Social Work – Assistant Professor, Research (Resilience Research Centre) – Dalhousie University

5-YEAR LIMITED TERM RESEARCH POSITION

Posting Number: F501P
Type of Position: 5-Year Limited Term
Department/Unit: Social Work, Faculty of Health
Location: Halifax

The School of Social Work in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Health invites applications for a five-year limited term appointment as an Assistant Professor (Research) in the area of ‘social and psychological resilience’ to be held in the School of Social Work. The appointment will be a 5-year limited term position at the rank of Assistant Professor with the position to begin November 1, 2023, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Dalhousie University is comprised of 6,000 faculty and staff amongst its 13 faculties. Current enrollment is 18,500 graduate and undergraduate students. As part of Canada’s U15 research-intensive group, Dalhousie is an influential driver of the region’s intellectual, social, and economic development. It is the largest university in Atlantic Canada and is located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq in the heart of Halifax (Kjipuktuk), a scenic coastal city and capitol of Nova Scotia which is home to 13 Mi’kmaq First Nations, a deeply rooted African Nova Scotia community, an increasingly diverse population which also includes a vibrant workforce of people living with (dis)Abilities.

The Faculty of Health’s faculty, staff and students are committed to improving the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and populations through diverse programming with a focus on critical clinical and social justice, collaborative research, and strong community partnerships. The Faculty of Health is one of the largest faculties at Dalhousie, comprised of eight schools, one college and one program, more than 200 faculty members, 80 staff members, and over 3,000 students.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated potential and capacity to develop and lead a recognized research program within the scope of work currently being done by the Resilience Research Centre (RRC-www.resilienceresearch.org) and that aligns with our strategic directions within the Faculty of Health and promotes collaboration with external partners in this area.

The Faculty of Health has a core group of Faculty in the area of Health Equity and Resilience. The successful candidate will be expected to initiate and sustain a strong program of research related to the study of child and youth resilience and mental health among populations who experience positive developmental outcomes despite exposure to significant adversity. While the position requires the candidate to initiate an innovative and sustainable program of research with the support and mentorship of the RRC’s Director, Dr. Michael Ungar, some teaching will also be required. Please check the School’s website for more details on the programs offered by Social Work: www.socialwork.dal.ca.

Specifically, the successful candidate will be affiliated with the Resilience Research Centre, which studies resilience across cultures and contexts, emphasizing a systemic understanding of the individual and collective factors and processes that protect against risk and promote recovery, adaptation, and transformation. A major focus of the Centre is the multisystemic nature of resilience, with projects that cover a wide range of focal areas, including biological markers of resilience as related to child and youth mental health (e.g., epigenetic, neurological and hormonal factors related to coping with stress), children’s psychological resilience (e.g., patterns of service use and adaptation among child refugees), social resilience of children, youth and families (e.g., individual and family recovery after community violence), and ecological resilience (e.g., the capacity of ecological and human systems to interact successfully when stressed). For more details, interested candidates should look at the projects described on the RRC’s website.

The successful candidate will have a completed PhD (in a relevant field), a background in innovative and original resilience research, and the capacity to obtain external research funding. Responsibilities of the successful candidate will include engaging in innovative externally funded research that represents excellence in this area and contributing to building collaborative research partnerships with knowledge-user communities, within and across Dalhousie’s faculties and external communities.

Applicants must include a cover letter stating qualifications and research experience; a curriculum vitae; a statement of research philosophies including a brief outline of interests and proposed research focus.

Please submit your complete application package to the PeopleAdmin portal, https://dal.peopleadmin.ca/postings/13896

Please include the Search number in your cover letter.

For further information regarding this position, contact:

Dr. Judy MacDonald, Director
School of Social Work
Faculty of Health
judy.macdonald@dal.ca

Dalhousie University commits to achieving inclusive excellence through continually championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. The university encourages applications from Indigenous persons (especially Mi’kmaq), persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), and members of other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, and persons identifying as members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversity of our community. For more information, please visit www.dal.ca/hiringfordiversity.