The Policy Monitoring/Interviewing Working Group of the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative is seeking to fill a part-time Interview Curator position as well as part-time Research Assistantship positions to help out with on-going studies of the “The EPA in the Age of Trump.” (More information on our work is available at https://envirodatagov.org/interviewing/) We are looking for those with relevant doctoral degrees, graduate students and upper-level undergraduates with strong backgrounds in the environmental social sciences, humanities, sciences, or policy.
Interview Curator position to begin, ideally, in mid-May and run through September of 2021. Pay is $41/hour for .25 of full-time hours, or ten hours/week.
Research Assistantship positions will begin in early June and end in mid-to-late August. These positions involve ten (.25 of full-time) to twenty (.5 of full-time) hours per week. Pay is $20/hour. We expect to fill 2-3 of these positions for summer 2020.
In both cases, while most expected work can be done remotely, regular attendance will be expected at periodic video conferences.
Successful applicants for both kinds of positions will have training and experience in the following areas:
- conducting qualitative/oral history interviews, and transcribing, managing, and coding qualitative interview transcripts
- evaluating, managing, and coding documents, including news reports and government documents, and writing complete and concise summaries of relevant documents
- coursework in environmental policy, environmental law, history, sociology, anthropology, geography, environmental humanities, environmental sciences, or related disciplines
- ability to maintain strict confidentiality when required
- familiarity with Slack, Google Drive, and qualitative coding software (we use Dedoose) a plus
The successful applicant for Interview Curator should have additional qualifications to undertake the following tasks related to EDGI’s EPA interviewing/oral history project:
- taking over administration of confidential interviews and the resulting interview files and other materials
- leading the planning, design, and release of a web-based searchable repository of approved interview transcripts, in time for the EPA’s 50th Anniversary (December, 2020)
- aiding other research and reporting projects undertaken by the Policy Monitoring/Interviewing Working Group
Successful applicants for the Research Assistantship positions will take on at least one of the following activities:
- helping to organize, edit or proof-read, anonymize and code transcripts of completed interviews;
- fine-tuning a coding scheme for the interviews
- read through and interpret agency documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, news media, and other sources, on topics such as enforcement declines, environmental justice, and children’s health
- helping synthesize and write up reports based on all this information
Those wishing to apply should please send their cv and a 300-word statement of interest to Christopher Sellers chrissellersedgi@gmail.com , by May 7. Join us to lend a hand in this exciting and timely project!