Job Title:        Research Associate

Employer:      Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association

Location:        Anchorage preferred (not required)

Wage:              TBD (hourly)

Deadline to Apply:    Open until filled

Organization

Founded in 1979, BSFA’s mission is to support healthy and vibrant fishing communities by fostering greater social, financial, and political capacity to access, sustainably develop and protect fishery resources in the Arctic, Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Bristol Bay regions of Alaska.

We are committed to the sustainable management of Alaska’s resources. We are curators and stewards of the extraordinary lifestyle and culture of Alaskans. We serve to strengthen local communities, support long-term ecological integrity, and stimulate robust economies.

For more information, please visit www.bsfaak.org

Position

Research Associates are essential members of the Bering Sea Fishermen’s (BSFA) Research and Policy Engagement staff. They play significant roles in helping to conceptualize research projects, conduct literature reviews, provide quantitative analyses, produce written outputs, participate in briefings, and contribute to project management. Working mostly independently under the direction of BSFA and the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium (AYK TC), they participate in the production of compelling and impactful research that improves environmental, energy and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement.

BSFA seeks a Research Associate with between 2-6 years of experience. Successful candidates will be creative and entrepreneurial. They will possess strong technical skills in modeling and other types of quantitative analysis; strong working knowledge of economics, with experience working with Indigenous Peoples on climate change issues; excellent written and oral communication skills, including in preparation of research papers suitable for peer-reviewed publication; and experience in managing project tasks, deliverables, and deadlines.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Lead discrete elements of research projects, including conceptualizing and refining research projects; identifying, reviewing, and synthesizing academic and policy literature; building and managing datasets; conducting statistical and simulation modeling along with other types of quantitative analysis, depending on the project; producing written products and briefings on research and its findings; and other tasks assigned by project leaders or developed with program directors.
• Project management: create, assign, track, and effectively communicate tasks, deliverables, and deadlines with project teams to achieve project outcomes. Participate in program planning and the development of research agendas.
• Participate in engagement with decisionmakers and stakeholders.
• Other duties as defined.

Qualifications, Experience & Competencies:

• Education: Master’s Degree in a relevant field, including economics, public policy, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Qualified people with PhDs or JDs are also invited to apply.
• Work Experience: 2-6 years in government, private sector research or consulting, or environment, energy, and climate related nonprofit.
• Experience in research on climate change policy issues, marine debris, natural resource, and freshwater and marine issues.

Desirable Skills:

• Creative and entrepreneurial approach to tasks
• Strong working knowledge of economics for policy analysis; demonstrated ability to carry out and document critical reviews of relevant literature
• Strong quantitative skills, in statistical analysis and/or mathematical simulation modeling
• Experience in assembling and managing large datasets
• Experience with computational, statistical or GIS software programming, including Stata, R, Matlab, SAS, GAMS, ArcGIS, or Python
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. A record of publishing is a plus.
• Experience in project management: at least one year of experience is preferred. Knowledge of project management software such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Dynamics is a plus.
• Ability to work under minimal supervision

Compensation:

• Competitive salary range

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

To express interest in the position please submit a cover letter with compensation range, resume and 2 personal and 2 professional references via email to karen@bsfaak.org.