Junior Research Fellow

1. JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW: CRITICAL ZONE RESEARCH
2. JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW
3. JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW: CRITICAL ZONE RESEARCH

(3-year contract)
ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES SOUTH
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

Environmental Humanities South
Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town
UCT’s Carnegie Funded Developing Emerging Academic Leaders Awards
(DEAL 3) and Critical Zones Africa South & East (CzASE Studies) funded by Science For Africa via the DELTASII Africa Programme
invite applications for a
JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN CRITICAL ZONE RESEARCH

The University of Cape Town’s Environmental Humanities South invites applications for a three-year Junior
Research Fellow post, funded jointly through the UCT Carnegie DEAL 3 award scheme and the CzASE Studies – Critical Zones Africa South & East research programme funded by Science For Africa Foundation under the DELTASII Africa Awards.

The Junior Research Fellow post will be awarded as a three-year appointment at the University of Cape Town, with a further period renewable on condition of satisfactory progress and available funding. The project will end on 30 November 2027.

The Junior Research Fellow will be responsible for developing Critical Zones rapid appraisal techniques that take into account the material effects of socio-natural relations and activities in the critical zone, the thin zone of habitability at any point on the Earth’s surface where life is made possible by the flows and relations from aquifer to cloud. The fellow will primarily be responsible for supporting country teams to assemble comparative datasets of study sites. These will include:

• landscape assessments using geospatial tools and historical Earth imagery
• land-atmosphere relations, including air pollution, evaporation and rainfall data sets
• hydrogeological flows, both surface water and groundwater
• soil types and soil quality data
• available ecological datasets at study sites
• cartographic resources.

The Fellow will be supported by a wider team including specialists in soil science; agroecology; environmental chemistry, regional planning, infrastructure studies and a range of social sciences.

We are looking for an energetic, generous, collaborative and collegial researcher who is committed to
transdisciplinary research and comfortable developing participatory research designs and questions in
collaboration with regional communities and local governance structures.

The appointee will be part of an active and lively team committed to developing an African environmentalism in a project spanning six African countries, with partners at the universities of Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Zimbabwe, Cape Town, Eduardo Mondlane and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The appointee should be able to work with minimal to modest levels of supervision, and will have the opportunity to develop a lab of Masters and/or PhD students to be co-supervised with partner university leads on their research sites. The Fellow will be expected to assist in day-to-day academic activities and management tasks in a fastgrowing and relatively new research team.

The appointee will be based full-time in the EHS offices at UCT, and will work closely with Prof Lesley Green at EHS, UCT (the Award PI).

Requirements:

• The Fellow should have a PhD in Physical Geography with demonstrated cartographic and geospatial skills including ArcGIS and QGIS; an interest in and familiarity with Critical Zone scholarship, and a
  familiarity/willingness to engage with African post-colonial and decolonial research.
• A minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years relevant postdoctoral experience. As the intention is to provide opportunity for researchers who have completed a postdoctoral fellowship but are not yet independent PIs in their own right, past experience as a postdoctoral fellow is expected. In its absence, a motivation will be considered.
• Geospatial, cartographic and quantitative skills.
• Field research experience involving collaborative research designs.
• Ability to travel.

Advantages:

• Teaching experience in tertiary education.
• Experience in dissertation supervision.
• Familiarity with archiving and data management.
• Fluency in an African language spoken in Southern and/or East Africa.
• Publications in a cognate field
• Professional Membership of a geographical society.

Responsibilities:

• Lead a research hub that advances the understanding of Critical Zone sciences and their integration with socio-technical aspects of peri-urban areas, under the supervision / mentorship of senior academics, and in dialogue with the wider CzASE team.
• Advise and assist CzASE social scientists to engage with physical geography datasets and landscape studies, including supplying cartographic services to the team.
• Participate in collaborative research and co-authorship on the CzASE project with African university partners
• Co-supervise one Masters and/or PhD student per partner research team.
• Assist in the identification of research funding opportunities, and co-author research grants applications in the first year of appointment, that includes the cost of their annual salary (in which case UCT funds will be kept in reserve for the Principal Investigator (PI) to consider continuation when the external grant is concluded).
• Participate in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and postgraduate (co-)supervision, provided it advances the independence of the Fellow and provided this is not at the detriment of the research project.
• Be present in EHS offices daily during core work hours. Flexible hours are subject to agreement and regular review.
• Assist with the organisation and running of networking events for EHS and CzASE.
• Publish research outputs in accredited journals and / or peer-reviewed books. DEAL 3 and SFA expects Fellows to lead-author at least 1 peer-reviewed paper per year, and co-author at least a further 1 paper per year, including with graduate students.
• DEAL 3 expects Fellows to conduct 1 international university visit or 1 conference presentation per year, with at least 1 international conference presentation during the tenure.
• Adhere to the University of Cape Town’s research policies.
• Adhere to the Science For Africa research and publication policies.
• An annual mid-year and end-of–year progress report will be required from each awardee, to be submitted to the PI and the UCT Carnegie Project Administrator.

The annual remuneration package, including benefits, is between R544 062 and R700 000 (post is funded from research funding) depending on qualifications and experience.

Enquiries should be addressed to Prof Lesley Green at lesley.green@uct.ac.za with the subject head ‘JRF CRITICAL ZONE RESEARCH’.

JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

(3-year contract)
Medical Biotechnology & Immunotherapy Research Unit
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine
Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences
FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Applications are invited for the above-mentioned position granted to the UCT accredited Medical Biotechnology & Immunotherapy Research Unit. The major aim of its research is the use of medical biotechnology including antibody technologies, protein engineering & expression to develop and evaluate knowledge-based innovative recombinant immunodiagnostics and -therapeutics. The main characteristics of these novel agents are: a) disease-specific activities, b) reduced unspecific side effects, and c) reduced immunogenicity.

We are seeking qualified individuals who have experience in the publication of peer reviewed research articles as well as innovative individuals who are interested in the translation of basic science to commercially viable products and technologies. The successful incumbent will be well supported in applications for supplementary funding and professional development activities.

Requirements for the job include:

• A PhD in Immunology, Biology, Biotechnology or related fields
• Established expertise in tissue culture and molecular cloning/biology research applications
• Excellent computer literacy and a good breadth of data and statistical analysis tools
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills
• The ability to work effectively and well in a team, with excellent organizational skills
• The ability to work autonomously, under pressure, and to meet deadlines

The following will be advantageous:

• A minimum of 2 years postdoctoral experience working in the area of antibody applications in precision medicine with established expertise in current biomedical biotechnology technologies, including molecular cloning, bacterial and mammalian tissue culture, protein purification, clinical sample processing work and preclinical animal models
• Knowledgeable of SNAP tag technology and its use to create recombinant antibody fusion proteins
• Knowledgeable of antibody protein engineering to create recombinant immunotherapeutics
• Track record of original publications in the fields of research specified in this advertisement

Responsibilities:

• To conduct innovative research in the field of precision medicine, protein engineering, development of recombinant immunodiagnostics and -therapeutics especially in the context of cancers affecting African women
• (Co-)supervise postgraduate students and more junior staff members’ research
• Contribute to administration and management duties
• Contribute to innovation research and patent applications
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals
• Attract national and international research funding to conduct (semi-)independent research in the abovementioned areas of research

The annual remuneration package for 2023, including benefits, is between R544 062 and R658 000 (post is funded from research funding) depending on qualifications and experience.

To apply, please e-mail the below documents in a single pdf file to Ms Tracy Moore at recruitment05@uct.ac.za

• UCT Application Form (download at http://forms.uct.ac.za/hr201.doc)
• Motivation letter that speaks to the specific requirements of the position, and
• Curriculum vitae (CV)

Please ensure the title and reference number are indicated in the subject line.
An application which does not comply with the above requirements will be regarded as incomplete.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and may be required to undergo an assessment.

Telephone: 021 650 5405

Website: www.health.uct.ac.za

Reference number: E230398

Closing date: 31 January 2024

UCT is a designated employer and is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity and redress in achieving its equity targets in accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets.
Preference will be given to candidates from the under-represented designated groups. Our Employment Equity Policy is available at www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/about/policies/eepolicy.pdf.

UCT reserves the right not to appoint.

JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

(T1, 2-year contract)
Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT)
CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT (CHED)

The Junior research fellow position in the project “Designing for Social Justice Partnership’ (DSJP) seeks to attract a candidate with at least a Masters in the Humanities or Social Sciences. Previous experience in the area of student/staff partnerships, curriculum and course design and/or the scholarship of teaching and learning will be advantageous but not essential, as this position is viewed as having a capacity-building component in order to build new knowledge and expertise in these fields.

The Researcher will report to the UCT project lead and support the student assistant in aspects of research communications activities.
The researcher will receive support, coaching and staff development where needed. If desired, the researcher could pursue further studies as part of the project.

Requirements for the job:
● Minimum qualification of a Masters, in a social science or humanities discipline (e.g. education, educational technology, higher education studies, curriculum studies, sociology).
● Proven ability to do literature reviews
● Proven proficiency in qualitative research skills, including qualitative data analysis (preferably through the use of qualitative data analysis software, e.g. Nvivo).
● Evidence of excellent writing abilities to construct a coherent narrative and write according to scholarly convention for academic audience as well as construct more accessible narrative for popular audience.
● Ability to work full-time in Cape Town, South Africa, and commit to a full 24-months contract period.
● Approachable and able to interact within the academic community.
● Meticulous, thorough and ability to pay attention to detail.
● Flexible, agile approach to collaborative teamwork and ability to work without direct supervision.

The following would be advantageous:
● PhD in a social science or humanities discipline.
● Previous experience in the area of student-staff partnerships, curriculum design, social justice education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), higher education studies.
● Interest or experience in social media engagement and communications activity.
● Workshop and short course facilitation skills (both in face to face and online environments)

Responsibilities:
The Junior Research Fellow role will be focused on:
● Familiarising themselves with the literature on student/staff partnerships (SSPs), socially just learning design and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL)
● Undertaking a desktop review situational analysis of student staff partnerships in the global south (with a particular focus on Africa)
● Cofacilitate an online short course on SSPs in Africa
● Supporting ethics clearance processes including development of data collection instruments
● Undertaking data gathering (interviews and artefact analysis), data analysis and writing up of detailed DSJP case studies at UCT.
● Processing and curating case study data for publication
● Sharing findings at local and international conferences
● Support the organisation of a SSP partner colloquium in 2025
● Support the organisation of an international SSP roundtable in 2025
● Contributing to a special issue on SSPs in the Global South in the International Journal for Student as Partners (IJSaP)
● Supporting the project lead in project curation and publishing activities
● Contributing to technical reporting processes

The annual cost of employment, including benefits(where applicable) will be in the range of R380 838 to R503 244 per annum.

To apply, please e-mail the below documents in a single pdf file, clearly indicating “Junior Research Fellow” followed by the
reference number in the subject line, to DSJPresearchfellow@vula.uct.ac.za

• UCT Application Form (download at http://forms.uct.ac.za/hr201.doc)
• Cover letter, (clearly indicating how the candidate meets the requirements of the position) and
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

For queries contact daniela.gachago@uct.ac.za An application which does not comply with the above requirements will be regarded as incomplete. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and may be required to undergo an assessment.

Telephone: +27 21 650 3478 Website: http://www.cilt.uct.ac.za/
Reference number: E24101 Closing date: 22 January 2024

UCT is a designated employer and is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity, and redress in achieving its equity targets in accordance with the Employment Equity Plan of the University and its Employment Equity goals and targets. Preference will be given to candidates from the under-represented designated groups including candidates with disabilities. Our Employment
Equity Policy is available at www.hr.uct.ac.za/hr/policies/employ_equity

UCT reserves the right not to appoint.

All the best with your applications