Ethnographic Fellow: Fire Politics & Climate Adaptation

Times Higher Education; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 87,000 - 118,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

17% superannuation

Salary packaging

Health and wellbeing programs

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

The University of Melbourne seeks a Research Fellow to lead ethnographic research on fire politics and climate adaptation in Southeast Asia. You will work closely with Indigenous and rural communities in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, applying political ecology frameworks and advanced ethnographic methods.

You will mentor students, publish in top journals, and contribute to interdisciplinary, cross-cultural research.

Qualifications

• Hold, or be near completing, a PhD in human geography, anthropology, development studies or related fields.
• Apply advanced ethnographic methods and political ecology frameworks to analyse agrarian change and fire-related practices.
• Demonstrate deep respect for Indigenous knowledge systems and experience working collaboratively with rural communities.
• Communicate effectively in English and local languages, or show commitment to learning Filipino, Tetum and Indigenous languages.
• Manage complex fieldwork logistics, competing priorities and deadlines while delivering agreed research outputs with minimal supervision.
• Publish in relevant international journals and contribute constructively to interdisciplinary, cross-cultural research teams and partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Lead ethnographic research on fire politics and climate adaptation in Southeast Asia.
• Publish scholarly outputs, reports and presentations.
• Contribute to research proposals, seminars and conferences, enhancing the School's profile.
• Support supervision and mentoring of students and junior researchers.
• Engage with Indigenous communities, NGOs and stakeholders to build equitable, long-term partnerships.

Skills

Ethnographic research

Fieldwork

Indigenous collaboration

Academic writing

Education

PhD in relevant field

Job description

The University of Melbourne seeks a Research Fellow to lead ethnographic research on fire politics and climate adaptation in Southeast Asia. You will work closely with Indigenous and rural communities in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, applying political ecology frameworks and advanced ethnographic methods.

You will mentor students, publish in top journals, and contribute to interdisciplinary, cross-cultural research.