Careers

Description:

Position Overview

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) offers a unique recruitment opportunity for Assistant Project Scientist to work on studies related to youth cardiometabolic health; school physical activity and nutrition programs (recess, PE, school meals); and nutrition and physical activity policy implementation science. Potential research projects include examining longitudinal trends in student cardiorespiratory fitness; determining changes in elementary school recess minutes and related practices pre-/post-passage of state-wide recess law in California; and determining the impact of school lunch program changes in New York City Public schools on student school meal participation.

Location Headquarters: UC ANR, NPI, UC Office of the President at 1111 Franklin Street, Eleventh floor, Oakland, CA 94607.

Major duties and responsibilities of the Assistant Project Scientist will include collecting, cleaning, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data; designing and managing studies; supporting grant writing efforts; and presenting and publishing research through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

The Assistant Project Scientist will also have the opportunity to develop grant writing and mentorship experience. This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate with expertise in quantitative methods and public health nutrition and physical activity who would like to develop expertise in areas such as natural experiments, drawing causal inference from observational data, randomized controlled trials, school health policy, qualitative methods, and implementation science. The Assistant Project Scientist will also develop and conduct applied research and evaluation that is consistent with UC ANR’s Strategic Vision and NPI’s Strategic Plan and disseminate findings and recommendations to inform programs and policy.

Skills Required to be successful Project Scientists require skills in the following:

Technical Competence & Impact

• Review the literature to inform study design and measures.
• Design and direct the development of detailed protocols and instruments for data collection including plans for testing of measurement methods.
• Train and supervise other data collectors.
• Coordinate data management.
• Determine appropriate analysis techniques for each dataset and research question.
• Conduct and supervise analyses using one or more statistical programs commonly used in public health.
• Prepare data tables to summarize quantitative findings and summaries for qualitative data.
• Identify federal and non-federal funding opportunities; develop and write proposals as part of a collaborative team; and recruit collaborators.

Communication

• Prepare and deliver oral presentations to summarize research findings for research, professional, and lay audiences.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Prepare interim and final reports and project summary materials (including fact sheets and policy briefs) for funders, community stakeholders, and policy makers.

Collaboration, Teamwork & Flexibility

• Foster collaborative teamwork with other NPI and UC academics and others to address priority research and evaluation topics.
• Interact with UC ANR Program Teams, specialists and others within the research/extension network to develop, strengthen and expand research.
• Build relationships to work with diverse populations.

Professional Development & Lifelong Learning

• Participate in professional organizations and collaborate with federal, state and county governmental agencies, non-government organizations and others by providing independent science-based information.
• Maintain a program of continuous self-improvement by participating in trainings, seminars, workshops, staff meetings, work group & program team meetings, short courses, professional society meetings and other relevant opportunities.

Skills/Eligibility:

Required qualifications:
Education: A minimum of a doctorate degree in community nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, public health, health policy or a related field is required at the time of appointment. Preferred background includes experience with state and federal nutrition assistance programs.

Additional Qualifications:
• Applicants need to meet appointment criteria for the respective University of California academic title series and evidence for success in meeting required academic advancement criteria as per UC Academic Personnel Manual
• Experience in design and execution of community/public health nutrition research projects.
• Experience in grantsmanship, including submitting NIH and other federal and foundation grants, and history of conducting research and evaluations.
• Primary authorship in peer-reviewed journals and academic conference presentations of research findings.
• Qualitative and quantitative research skills which include research design, sampling plans, and sample size calculations, data collection methodology and data analysis methods, and interpretation of findings.
• Strong statistical training with experience in longitudinal analyses. Experience and high proficiency using statistical analysis software: Stata, SAS, or R.
• Ability to produce well designed presentation materials using PowerPoint or other related software applications.
• Ability to work on multiple simultaneous projects, prioritize, and complete work efficiently in the face of competing demands. Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communications skills are required.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• This is not a remote position.
• We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. at the time of hire.
• As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer. “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience with advanced quantitative methods (i.e. causal modeling, difference-in-differences, g-computation) and/or qualitative research
• Experience with qualitative software: NVivo, Dedoose, AtlasTI

How to Apply:

If interested in this position, please visit: https://recruit.ucanr.edu/ and choose “applicants” (refer to position #25-35).

Closing Date: To assure full consideration, application packets must be received by January 2, 2026 (open until filled).

Application Requirements