Postdoctoral Researcher

20505BR

Bureau of Child Research

Position Overview

This Postdoctoral Research Program at the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP) is recruiting one postdoctoral researcher interested in developing expertise in carrying out community-engaged research to develop and implement evidence-based practices focused on early intervention, early care, and early education settings. The postdoctoral position is a full-time (1.0 FTE), 12-month, research-dedicated fellowship.

The postdoctoral researcher will learn and develop new advances in the prevention and intervention of learning and behavior problems in young children. The goal of the postdoctoral fellowship is to support trainees’ acquisition of knowledge, technical skills, and experiences critical for carrying out methodologically rigorous research with high relevance to early intervention practice and policy standards and learn the skills needed to obtain external funding for their own independent research program. During the 12-month fellowship, the postdoctoral fellow will design and implement independent research studies culminating in peer-reviewed publications and practice briefs, and presentations at professional conferences.

Competencies that are the particular focus of this postdoctoral fellowship program include the following: 

Competencies in Early Childhood Content Areas. Developing knowledge related to the following:
1. Evidence-Based Practice:  Skills for generating, synthesizing, and translating research.
2. Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS): Conceptual framework, multiple tiers of intervention support, and measures for screening, progress monitoring, and the use of these tools for intervention decision making.
3. Theory and intervention in language, early literacy, and social-emotional development for children from birth to age 6 across diverse cultural and language groups.

 Competencies in Methodological Content Areas. Developing knowledge and skills for conducting the following:
4. Rigorous experimental single case and randomized-control trial designs.
5. Univariate and latent growth modeling techniques (i.e., multilevel HLM, SEM) including treatment of missing values.
6. Systematic research syntheses using rigorous methods.

Professional Competencies. Expertise will be developed in the following areas:
7.  Research communications (e.g., writing for peer-reviewed journals, grant writing, reviewing for journals, research presentations; dissemination to diverse professional, practitioner, and lay audiences via traditional print, digital and social media).
8. Research administration and grants management.
9. Collaboration skills (partnering with other researchers, practitioners, policymakers across disciplines and cultures).
10. Career development (establishing and achieving a personal strategic career development plan).

Location and Commitment. The program is housed at the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP), a community-based urban research facility affiliated with the Institute for Life Span Studies at the University of Kansas and the Children’s Campus of Kansas City. Seven researchers and faculty at the JGCP and the KU Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis, who are collaboratively engaged in early intervention and early childhood MTSS research, will provide mentoring and support for the Postdoctoral Researcher.

This position requires a one-year commitment and location within the Kansas City-Lawrence, KS area is highly recommended. Granting agency requires that candidates for this position be either U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. The successful candidate must have appropriate authorization to work in the U.S. before employment begins.

Please note that all offers of employment are contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background check. The position is based at JGCP, located at the Children’s Campus of Kansas City in Kansas City, KS (http://www.jgcp.ku.edu ).
Underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Job Description

The Postdoctoral Researcher will work with faculty mentors as follows:

• 40% - Affiliate with a Research Faculty Mentor and her/his research program to collaborate with this research team in the conduct of applied research with young children at risk/with delays and from diverse groups. Participation will include attending weekly meetings and conducting a complementary intervention study.
• 20% - Complete IES grant preparation including literature reviews, pilot studies, and grant applications in order to learn how to write and submit a competitive application.
• 18% - Attend/monitor agreed upon courses and seminars to increase content and methodological knowledge that is the foci of the project.
• 10% - Produce and submit professional research documents and communications disseminating findings to the larger community of early intervention, early childhood special education, early education, peer-reviewed journals, and national conferences of professional organizations.
• 10% - Use MTSS relevant measurement tools (i.e., progress and mastery monitoring) to identify, design, and evaluate the impacts of differentiated learning experiences for children at 3 tiers of risk.
• 2% - Develop, maintain, and evaluate an Individual Fellow Plan (IFP) based on the Postdoctoral Applicant’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests to organize and evaluate one’s individual progress in the program.

Position Requirements

Required Qualifications

To be appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher, it is necessary to have the PhD in hand. Appointments made without a diploma or certified transcript indicating an earned doctorate are conditional hires and are appointed on an acting basis.

Preferred Qualifications

Contact Information to Applicants

For questions about the position, please contact Dr. Carta at [email protected].
For questions about the application process, please contact Diana Skill at  [email protected] .

Additional Candidate Instruction

Provide a cover letter, vitae, professional writing sample (e.g., publication, dissertation) and contact information for three professional references who can speak to your experiences and qualifications are required.

In the cover letter, please indicate how you see this training experience helping advance your professional skills and goals in early intervention and early care and education. Also, please include paragraphs describing what you would like to accomplish in each of the following domains: (1) in early childhood content, and (2) methodological content.

Review of applications will begin November 12, 2021 and will continue until a qualified applicant pool has been identified.

Advertised Salary Range

$60,000 annually

Application Review Begins

12-Nov-2021

Anticipated Start Date

01-Jun-2022

Limited Term End Date

31-May-2023

Primary Campus

Juniper Gardens Area

Employee Class

U-Unclassified Professional Staff

Work Schedule

8:30 am-5:00 pm Mon--Fri

Conditions of Employment

Contingent on Funding, Limited Term

Work Location Assignment

Hybrid

Disclaimer

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, [email protected], Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).