:00pm AEDT