Anthropology Postdoctoral Researcher

New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) at New Mexico State University is seeking to hire four Anthropology Post Doctoral Researchers to participate in a multistate, transdisciplinary research project designed to support resilient agriculture, water, and community systems. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program, a flagship competitive grant program to promote transformational changes in the U.S. food and agriculture system. This position is an exciting opportunity to gain experience doing team science, learning to collaborate across disciplinary silos through work with members of the multidisciplinary research team.

One Anthropology Post Doctoral Researcher will be placed in each project field site: the Upper Rio Grande (Northern New Mexico), the Upper Snake River (Wyoming), the Snake River Plain (Idaho), and the Truckee-Carson River System (Nevada). Candidates should indicate in the cover letter which site(s) they would like to be considered for. In each field site, the Post Doctoral Researcher will work closely with the region’s site lead and existing projects. Each researcher will carry out ethnographic fieldwork and ethnographic interviews in their field site. Each will produce individual research and disseminate findings, and work with the other team Anthropologists to carry out comparative analyses across the U.S. West. The overarching goal of the Anthropology component is to develop a deep understanding of each of the project’s communities of focus in order to facilitate project goals of building sustainable water systems for culturally and environmentally resilient agricultural communities. This includes identifying barriers to adoption of climate-smart agricultural systems and identifying points of interest or enthusiasm in the communities towards particular crops, management systems, water saving technologies, or informational tools. Performs other related duties as assigned. The period of performance is two years.

Preferred candidates will have a Doctoral degree in Cultural Anthropology or a related field, and have experience with ethnographic research and qualitative data analysis. Knowledge of agriculture, rural communities, water, and/or sustainability issues would be helpful.

Must have valid driver’s license. Must be able to travel to field sites using personal transportation or university vehicle. Must be willing to occasionally work outside of the standard Monday-Friday, 8am - 5pm timeframe when participating in community or project events.

Must attain CITI certification for human subjects research and IRB approval before beginning data collection.

New Mexico State University does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, military service, or other non-merit factor.