Postdoctoral Scholar and Project Manager

This position has an initial appointment of8 months.

Location - This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person work at North Campus Edmonton.

The AIDAN Lab invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow to serve as Project Manager for Phase 1 of the Autistic Research on Writing Network (ARWN). Working under the supervision of Dr. Heather Brown the successful candidate will provide scientific operational and team leadership for a large interdisciplinary multisite study of Autistic adolescents writing.

ARWN Phase 1 is the first large-scale mixed-methods study designed to comprehensively examine written language development among Autistic youth aged 14 to 17. Writing is central to school participation communication self-expression and identity development. However research on Autistic writing has often relied on narrow deficit-based comparisons that do not capture the complexity of Autistic adolescents writing abilities experiences and addresses this gap by examining:

• What Autistic adolescents produce in writing and how they write;
• How they understand themselves and their experiences as writers;
• How writing relates to language reading executive functioning motivation self-concept sensory experiences Autistic traits and contextual factors; and
• How Autistic writing can be understood in more accurate holistic and neurodiversity-affirming ways.
  

The project will recruit 150 Autistic adolescents from across Canada and the United States. Across five online sessions participants will complete a protocol involving standardized assessments questionnaires and interviews (including discussion about their own authentic writing samples). The dataset integrates psychoeducational assessments parent- and self-report measures typed and handwritten writing activities and first-hand accounts of participants writing identities strategies communities experiences and definitions of good writing.

ARWN is also a participatory and capacity-building initiative. Autistic community partners contribute as co-researchers Autistic perspectives inform study materials and procedures and the project provides meaningful training opportunities for junior researchers including Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent team members.

About the AIDAN Lab and ARWN

The AIDAN Lab cultivates a diverse safe accessible and welcoming research environment. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team of faculty members students research staff and community partners committed to amplifying the perspectives of multiply marginalized Autistic people and translating research into meaningful educational and systems change.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will work with a high degree of independence while receiving mentorship from the ARWN Phase 1 research team which brings together complementary expertise in autism writing and literacy development communication assessment mental health and neurodiversity-affirming education.

Dr. Heather Brown (University of Alberta Faculty of Education) serves as Principal Investigator providing overall project leadership coordinating the multidisciplinary team mentoring trainees and ensuring that the research is grounded in Autistic lived experience and participatory inclusive practices.

Dr. Matthew Zajic (Teachers College Columbia University) serves as Co-Principal Investigator and contributes expertise in writing development literacy psychoeducational assessment quantitative and longitudinal methods and writing instruction for Autistic students and students with learning and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Kristie Asaro-Saddler (University at Albany) serves as a Co-Investigator and brings expertise in evidence-based writing instruction self-regulation special education and the experiences of Autistic students families and educators. She supports interpreting students writing experiences and translating findings into practical educational resources.

Dr. Pamela Filiatrault-Veilleux (University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine) serves as a Co-Investigator and contributes expertise in speech-language pathology language comprehension personal narratives multilingualism and responsive assessment. She also strengthens the teams capacity to include Francophone and multilingual Autistic adolescents.

Dr. Vivian Lee (Carleton University) serves as a Co-Investigator and contributes expertise in emotional development mental health family well-being psychosocial interventions implementation science and program evaluation.

• Lead the day-to-day implementation of ARWN Phase 1 and ensure that project milestones deliverables and timelines are met.
• Coordinate participant recruitment screening scheduling retention and communication across Canada and the United States.
• Oversee the consistent delivery of the five-session study protocol including standardized assessments questionnaires interviews and writing activities.
• Develop and maintain project-management systems protocol manuals recruitment records training materials meeting documentation and progress reports.
• Coordinate communication and workflow across investigators partner institutions community co-researchers research assistants participants and families.
• Organize and facilitate research-team working-group and community-partner meetings.
• Monitor protocol fidelity identify operational challenges and work with the team to develop accessible feasible solutions.
• Ensure that project activities reflect neurodiversity-affirming participatory and accessible research practices.
• Coordinate research ethics submissions renewals amendments and reporting across participating institutions.
• Support research assistants in administering study protocols conducting interviews managing data and applying neurodiversity-affirming research practices.
• Oversee consent and assent procedures confidentiality protections secure data management and research documentation.
• Support existing and implement potentially new procedures for data entry coding cleaning quality assurance and analysis preparation.
• Ensure that quantitative qualitative interview assessment and writing data are accurately documented.
• Promote responsible transparent and community-informed approaches to data interpretation and dissemination.
• Demonstrate expertise in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods.
• Support junior researchers in the lab as they work on their research projects.
• Collaborate with Autistic co-researchers to ensure that interpretations remain grounded in participants perspectives and avoid deficit-based assumptions.
• Lead or support the development of conference abstracts presentations and written manuscripts (the postdoc will be given opportunities to publish as first author)
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture in which neurodivergent students and staff can communicate needs contribute meaningfully and work in ways that support their strengths.

Required Qualifications

• A PhD in Education Psychology Communication Sciences or a related discipline normally completed within the past five years. Eligibility periods may be extended to recognize career interruptions.
• Advanced expertise in qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis such as:
  • Qualitative approaches including reflexive thematic analysis grounded theory narrative analysis or related methods; and/or
  • Quantitative approaches including variable- and person-centred approaches that may include structural equation modelling or related methods.
• Experience using relevant research/project management software such as Slack Zoom Qualtrics Google Workspace Apps (e.g. Docs/Sheets) OneDrive and other Microsoft programs R Mplus SPSS Dedoose NVivo and/or equivalent platforms.
• A strong record of scholarly productivity demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications conference presentations reports or other research outputs pertaining to autism.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience managing research projects preferably involving multiple investigators institutions methods or stages of data collection.
• Experience administering coordinating and interpreting standardized assessments.
• Experience with participatory community-engaged or co-design research including working with community members as collaborators or co-researchers.
• Experience conducting research with Autistic youth disabled youth or other multiply marginalized communities.
• Familiarity with writing development literacy psychoeducational assessment educational psychology or language and communication research.
• Experience supervising or mentoring undergraduate and graduate students particularly neurodivergent students.

Job Competencies

• Excellent written oral organizational and interpersonal communication skills.
• The ability to work independently exercise sound judgment manage competing deadlines and lead collaboratively within a large interdisciplinary team.
• A demonstrated commitment to respectful accessible neurodiversity-affirming research and comfort working alongside Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent staff students community partners and participants.

How to Apply

The AIDAN Lab is committed to ensuring access fostering community connections and increasing belonging. We value the cognitive diversity of our community and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Neurodivergent candidates are especially welcome to apply.

Please submit a curriculum vitae (CV/Resume) and cover letter and the names/contact information of three references (all references should be from prior supervisors) outlining your interest in the position and your relevant research project-management methodological leadership and scholarly experience.

The letter may describe your alignment with ARWNs participatory and neurodiversity-affirming approach; identify your expertise in qualitative analysis advanced quantitative analysis or both; and provide examples of your experience coordinating complex research working with standardized assessments or mixed-methods protocols mentoring research staff or students and producing scholarly or community-facing outputs.

Please also indicate your anticipated availability preferred start date current location and ability to work from Edmonton if applicable.

We are committed to an accessible and inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Accommodations are available at any stage of the application and interview process and throughout employment. Applicants are invited to identify any accommodations or alternative formats that would support their full participation. Requests will be treated confidentially and will not affect consideration of an application. Candidates must meet the required qualifications to be considered. For questions on the position please contact

This position is not eligible for benefits.

The terms and conditions of this appointment are governed by the Collective Agreementbetween the Board of Governors of the University of Alberta and the Postdoctoral Fellows Association of the University of Alberta.