Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Project Specialist

Department: Office Research Innovation and Economic Impact

Classification: Research Staff 12-month

Job Category: Research Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Restricted: Yes

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) puts Mason research and scholarship into action for a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world. It serves as a networking organization designed to connect diverse faculty, staff, and students across all of Mason’s academic units with each other and with local, national, and global partners to build vibrant communities of research and practice and enable transdisciplinary research of consequence. The ISE community includes over 500 faculty and student researchers who conduct research in the natural sciences, social sciences, computational and data sciences, engineering, and humanities across all areas of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ISE fosters partnerships focused on end-use research impact. Our growing network includes dozens of community-based organizations; local, tribal, state, and regional governments; professional associations; research collectives; and international environmental organizations.

Mason’s Virginia Climate Center (VCC) provides products and services to Virginia municipalities and firms to support adoption of climate risk prevention and mitigation strategies for wise resource management and sustainable entrepreneurship. Local decision makers gain access to an unprecedented range of observational data, environmental models, and experts in climate science, sustainability, and engineering solutions. VCC’s data-driven decision support helps save tax dollars and improve the livelihoods of Virginians, increasing resilience to severe weather, air pollution, drought, and floods, with an emphasis on the underprivileged communities that are most susceptible to adverse effects of climate change. The VCC initially focused its work in Northern Virginia and ultimately intends to scale this effort to serve communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VCC was originally supported by a federal (NOAA) Community Project Initiative sponsored by Representative Gerry Connolly.

The ISE and VCC – in collaboration with the Center for Climate Strategies and the University of Kentucky – recently received a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program to create university-wide programming that enables the rapid, low-cost translation of the science that local governments, community-based organizations, and local businesses need to support the development of sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient communities. Drawing inspiration from the cooperative extension service, this project will establish a transformative new model for research translation; one that leverages the unique resources of higher education, in collaboration with community stakeholders, to support increasing resilience to climate change.

This award will accelerate the translation of research into practice to create climate-ready communities throughout Virginia (objective 1); establish and foster a culture of translating research through community engagement, technical assistance, and the co-production of research-informed products (objective 2); and create a climate-ready workforce of scholars, practitioners, and leaders with the skills and expertise needed to put research on climate change into practice (objective 3). These programs will be organized into three distinct but interrelated and integrated categories of activity: (a) facilitated and coordinated outreach and ongoing engagement with municipal and other community-based stakeholders; (b) community-focused research translation that is propelled by a modified lean launchpad program that supports the development of seed translational research projects (STRP); and (c) integrated training programs to create a climate-ready workforce.

About the Position:

Working with the Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Project Manager, the ART Project Specialist collaboratively develops, implements, and manages a suite of ART programs which will include research translation and workforce development programs.

Responsibilities:

• Organizes and implements workshops, charettes, and other planning meetings with program stakeholders to optimize program design and maximize value;
• Assembles information about Mason’s existing academic and research translation programs, situates the ART programs within the ecosystem to greatest benefit, and supports strategic integration across programs as appropriate;
• Tracks and manages academic approval processes for the climate action minor and climate solutions badge (and certificate);
• Develops strategic program schedules and ensures timely implementation of program activities;
• Works with the community engagement specialist and project leadership to ensure seamless integration of external partners into the ART programs;
• Collaboratively develops recruitment strategies with project leadership and the communications manager to scale and ensure full participation in the ART programs;
• Develops program assessment metrics, collects program data for the project evaluators, assesses program risks, and supports improvement efforts as needed; and
• Performs other program-related tasks as needed.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a related field;
• Relevant experience in program development and/or management (typically 2+ years);
• Broad knowledge of climate and sustainability science and its role in policy and practice;
• Excellent project management skills with experience managing multiple, simultaneous work streams;
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication; and
• Highly effective collaborator and team member.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working to put research into action in commercial ecosystems and/or through public policy engagement;
• Experience managing cooperative extension programs;
• Experience developing and implementing academic programs;
• Experience with program evaluation;
• Experience in a large, dispersed university environment; 
• Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills;
• Demonstrates adaptability and resilience to change and complexity;
• Ability to effectively coordinate and communicate with faculty, staff, administrators, sponsors, and stakeholders across multiple disciplines;
• Exceptional emotional intelligence and initiative, with a demonstrated capacity for creative, human-centered problem solving;
• An understanding of policy and/or research translation processes;
• Ability to engage community-based and other non-academic stakeholders; and
• A strategic and creative innovator.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Project Specialist at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a cover letter and resume.

Posting Open Date:  April 10, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  April 24, 2024

Open Until Filled?:  Yes