Research Data Curation Postdoctoral Fellowship

http://www.clir.org/fellowships/datacuration
Open until filled.

UCLA is offering a Research Data Curation postdoctoral fellow position that 
will be a part of the new UCLA Library eScience team led by the Associate 
University Librarian for Sciences and Associate University Librarian for 
Digital Initiatives (eScience is defined as computational and data intensive 
scientific research). The UCLA Library seeks applications from postdoctoral 
candidates in the life and physical sciences for a two-year position working 
with faculty, graduate students, researchers, and Library staff in the 
collaborative process of implementing the Library's eScience strategy. As the 
Library works to position itself to support the emerging data needs of 
researchers, the fellow will play a key role in developing the Library's data 
services by serving as a representative of and a liaison to the scientific 
community. The ideal candidate will have expertise in conducting data-driven 
science and a desire to further scientific knowledge by helping scientists to 
re-envision the ways they conduct research. This fellowship provides an 
exciting opportunity to contribute to new programs at one of the nation's 
highest-ranked research universities, as well as to gain skills and knowledge 
related to the developing areas of eScience and data-driven research.



Responsibilities:

  *   The UCLA Library is working aggressively with the campus to define, 
identify, and flesh out the roles for the library in these areas and how to 
transform these services going forward. As part of the team, the Fellow will be 
expected to take leadership but also be part of a team that more fully 
describes and defines this role.
  *   Develop a deeper understanding of the flow of data in scientific research 
and how they interface with UCLA Library eScience services, and inform and 
influence the development of eScience services
  *   Collaborate with staff and campus partners to articulate and execute the 
library's eScience strategy and coordinating participation in eScience 
initiatives across a wide range of campus departments and groups
  *   Design sustainable services for data management, curation, and 
preservation that will be scalable and applicable across a wide variety of 
scientific disciplines
  *   Engage faculty and researchers to gather information to advance the UCLA 
Library's eScience strategy, create new partnerships, and promote the use of 
the Library's eScience and data services
  *   Educate UCLA data users by providing training in data curation and 
management, guidance in the creation of digital resources from data sets, and 
advice on data sharing, both in group and one-on-one settings
  *   Create and deliver training for UCLA Library staff related to the 
management and curation of research data



Requirements:

  *   Ph.D. in physical or life sciences, information science, or closely 
related fields. Applicants must have received a Ph.D. in a discipline no more 
than five years before applying; if a Ph.D. has not yet been received, all work 
toward the degree (including the dissertation defense and final dissertation 
editing) must be completed before starting the fellowship.
  *   Knowledge of and experience with resources such as genomic and proteomic 
databases, 3-D macromolecular structure data, data mining and analysis tools, 
and relevant biomedical literature databases.
  *   Excellent skills in project management, teaching and outreach, 
communication and collaborating with faculty members; and experience 
coordinating and promoting programs and/or services.
  *   Demonstrated deep understanding of the research process and lifecycle.
  *   Familiarity with user assessment techniques and demonstrated experience 
working with academic communities and technology staff to build and express use 
cases and functional requirements.
  *   Demonstrated willingness to embrace and advocate for new and emerging 
technologies.
  *   Entrepreneurial attitude to developing services for researchers; 
self-motivated, with the ability to set and attain goals effectively and the 
flexibility to adapt to change.
  *   Demonstrated ability to engage with people in new settings as well as 
excellent interpersonal and communication skills.



Preferences:



The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated team player with a Ph.D. in 
physical or life sciences or related discipline and a demonstrated 
understanding of the scientific research process, particularly as related to 
data-driven science and research. The ability to effectively communicate with 
faculty and researchers across a variety of scientific disciplines is 
essential, and some teaching or training experience is preferred. Knowledge of 
one or more scientific metadata standards and experience with scientific data 
repositories are also beneficial. The candidate should demonstrate an ability 
to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, changing environment and approach 
his or her work with flexibility, creativity, and innovation.



About the UCLA Library:



The UCLA Library is well positioned in broad campus initiatives in data 
curation and planning, is building its own extensive platform for storage and 
curation, and is partnering with larger UCLA initiatives to support campus 
goals and initiatives.  The University Librarian, the AUL for Digital 
Initiatives, and the AUL for the Sciences all have significant roles in these 
activities and will mentor the fellow in his or her work building new skill 
sets into their portfolio over the two-year project.


Judy Consales
Associate University Librarian for Sciences
Director, UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library
National Network of Libraries of Medicine - Pacific Southwest Region

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