(ottawa 24 weeks) Graduate RESEARCH Assistant Posting

philipcox Uncategorized

Research Project: Changing Public Services: Women and Intersectional Analysis

Job Opportunity: Graduate Research Intern ­ Public Sector Union Research on Women and Precarious Employment

Location: Ottawa, ON

Compensation: up to $27/hr for 15 hrs/wk, for 24 weeks (max. compensation: $10,000)

Work Location: 50% in offices of the Canadian Labour Congress; 50% TBD mutually with successful candidate

Anticipated Time Frame: Feb. 1 ­ May 31, 2014

Supervisors: Irene Jansen, CUPE; Leah Levac, University of Guelph

Steering Committee: Supervisors, Angella MacEwen (CLC), Cindi Foreman (CUPW) and CPS (CRIAW) representative

Description: The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), in partnership with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Canadian Union for Postal Workers (CUPW), and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), is hiring a graduate research assistant to conduct an important piece of research about the impacts of precarious employment trends in the public sector on Canadian public sector workers. Using a feminist intersectional framework, the student will explore questions such as, Œhow are conditions of employment precarity impacting women, particularly those who are historically marginalized, including racialized women, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and GLBTTQ women¹?

 

This study is funded through a partnership between the earlier mentioned unions and organizations, and Mitacs, a research and training organization dedicated to supporting student research internships with industry and other organizational partners.

 

This study is part of a three-year, SSHRC-funded project, Changing Public Services: Women and Intersectional Analysis. This project will see the development of four regional clusters, the foundation of a pan-Canadian network that will: (a) identify and develop tools, connections, agreements, and strategies for tracking changes to public services and public sector employment; (b) identify and use participatory tools to track and analyze the impacts of these changes on diverse groups of women over time (e.g. mapping, media analysis, storytelling); (c) identify combined and cascading impacts as a result of municipal, provincial and federal changes; and (d) collectively prioritize areas for further research and action. For more information, see http://www.criaw-icref.ca/public-services.

 

Requirements: The successful candidate will work with the supervisors and other members of the research team to:

–        learn about partners¹ concerns related to precarious employment

–        formalize the research question in collaboration with partners (CLC, CUPE, CUPW, CRIAW)

–        develop a research strategy including a comprehensive literature review and primary data collection

–         undertake literature review, including collaborating on the development of a literature database for the overall Changing Public Services project

–        develop and implement focus groups with women who are precariously employed in the public sector

–        analyze results

–        produce a discussion paper, as well as accessible clear language research communication tools such as:

o  text and data for an info-graphic

o  a one-page fact sheet

 

Qualifications: The successful candidate will:

 

–        be enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited Canadian university

–        have completed a graduate level methods course

–        have a working knowledge of feminist and/or intersectional analysis

–        have a working knowledge of unions

–        have experience conducting detailed literature reviews, including creating search strategies, assessing quality of literature, creating annotated bibliographies, etc.

–        have excellent written communication skills

–        have the ability to work effectively as part of a research team, including with several guiding partners

–        ideally be bilingual in French and English

 

Application Process: Applications, consisting of a letter of application and CV, are due Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 @ 4:00 pm EST. Applications should clearly indicate that you are able to work at least 50% of the contract based in Ottawa, ON. Please note that this time does not have to be allocated on a weekly basis (i.e., candidate could be based elsewhere and spend four weeks in Ottawa, either consecutive or spread out over the 24 week period). All questions and applications should be directed to cps@criaw-icref.ca, attn.: Employment and Precarity Hiring Committee.