Open Postdoctoral position, faculty mentor Xavier Basurto

Posted on Mon, 12/15/2025 - 16:39

Important Info

Faculty Sponsor First name: 
Xavier
Faculty Sponsor Last Name: 
Basurto
Stanford Departments and Centers: 
Environmental Social Sciences
Postdoc Appointment Term: 
One year, renewable for an additional 1.5 years based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding.
Appointment Start Date: 
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The position is available to begin immediately, with a preferred start date before April 1, 2026.
How to Submit Application Materials: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUnsWMahshQQ5P_9TZzAzfpf8JvhE0nU7uW7z6cowm7juESg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=118261539041161098803

Does this position pay above the required minimum?: 
No. The expected base pay for this position is the Stanford University required minimum for all postdoctoral scholars appointed through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. The FY25 minimum is $76,383.

Community-led Conservation and Governance 

Stanford University invites applications for an outstanding Postdoctoral Research Fellow with deep expertise in conservation governance, community-led conservation, and participatory and qualitative research methods. Disciplinary background is open within environmental governance, including but not limited to: political science, political ecology, sustainability science, human geography, cultural anthropology or a related field. Applicants with an interdisciplinary degree are welcome. 

The Research Fellow will join an international research team that will identify pathways to successful community-led conservation, with a particular focus on the role of philanthropic foundations and their grant-making practices. Using a knowledge co-production approach, the project will develop actionable results to inform grant-making, policy, and practice in community-led conservation globally. The position will involve extensive international fieldwork as well as deep collaboration and knowledge co-production with communities, conservation practitioners, and philanthropic foundations and will be under the supervision of Dr. Xavier Basurto Professor of Environmental Social Sciences. The rest of the members of the research team are Dr. Rebecca Gruby (University of Miami and overall project lead) and Dr. Michele Betsill (University of Copenhagen).

The Research Fellow will be housed in the Environmental Social Sciences department within the Doerr School of Sustainability and will lead in-depth case studies in Mexico. This is a full-time position with an initial appointment of one-year, renewable for an additional 1.5 years based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding. 

Key responsibilities

  • Lead a synthetic review of relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature on community-led conservation, polycentric governance, and environmental philanthropy.
  • Lead in-depth case studies of community-led conservation, with extensive fieldwork in  Mexico, including data collection and analysis.
  • Coordinate and contribute to data analysis across case studies in multiple geographies
  • Lead knowledge co-production process, including workshops and communication with communities, conservation practitioners, academics, and funders.
  • Mentor graduate students involved in the project.
  • Co-author high-impact peer-reviewed publications.
  • Develop creative non-academic outputs to ensure findings are accessible and actionable for diverse communities.
Required Qualifications: 
  • Ph.D. (in hand by the starting date) in environmental governance, with expertise in Indigenous-led conservation or community-led conservation.
  • Disciplinary background is open, including but not limited to political science, political ecology, sustainability science, human geography, cultural anthropology or related field with a strong qualitative focus. Applicants with an interdisciplinary degree are welcome.
  • Demonstrated proficiency with participatory and qualitative methods, including mixed methods as well as complementary quantitative approaches.
  • Demonstrated experience with knowledge co-production and community-engaged fieldwork.
  • Ability to collaborate with scholars who work with large and complex datasets.
  • A strong publication record of empirical research commensurate with career stage
  • Outstanding communication skills and a proven ability to collaborate effectively with researchers, communities, and practitioners across diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
  • Preference will be given to candidates proficient in Spanish.
Required Application Materials: 

To apply, interested candidates must submit a CV, cover letter, a list of three references, and a recent publication or dissertation chapter.

 

Stanford is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.