Research Fellow

**About UQ**

As part of the UQ community, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world, and within an environment where interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.

As part of our commitment to research excellence, we are proud to provide our staff with access to world-class facilities and equipment, grant writing support, greater research funding opportunities, and post-fellowship contracts via our UQ Amplify initiative.

At the core of our teaching remains our students, and their experience with us sets a foundation for success far beyond graduation. Not only do we have one of the largest PhD enrolments in Australia, but we have also made a commitment to making education opportunities available for all Queenslanders, regardless of personal, financial, or geographical barriers.

**About This Opportunity**

This is an exciting opportunity for a Research Fellow to achieve national and international recognition in interdisciplinary and impactful research and to develop and leverage on collaborations between the School of Economics, the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the QUEX Institute between The University of Queensland and the University of Exeter.

The need for new clean energy systems is urgent and becoming increasingly crucial to support the world's growing power needs. However, this presents many complex challenges for our global environment. One challenges is the supply of ‘energy transition’ minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and the rare earth elements, which are critical for creating new energy technologies. These minerals are fundamentally linked in a global supply chain that underpins the pathway towards net-zero emissions. Without a reliable supply chain towards decarbonization, we will fail to meet our commitments to net-zero emissions. The intractable challenge for our global environmental future is that delivering against net-zero policy commitments requires expanded mineral production, which could intensify emissions, environmental, and social pressures in mining regions. Addressing this complex system of interactions and consequences requires rethinking the economics of supply, the principles of production, and the consequences for mining regions.

As part of a successful strategic QUEX project, the postdoctoral fellow will work to answer fundamental economic research questions to underpin these growing initiatives and rethink options to address this supply issue. The project will seek to identify the nature of the emerging supply gap and what innovation can be used to responsibly address it. By undertaking this research, the project aims to optimize the supply for energy transition minerals and reduce the negative impacts of mining on the environment, society, and the economy.

The primary purpose of the position is to undertake research and contribute to and lead (where applicable) stakeholder engagement; contribute to developing new partnerships that can help better define policy problems; broker new ideas and solutions that support more effective research-policy translation; and support the long-term financial sustainability of the School of Economics - SMI - QUEX Institute collaboration.

This is a research focused position. Further information can be found by viewing UQ’s Criteria for Academic Performance.

This is a full-time (100%), fixed-term position for up to 2 years at Academic level B. The full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range AUD$104,579.67 - AUD $124,187.99, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to AUD$122,358.21- AUD$145,299.95 annually.

The greater benefits of joining the UQ community are broad: from being part of a Group of Eight university, to recognition of prior service with other Australian universities, up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading, flexible working arrangements including hybrid on site/WFH options and flexible start/finish times, and genuine career progression opportunities via the academic promotions process.

**About You**
- PhD in economics, or a related quantitative discipline showing an active research interest in applied economics, with a preference for the fields of environmental economics, energy economics, mineral economics, resource economics, industrial organization.
- A track record of achievements in the areas of work and employment-related research, such as academic publications and consultancy/ applied research.
- Research leadership and high-level project management skills as demonstrated through successful project initiation, completion and publication.
- Ability to establish and foster effective relationships/collaborative links and representing and promoting research to multiple parties such as government and not-for-profit agencies and other research and/or industry groups, nationally and internationally.
- Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, and exce