Job Details

Postdoctoral Scholar: Mindfulness for College Students and Undergraduate Mentor

Position Number: 6377995
Location: Boulder, CO
Position Type: Laboratory and Research

Postdoctoral Scholar: Mindfulness for College Students and Undergraduate Mentor

Requisition Number: 65936
Location: Boulder Colorado
Employment Type: Research Faculty
Schedule: Full Time
Posting Close Date: 20-Jul-2025
Date Posted:

Job Summary

This postdoctoral position is designed to support the training and development of a postdoctoral scholar interested in mindfulness for college students as well as the instruction and mentoring of undergraduate students in research methods.

This role will be a part of a team designing and researching the adaptation of the Mindful Mood Balance program to be specifically tailored to college students. See MMB research description below.

As a part of this work, this postdoctoral position will create a context within the MMB project to mentor undergraduate students. This position will be responsible for the mentoring and instruction of research methods as a part of the Crown Institute Undergraduate Research Fellows program, which is a 3-year fellowship program that supports undergraduate students in gaining the personal, professional, and academic skills to conduct research in mental health and wellness. See https://www.colorado.edu/crowninstitute/undergraduate-research-fellows to learn more.

Mindful Mood Balance for College Students Research Study

Mindful Mood Balance (MMB), an online adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), aims to alleviate residual depression symptoms and prevent depressive relapse. MMB is designed to teach individuals how to become aware of and work skillfully with their thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. This program is based on a robust evidence base that includes both clinical and neuroscientific studies.

The MMB program includes guided mindfulness practices, cognitive behavioral skills, and opportunities to learn from an asynchronous virtual group and expert facilitators. Each session incorporates experiential practice, video-based learning, and interactive activities. Coaches provide motivational and technical support, including an initial orientation to MMB.

The proposed study will work with college students to adapt the MMB program, including video-based learning and interactive activities to meet the specific needs of college students. Methods of adaptation will follow the Crown Institute design cycle, starting with (1) building a trusted team of researchers, digital design experts, and college students, (2) identifying and understanding the context of depression for college students and digital mental health learning platforms, (3) co-design adaptations of the MMB program, (4) evaluating the impact of the adapted program, and (5) scaling and sustaining the program for college students.
CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

The University of Colorado Boulder's Rene Crown Wellness Institute is a research institute committed to promoting the mental health and wellness of children, youth and the families and educators who support them.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Research

Contribute to the collaborative design and implementation of all aspects of a research program, including guiding the collaborative design of program materials (e.g., training curricula and implementation and dissemination materials), development of an IRB protocol, managing research implementation, setting team and project goals and ensuring they are met, overseeing data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation, and communicating results to academic and lay audiences.
Prepare and publish manuscripts and present findings at research conferences
Provide a context for undergraduates to apprentice into research experiences
Leading, mentoring, and supervising the Undergraduate Research Fellows' collaborative project, including providing guidance on and overseeing research design, literature review, IRB submission, data collection and analysis, and the preparation of results for conference presentations. Also includes liaising with community partners or collaborators affiliated with the project.
Provide mentoring for students on research methods, including quantitative and qualitative methods
Provide mentoring for students on writing and presenting research
Develop, implement, and analyze data from program evaluations to inform cycles of iteration and improvement and to ensure program alignment with program objectives and deliverables
Present quarterly reports to Crown Institute leadership summarizing program impacts

Teaching/Facilitation/Mentoring

Lead the design, instruction, and evaluation of the three 1-2 credit fellows' research seminars, including the development of learning activities, instructional materials, and measures of assessment
Provide professional development mentoring for students, including identifying and applying to attend conferences, learning about graduate school and application processes

Program/Project Lead

Oversee application process for fellows, including the recruitment of students, development and maintenance of an application system, and review of applications in collaboration with team members
Liaise with faculty to establish working agreements, set up mentoring opportunities and schedules, and monitoring quality of students' experiences in their lab settings
Oversees the establishment of independent study credits, including being the instructor of record or connecting students to faculty of record
Serve as point of contact for department and campus with the program.
Completes and maintains current updates with all necessary trainings to comply with University policy
Organizes and facilitates community building events for Fellows

Supervision received and exercised: This position will be supervised by the Director of Outreach and Education and collaborate with the Institute Director on the focal research project. This position will also collaborate closely with a Graduate Research Assistant to provide mentorship to Undergraduate Research Fellows.

What You Should Know

This is a 2-year postdoctoral position.

Tentative Timeline:

First round interviews: July 23-24
Video performance task due date: August 3.
Final Interviews: Week of August 11
Anticipated start date: 8/25/25 - 9/1/25

What We Can Offer

$62,992.80 - $74,410.25.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be groundbreaking. Be Boulder.

What We Require

PhD in psychology
Strong quantitative skills including experience with R and R studio
Experience teaching and/or mentoring undergraduate students

What You Will Need

Excellence in integrity, responsibility and ethics with regard to the conduct of mentoring and professional relationships, including but not limited to attention to detail with regard to compliance with ethical, professional, and fiscal standards and guidelines; excellent judgment and analytical skills to identify problems when they do arise and to develop solutions effectively and efficiently; flexibility to meet challenges as they arise; excellent time management skills, with capacity to prioritize tasks and set deadlines to ensure overall integrity, responsibility and ethical practice in all tasks
Commitment to inclusive excellence including demonstrated knowledge and skills in being oriented to equity, diversity, and inclusion as evidenced by the use of on-going reflective practices and other core skills that promote equitable, diverse partnerships
Excellent capacity for innovation, including ability to think expansively and apply to action, to initiate new ideas and programs, to work autonomously
Excellent collaboration skills, including skills in working with diverse stakeholders (e.g. university students, faculty, funders) and bringing specific skills to mentoring, research methods, clinical psychological science and educational research and practice; skills in working well as a member of interdisciplinary teams and functioning independently when needed
Excellent communication skills, including verbal and written communication skills across sectors and disciplines, ability to navigate complex dynamics and motivate groups of people

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

Resume/CV.
Cover Letter.

If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources department using an approved online vendor. If your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit a translated version as an optional attachment.

Please apply by 7/20/25 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

To apply, visit https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Postdoctoral-Scholar-Mindfulness-for-College-Students-and-Undergraduate-Mentor/65936