A research partnership studying employment standards enforcement, under the academic direction of Professor Leah F. Vosko, Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Gender & Work, Political Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, is pleased to announce a competition for two Post-Doctoral Visitor (PDV) positions, tenable at York University for the 2016-2017 academic year, with the possibility of renewal.
The partnership invites applications from, in particular, interdisciplinary scholars who have earned a doctorate in the Social Sciences or Law and have a research background in fields such as work & society, gender & work, labour studies, or political economy. The PDVs will participate in this research partnership involving community legal clinics, worker centres, a private law firm, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Law Commission of Ontario, the Ministry of Labour, and academic researchers from seven Canadian universities. The focus of the research is the enforcement of employment standards in Ontario (i.e., minimum conditions in areas such as wages, working time, and vacations and leaves). The partnership aims to map the nature and scope of ES violations; document enforcement practices in order to identify regulatory challenges; and develop alternative models of enforcement that may be applied in Ontario and other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally.
One of the successful candidates will have strong statistical analysis skills that can be applied to social science research questions. These should include direct experience working with large survey or administrative datasets and excellent data management skills. Knowledge of statistical analysis software (such as SPSS, Stata, or R) is required. A familiarity with survey design or with qualitative research methods would also be an asset. This PDV may also devote part of his or her time to a project associated with the research partnership involving the construction of a cross-national research database on employment standards.
The other successful candidate will have knowledge of and a background in using qualitative research methods, including familiarity in at least one of the following: archival document analysis, in-depth interviewing and policy analysis. Experience with one or more qualitative analysis software (such as NVivo or Dedoose) will be considered a strong asset. In addition, experience with quantitative research would be an asset.
For both PDVs, graduate level training in quantitative and/or qualitative social science research methodology is required. Once the PDVs are established in their positions, they will have opportunities to collaborate on publications, participate in conference presentations, and engage in other forms of knowledge mobilization.
The PDVs will receive an annual salary of $46,410, office space at York University, use of a computer and full access to York University libraries. They will be supervised by Professor Leah F. Vosko and will work closely with lead community and university based researchers in the Research Partnership as well graduate and undergraduate students.
Applications will be reviewed starting on May 20, 2016 for a position to commence July 1, 2016 (or to be negotiated). Applicants should forward a cover letter, a brief research statement, curriculum vitae, and a writing sample, as well as have three confidential academic letters of reference in one PDF document (except for reference letters which may be sent separately by referees) to Min-Jung Kwak at [email protected]. All correspondences should be addressed to:
Professor Leah F. Vosko
Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Gender and Work
618 (Gender and Work Unit)
Kaneff Tower
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON Canada M3J 1P3
Applications from non-Canadian scholars, as well as scholars with diverse work experience in public sector organizations or NGOs, are welcome.
