Post-Doctoral Fellow in Statistics

Position title: Post-Doctoral Fellow in Statistics
Primary work unit: School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science
Responsible to: Head of School, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Responsible for: No direct reports
Position status: 2 years fixed term
Hours of work: 37.5 Hours of work per week
Salary: $73,006 – $77,909 per annual
Our visión: Victoria University of Wellington will be a world-leading capital city university and one of the great global-civic universities.
Our mission and purpose: Victoria University of Wellington’s mission is to undertake excellent research, teaching and public engagement in the service of local, national, regional and global communities.
Our values: Victoria University of Wellington’s core ethical values are respect, responsibility, fairness, integrity and empathy. These values are manifested in our commitment to civic engagement, sustainability, inclusivity, equity, diversity and openness. We prize intellectual rigour and independence, academic freedom, critical enquiry and excellence.

Victoria – our university Victoria University of Wellington is New Zealand’s globally-minded capital city university, focused on engaging with Wellington, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region and connecting with the world. Victoria values the expertise of its professional staff in supporting and enabling teaching, research and engagement activities.
Victoria is a progressive university with ambitious strategic goals and a commitment to having a professional workforce that reflects the diversity of its community. Professional staff engage with academic staff, students, parents, Government, iwi, community groups and many other external stakeholders. All professional staff are expected to uphold the reputation of Victoria through the way they undertake their work.
Victoria is committed to the Treaty of Waitangi. “Mai i te iho ki te pae” is the Māori Strategic Outcomes Framework which is linked to Victoria’s Strategic Plan.
Mā te rautaki tātou e koke whakamuav
(via the strategy we strive to move forward together)

For further information about Victoria go to www.victoria.ac.nz and Welcome to Victoria.
Role Description: 12 July 2017

Position purpose
 Conduct research to a high standard and outputs delivered to meet ‘Marsden’ obligations as this position is funded jointly by Associate Professors Ivy Liu and Richard Arnold.
 Undertake teaching and supervision in statistics at undergraduate and/or postgraduate levels.
 Contribute to the school’s engagement with stakeholders in respect of statistics.

Position location
The Post-Doctoral Fellow in Statistics is located with the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Science Faculty which develops and delivers research in specialists’ areas such as mathematics and statistics. We also offer all levels of mathematics and statistics teaching and learning

Strategic context
The School of Mathematics and Statistics contributes to the Faculty of Science strategy through the provision of leadership, research, teaching, student experience and service. The Post-Doctoral Fellow in statistics will conduct research to an international standard and undertake teaching and supervisión in statistics.

Key responsibilities
Contribution to Research Activities
 Collaborate with Associate Professors Ivy Liu and Richard Arnold in
o Bayesian statistics
o Biometrics, Classification analysis
o Categorical data analysis
o Finite mixture models
o Model assessment.
 Deliver seminars and written papers on the outcomes of this research.
 Collaborate with other groups on similar research.
 Build an excellent personal research profile, with publications in internationally refereed journals and conference proceedings.

Outcome
Deliver a high standard of work in the areas of Bayesian statistics, biometrics, classification analysis, categorical data analysis, finite mixture models, and model assessment.

Contribution to teaching and learning in statistics
 Undertake limited teaching of undergraduate and/or postgraduate statistics courses as agreed with the Programme Director, ensuring that teaching is informed by research, and is relevant and attractive to students. This includes relevant course administration and assessment.
 Encourage and contribute to collegiality within the School and wider University.

Key relationships
The following positions report directly to the Head of School.

The Post-Doctoral Fellow in statistics will develop and maintain excellent working relationships with:
 Researchers in Statistics.
 SMS staff and students including Chairs of relevant school committees, Forums, Project teams etc
 Faculties and Schools within the university
 Student Academic Services and other Central Service internal areas as appropriate.
 Other research organisations and universities as appropriate
 Members of the local statistics research community

Competencies
Client focus: Understands and believes in the importance of client service; listens to and understands the needs of internal and external clients; displays professional, courteous and empathetic approach; considers equity and diversity issues in interactions; meets and exceeds client needs to ensure satisfaction
Self-management: Effectively plans and organises work to achieve desired outcomes; proactive, remains focused, takes action to overcome obstacles and follows through to completion Integrity: Is fair, open, honest and consistent in behaviour and can be relied upon; is receptive to Māori, Pasifika and multicultural issues; generates confidence in others through professional and ethical behaviour
Innovation: Questions the way things are done; encourages the discussion, free debate and generation of creative ideas and solutions; learns from past mistakes; generates new and creative ideas to improve the status quo
Communication: Clearly and concisely communicates with a wide range of people in all situations, both orally and in writing; effectively listens; understands cultural differences in regard to communication
Analysis and judgement: Identifies and analyses issues and problems, considers alternatives, makes sound decisions and commits to a course of action
Teamwork: Works co-operatively, respects and is open with others in a team-setting in order to achieve results and team goals
Relationship building: Builds and maintains positive and productive working relationships and networks; consults widely; is sensitive towards different peoples and cultures

Selection criteria – essential

 A PhD in Statistics
 Research skills and knowledge in cluster analysis, generalised linear models, and computationally
intensive methods such as the EM algorithm, and Bayesian methods
 Seminar presentations