Position Description

Post Doctoral Fellowship, World Food Policy Center, Duke University

The World Food Policy Center (WFPC) is a research unit situated in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. The WFPC conducts interdisciplinary research in the thematic areas of food policy evaluation, food security, inequality in the food system, and resilient food systems strategies. The center is supported through competitive federal research awards and grants from philanthropic foundations.

A grant-funded opening for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship to support Duke’s research for the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein. The position is available for the 2025 calendar year with the possibility of renewal for an additional year pending satisfactory performance and continued funding. The WFPC seeks candidates who have interest in research careers beyond this role and hopes to help develop, train, and strengthen the skills of the successful candidate to position themselves for faculty positions.

Occupational Summary

The WFPC seeks a highly motivated candidate to drive the WFPC’s research contributions in the initial year(s) of the Bezos Center for alternative proteins. The Bezos Center is a five-year program led by NC State that aims to aims to create a biomanufacturing hub for dietary proteins that are environmentally friendly, healthy, accessible and affordable. WFPC is a core partner of the Center and will provide, among other things, research to understand the complexities of the market, consumer and policy landscape of alternative proteins. 

 The ideal candidate for this role is a policy-oriented, familiar with qualitative research and/or social science research. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience leading independent research and also working on inter-disciplinary teams. Preferred skills and experience include formal literature reviews, stakeholder interviewing, stakeholder engagement and supervision experience.

 Candidates could have a broad background such as sustainability science, nutrition, food and climate/environment, sociology, public policy or political science. Familiarity with food policy, sustainable food systems, and/or alternative proteins would be beneficial; candidates who have not explicitly researched alternative proteins should have overlap with the WFPC’s strategic areas at a minimum (food policy evaluation, food security, inequality in the food system, and resilient food systems strategies).

The candidate will be expected to be available to work on campus in Durham, NC. Hybrid work arrangements may be possible, but 100% remote arrangements will not be considered. The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues at NC State University and can expect to participate in regular meetings based in Raleigh, NC.

Specific Responsibilities

 The specific tasks, among others, will likely include:

(i)                 Collaborate with other Center researchers to execute and publish a literature review focusing on key trends in the alternative protein landscape;

(ii)              Collaborate with other Center researchers to conduct, analyze and publish interviews with key alternative protein stakeholders;

(iii)            (Co)-supervise WFPC students working on the Bezos Center project;

(iv)             Collaborate with researchers from partner institutes;

(v)               Contribute to the Center’s public engagement and outreach activities;

(vi)             Participate in both network-wide and WFPC meetings relating to the Bezos Center project;

(vii)          Potentially write or contribute to non-academic pieces such as reports, briefs or other technical documents.

Minimum Qualifications

PhD must be completed by the end of the 2024 calendar year.

The field of study can food policy, political science, public policy, sociology, nutrition, medicine (MD or PhD), public health, agricultural and applied economics, economics, or related fields.

Permission to work legally in the U.S.

Desired Skills

Demonstrated history leading academic literature reviews. Experience conducting systematic or scoping reviews would be an asset.

Experience leading interview sessions that inform academic publications.

NVivo or other coding experience is a plus.

Experience managing master's students is also a plus. 

The ability to work independently is a must.

Strong writing, verbal, and interpersonal skills are necessary.