Job Postings

 

Graduate Research Data Assistant

Position type: Graduate Academic Assistant

Position title: Research Data Assistant

Employment period: January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025

Supervisor: Nick Rochlin

Department: UVic Libraries

Hours: 12/week (part-time)

 

Background

Data management, analysis, coding skills, and associated literacies are progressively more important in academic work. However, there are gaps in training in these areas in many disciplines, particularly those where computational research is still emerging or missing as a core component of undergraduate training.

 The Research Data Assistant will lay the groundwork for creating and delivering a pilot national online research data management training program for graduate students.

The pilot research data management and computational training program is a scaffolded, integrated approach to teaching skill sets and literacies across the research life cycle, employing computational tools, data, and research data management practices to address research questions.

 

Job Description

Working alongside data and research data management librarians from across Canada, as well as digital research infrastructure professionals from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC), this position  will support the development and, timeline depending, delivery of the research data management training curriculum. The resulting week-long online course will address theory and best practices for data-centric research and the use of computational solutions. It will also include hands-on activities, moving participants through the process of developing a research question, acquiring data, preparing the data for and conducting analyses, and communicating the results with visualizations.

 

Duties

  • Build out of the research data management training pilot curriculum to completion, including preparing all requisite materials for delivery.
  • Assist in the planning for pilot delivery, including identifying a strategy for participant recruitment.
  • Assist in the delivery of the pilot program as a session helper and/or instructor.
  • Participate in regular meetings with the development and instructional team.
  • Participate in assessment and evaluation of the pilot program.
  • Prepare a report outlining recommendations and next steps based on assessment activities.

 

Reporting Structure

Reporting to the Data Science Librarian, UVic Libraries, this position will also take direction from other librarians that are part of this pilot. This position will be employed by UVic Libraries, with funding generously provided by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

 Work will be reviewed in conformance with established policies and guidelines.

 

Working conditions

Both remote and in-person work will be required and will vary from day-to-day.

 All applicants must have access to appropriate technology to support program development and conduct virtual portions of programming, meetings, and correspondence online (e.g., laptop, stable internet access, microphone, camera, etc.).

 As per HR requirements, applicants must be located in Canada while conducting remote work.

 

Time commitment

Time commitments may be flexible and can be expected to vary from week to week based on program demands, but should expect to average 12 hours/week; program funding will support up to 136 hours for the term of employment from January-March 2025, with the possibility of extension. UVic works to maintain a healthy workplace and a balance between work, study and other activities.

 

Required Qualifications

  • Enrolled in a graduate degree program for January, 2025.
  • Strong communication, interpersonal, intercultural, and time management skills.
  • Experience with the command line.
  • Experience with coding languages (e.g., R, Python).
  • Experience with Git.
  • Experience with markdown.
  • Relevant instructional experience.

 

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience in acquiring, cleaning, modeling and visualizing data.
  • Ability to communicate and translate principles of data-centric research across a variety of disciplines.
  • Familiarity with best practices in transparent, reproducible research.
  • Familiarity with best practices of research data management, including FAIR, CARE and OCAPⓇ.
  • Familiarity with Data Repositories (e.g., Dataverse, Dryad, FRDR, Zenodo).
  • Familiarity with data management systems (e.g., OSF, GitHub).
  • Familiarity with reproducible authoring systems (e.g. RMarkdown, JupyterNotebooks).
  • Highly developed critical analysis skills.
  • Strong presentation skills.
  • Strong project management, organizational and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to work independently, under direction, as well as in a team environment to fulfil assigned tasks on time.

 

Compensation

$31.80/hour

 

How to Apply:

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Nick Rochlin at nrochlin@uvic.ca

Closing date: November 19, 2024