Research Associate

Position Information

**Position Title**
- Research Associate

**Department/Unit**
- Plant, Food and Envir Sciences

**Location**
- Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

**Posting Number**
- S118-25

**Employee Group**
- NSGEU Local 77

**Position Type**
- Term

**Duration of Contract (if applicable)**
- Approximately sixteen (16) months

**Employment Type**
- Full Time

**Full-time Equivalency (FTE)**
- 1.0 FTE

**Salary**
- $29.52 - $32.44 per hour ($49,895 - $54,830 per annum, 32.5 hours per week)

**Classification**
- RE03

**Provisional Statement**

**About Dalhousie University**
- Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada’s leading research-intensive university and a driver of the region’s intellectual, social and economic development. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an Agricultural Campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of our almost 21,000 students coming from outside of the province. Our 6,000 faculty and staff foster a vibrant, purpose-driven community, that celebrated 200 years of academic excellence in 2018.

**Job Summary**
- The Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University is a small research-intensive campus located in Truro, NS. Offering technical, undergraduate and graduate programs in agriculture, environment and related life and social science disciplines, the Faculty of Agriculture educates future leaders and generates knowledge and innovative solutions for healthy, sustainable societies. Reporting to the Principal Investigator (PI), the Research Associate will work primarily independently in lab and greenhouse environments to conduct research in plant biology, including plant biostimulant and nutritional product development and enhancement.

**Key Responsibilities**
- Enhance and develop products, taking into account plant nutritional benefits, stress mitigation, environmental impact, and cost effectiveness. Plan and conduct multi-faceted, long-range experiments. Develop and optimize experimental protocols.
- Manage large-scale, complex datasets including collection, analysis, quality control, and interpretation of experimental data. Perform sophisticated statistical design. Contribute to troubleshooting and refinement of experimental approaches.
- Maintain laboratory operations. Coordinate project timelines and resources to ensure efficient workflow. Manage lab inventory, equipment maintenance, and safety compliance. Maintain accurate research records and data archiving.
- Provide guidance to and supervise undergraduate and graduate students. Support the academic development of trainees through mentorship. Train new personnel in laboratory protocols.
- Attend and present findings at lab meetings, meetings with funding partners and academic collaborators, institutional seminars, and conferences. Collaborate with internal and external research teams. As required, represent PI in meetings with funding partners.

**Note**
- This position will require the incumbent to travel on a weekly**basis to the Halifax campus where specialized instrumentation is located.

Due to operational requirements, the successful applicant is required to work in-person on campus.

**Required Qualifications**
- Ph.D. in plant nutrition, plant physiology or plant molecular biology plus approximately two (2) years progressive, relevant theoretical and practical research experience in plant-biostimulants (or equivalent combination of training and experience).
- Experience in plant nutrition; complex experimental design and statistical analysis; developing hypotheses; managing large datasets; and product development with a demonstrated commitment to maintain knowledge of new technologies and research.
- Strong teamwork, interpersonal and communication (verbal, written and presentation) skills, including proven scientific and technical writing; a publication history in peer-reviewed journals; and experience working directly with industry partners.
- Demonstrated success working independently on multiple projects simultaneously requiring excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Previous experience supervising undergraduate and graduate students.
- Class 5 drivers license as well as reliable transportation to travel to and from field sites and between the Agricultural Campus in Truro and the Halifax campus.
- Ability to: work regularly in greenhouse environments and with potentially hazardous chemicals, fertilizers and plant-biostimulants; regularly stand for extended periods of time; occasionally work in outdoor field sites in all**weather; and occasionally bend, climb ladders, and lift up to 20 lbs.

**Assets**
- Advanced microscopy techniques.

**Job Competencies**
- Self-Awareness & Professionalism
- Integrity
- Adaptability
- Knowledge & Thinking Skills
- Communication

**Additional Information**
- Dalhousie University supports a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Our total compensation package includes a defined ben