Research Fellow in Statistical Analysis and Modelling

The WorldPop program (www.worldpop.org), based at the University of Southampton, is seeking to recruit a Research Fellow to assist with modelling human migration at the subnational level, within and between middle- and low-income countries around the world. We require a committed Statistical Analyst/Modeller to work on estimating subnational migration flows disaggregated by gender, based on census (micro) data and UN stock data, along with geospatial covariate datasets. The work will be foundational to a collaborative research project with the Flowminder Foundation (www.flowminder.org) and the Asian Demographic Research Institute (Shanghai University). The project, funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is expected to contribute to improving global governance on migration by (i) strengthening the evidence base on international migration and (ii) promoting gender-sensitive migration policies and for the protection of female migrants.

In addition to joining the vibrant and well-connected WorldPop and Flowminder Foundation teams, the right candidate will have opportunities to lead high-impact publications, participate in relevant national and international conferences, and attend training courses.

The project work to be undertaken by the candidate will involve: 

• Collecting, harmonizing, and processing census-based migration data for low and middle income countries and matching them to the corresponding subnational administrative units.
• Developing and testing parametric and non-parametric statistical approaches, including uncertainty quantification, to model and predict gender-disaggregated subnational migration flows both within and between low- and middle-income countries (through the integration of novel geospatial datasets representing geographical, environmental, and socio-economic factors).
• Contributing to the preparation of reports for the FDFA, explaining the results of the project, presenting its outputs, and describing the methodology used to produce them.
• Participating in scientific and policy-oriented national and international conferences to present the results of the project
• Contributing to the development and delivery of workshops aimed at training project stakeholders on best ways to leverage the project results.
• Contributing to the preparation of scientific articles for publication in top-academic peer-reviewed journal.

Given these tasks, a strong knowledge of computer programming and parametric/non-parametric statistical methods and their application to demographic data is essential, preferably with experience in modelling human migration and/or Bayesian methods. Good GIS knowledge and skills would be a significant advantage. Applicants should have a PhD* or equivalent professional qualifications and experience in statistics/mathematics or related fields, such as demography and geography with a significant quantitative component. A willingness to travel internationally and to contribute to preparing publication materials, as well as running workshops is also necessary.  

The candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Alessandro Sorichetta and Professor. Andrew Tatem at the University of Southampton. The position is for a period of 12 months, with a strong likelihood of extensions, and will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Alessandro Sorichetta (A.Sorichetta@soton.ac.uk) or Professor Andrew Tatem (A.J.Tatem@soton.ac.uk)

Application Procedure

You should submit your completed online application form at www.jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call Samantha Stubbs (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 4046. Please quote reference 1058818WR on all correspondence.

*Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification.  The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD. Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Please note that applications from agencies will not be accepted unless indicated in the job advert.