FoodARC is Hiring – Research Assistants

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FoodARC Research Assistants

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The Food Action Research Centre (FoodARC) is a research centre at Mount Saint Vincent University committed to research and action to build food security in Nova Scotia and beyond. FoodARC’s projects and activities are grounded in four pillars: research, building capacity, sharing knowledge, and supporting advocacy and policy change.  We are seeking two (2) creative and dynamic individuals with a passion for food, social justice, and social change as part-time Research Assistants to contribute to several interrelated projects, including Activating Change Together for Community Food Security and Voices for Food Security in Nova Scotia.  Project activities focus on community-level engagement and capacity building to improve knowledge, understanding and action to build food security.  We are open to candidates applying to both positions to create one full-time equivalent position.  For more information, please visit https://foodarc.ca

FoodARC Research Assistant

FoodARC is working to mobilize our research findings and support community action and efforts to influence change for food security at multiple levels.  To support a range of diverse community-based activities, FoodARC is seeking a Research Assistant (current student preferred, but not required) until March 2014 (with a possibility of extension) to:

  • Work within a participatory action research and collaborative approach with FoodARC staff and project team members to support coordination and engagement (e.g., meeting minutes, planning meetings, coordinating documents, etc.).
  • Support research activities (e.g., literature reviews, case studies, document preparation, etc.).
  • Support the preparation of reports.
  • Assist with organizing and coordinating events, including planning, promotion, and logistics.
  • Conduct and support qualitative data collection and analysis, including developing ethics applications.
  • Provide support to project monitoring and evaluation.
  • Support student engagement within the ACT for CFS project.
  • Other duties, as determined by Project Coordinators.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree, with experience, or a Masters’ degree (in progress or complete), in a related field (social sciences and health-related disciplines, e.g., Adult Education, Nutrition, Health Promotion, Community Development, Social Work) .
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office (including Word, Powerpoint, Excel).
  • Experience with qualitative software (e.g., MaxQDA or NVivo) an asset.
  • Experience with social media, graphic      design, and websites an asset.

Assets:

  • Specific experience and/or interest  working in food security.
  • Event organizing experience and knowledge of traditional and social media.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills, particularly an ability to engage with a range of stakeholders using audience-appropriate and clear language.
  • Excellent organizational skills.
  • Experience mentoring or working with other students.
  • Understanding of and experience with working in community learning and development, particularly adult education.
  • Interest in, or experience with, participatory action research methods.
  • Independent worker with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively.
  • Possess sensitivity regarding issues of diversity and inclusion.

Hours: ~15-20 hours per week, some flexibility required. Position to begin as soon as a successful applicant is found.

Salary: $12-18, depending on background and experience.

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Voices for Food Security Research Assistant

This position is with the Voices for Food Security in Nova Scotia project (formerly the Participatory Food Costing Project), which involves people who have experience of food insecurity, and those with the ability to impact the issue, in the process of collecting, analyzing and sharing knowledge about issues related to food insecurity in Nova Scotia. Working with community, university, and government partners, the project aims to raise awareness about the personal, financial and public health burden of food insecurity and advocate for policy changes, such as raising the minimum wage, increasing Income Assistance rates, and creating special diets allowances, so that everyone in Nova Scotia can afford to eat a nutritious, personally and culturally acceptable diet. Voices is seeking a Research Assistant (current student preferred, but is not a requirement) until March 2014 (with a strong possibility of extension) to:

  • Work within a participatory action research approach with FoodARC staff and the broader project group to organize and support objectives of the team (e.g., meeting minutes, planning meetings, coordinating documents, etc.).
  • Support research activities (e.g., literature reviews, case studies, data entry, etc.).
  • Create and maintain library/reference databases.
  • Assist with preparation of presentations, publications, reports, and papers.
  • Construct affordability scenarios for reports and papers using food costing data.
  • Support team in developing and delivering community workshops.
  • Assist with supporting student projects.
  • Support writing and preparing funding proposals and reports.
  • Assist with other project logistics as required, including planning meetings and taking minutes.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree, with experience, or a Masters’ degree (in progress or complete), in a related field (social sciences and health-related disciplines, e.g., Adult Education, Nutrition, Health Promotion, Community Development, Social Work).
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office (including Word, Powerpoint, Excel).

Assets:

  • Specific experience and/or interest working in food security.
    • Possess sensitivity regarding issues of diversity and inclusion.
    • Strong written and oral communication skills, particularly an ability to engage with a range of stakeholders using audience-appropriate and clear language.
    • Excellent organizational skills.
    • Understanding and experience in working in community learning and development, particularly adult education.
    • Interest in, or experience of, participatory action research methods.
    • Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
    • Experience working with diverse communities.
    • Competence with qualitative software such as, MAXQDA or NVivo would be considered an asset.

Hours: ~15 hours per week. Position to begin as soon as a successful applicant is found.

Salary: $12-18, depending on background and experience.

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

How to apply:

Please prepare a cover letter (addressed to: Selection Committee) and résumé in one electronic file (pdf is preferred) and email to foodsecurity@msvu.ca

If you intend to apply to both positions, then please indicate this in your cover letter and address both sets of selection criteria.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Student applicants are preferred, but not required.

Closing Date:  Wednesday, January 8, 2014 @ 4 pm