Postdoctoral Fellow – Worker-led Global Supply Chain Governance

About the project
Forced labour is thriving in the global economy across several sectors affecting an estimated 50 million people worldwide. There is mounting evidence that top-down corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to combat forced labour are ineffective. Our project investigates a new form of governance pioneered by low-wage workers at the bottom of global supply chains called Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (WSR). WSR initiatives are intended to address forced labour and overlapping forms of human rights abuse using legally binding mechanisms like value redistribution and price premiums as well as worker-led remediation systems. Although WSR agreements are increasingly acclaimed to be the gold standard to promote human rights in supply chains, there is very little independent research to evaluate the effectiveness of WSR. We are interested in why and how WSR comes about, conditions under which firms participate, remain in, and exit such initiatives, and how they interact with existing forms of governance. As well, we are interested in the impact of WSR initiatives on systemic inequities in global supply chains along the lines of race and gender.

What you will do
This position combines research, including fieldwork, and research management skills. You will spearhead the fieldwork and data collection in India and Lesotho and act as a project and database manager. Your main duties will involve planning fieldwork, conducting interviews and survey, coordinating with local and field partners and stakeholders, and data analysis, in collaboration with and under the guidance of the team leading this project. This position holds project management duties across the SSHRC and Breaking Barriers grants. This might include: coordinating overseas fieldwork; management responsibilities for research assistants; data management including organizing, sorting, and maintaining a data repository; conducting preliminary analysis; and assisting in writing tasks when suitable.

Where and with whom you will be working
We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow position in our research team funded by SSHRC Insight grant. This is an opportunity for an individual who has qualitative (and ideally also some quantitative) research skills, who is driven and self-directed, and who is passionate about social justice, anti-racism, equity, and human rights. Candidates should have advanced graduate training and the ability to travel for at least 20 weeks to conduct field research. The individual will be integral in contributing to a multi-sited, ambitious, and international research project aimed at collecting sound and trustworthy data at a large-scale. This individual should also be well-versed in research ethics standards and understand the implications of conducting research with equity-deserving groups. Additional language qualifications are also an asset.

The individual will report to the research team (Genevieve LeBaron, Principal Investigator, School of Public Policy; Ali Bhagat, Co-Investigator, School of Public Policy; and Kam Phung, Co-Investigator, Beedie School of Business), where you will contribute to advancing the understanding of WSR by conducting fieldwork, managing sub-research teams across our cases, and maintaining a coherent data repository.

You will be integral for supporting and/or overseeing the following tasks:
– Ethical research practice: Assist in submitting ethics amendments and maintain the highest standards in research ethics as it pertains to data collection and management; coordinate with the research ethics board at SFU as and when necessary for amendments or as circumstances arise
– Fieldwork: Plan and conduct fieldwork (eg. survey and interviews) with multiple stakeholders including government officials, workers, advocacy organizations and business representatives. Co-design survey and interview instruments and amend as necessary; maintain good data collection practices and follow ethical guidelines; communicate with the core team through a weekly progress report; set up Zoom meetings periodically; coordinate site visits of the core team members and set up meetings with interview participants for team members
– Analysis, Writing, and Knowledge Dissemination: Assist in data analysis and the writing- up of data in the form of policy reports, opinion pieces, journal articles and book chapters.
– Project Management: Manage, train, and collaborate with research assistants across our country case studies; plan meetings with the research team and stakeholders as relevant; ensure coherence in data collection across case studies; organize, collate, store, and upkeep data repository
– Time Management: Create a timetabling system to monitor research progress; implement regular check-ins with core and sub-research team members; ensure that research is progressing per the agreed upon timeline; troubleshoot fieldwork issues such as meeting times, flights, and accommodation booking and scheduling when necessary

The benefits you can gain from this position
• participation in a ground-breaking research project on WSR
• publication opportunities, as appropriate
• notable opportunities for international collaboration
• various career mentoring opportunities across public policy and business,
• access to the resources offered to members of the SFU and Bridge2AI,
• multiple opportunities for scientific contributions and productions, including participation in various conferences,
• unique opportunity to grow as an independent researcher within a dynamic and leading research institution

Your experience and profile
• advanced graduate training such as PhD in the social sciences or business studies
• strong research skills demonstrated by a track record of publishing in peer-reviewed
journals and/or a demonstrable capacity to develop such a record;
• cooperative attitude and proven ability to engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary
research;
• enthusiasm or experience with research methodologies;
• experience with qualitative analysis programs (e.g., NVivo) as well as other software
(e.g., Excel)
• demonstrated ability to help support research projects;
• excellent and innovative problem-solving skills;
• excellent social skills;
• excellent command of English
• knowledge of other languages is a key asset.

Documents Needed to Apply
• Cover Letter (max 2 pages)
• Academic Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Letters of reference (up to 3)
• Writing samples (up to 3)

How to Apply
Applications should be sent to:
• [email protected]
For questions and inquiries, please contact:
• [email protected]

Equity
SFU is committed to employment equity and welcomes applications from qualified people of all genders, visible minorities, persons of aboriginal and/or Indigenous heritage, disabled people, and LGTBQ2S+ persons. SFU is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where all feel welcome, safe, accepted, and appreciated in learning, teaching, research and work. We are privileged to do this work on the unceded, traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm(Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilw̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓ íc̓ əy̓(Katzie), kwikwəƛ̓ əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen peoples.

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