Blog

Link to application through UW: https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&szOrderID=240126&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=&szReturnToSearch=1

Priority review date: 11/10/2024

The Program:

The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) is a 25 year old citizen science organization at the University of Washington.  COASST recruits and trains coastal residents in the Pacific Northwest (northern California, Oregon, Washington) and Alaska to rigorously monitor a beach of their choice for beachcast items.  At present, COASST maintains two separate data streams and associated training modules: beached birds, and marine debris.  COASST data are collected by hundreds of participants on a monthly basis, and data are entered into a database by data collectors or undergraduate interns.  After verification, COASST data are used in both science and resource management.  COASST maintains a large set of partnerships in service of maintaining geographic breadth, deep community engagement, relevance to actionable science, and the highest quality of data and information. 

The Science Coordinator:

The Science Coordinator is a key staff position in COASST, responsible for working directly with the Executive Director to direct and manage the science side of the program, including: maintain all long-term program operations within data collection, verification, curation and use; create and maintain excellent relationships with science, funding and data collection partners.

The Science Coordinator must manage up and down, serving as the central staff position for the program.  Managing up means working with the Executive Director (E.D.) on long-term sustainability, staffing, funding and prioritization of activities, helping to translate the myriad program needs into action items the E.D. should attend to.  Managing down means translating and prioritizing incoming program needs and requests to program staff, postdocs and students to make sure that everyone is working at the best and highest capacities while not being overwhelmed or overworked. 

At the same time, the Science Coordinator must “manage in and manage out.”  Managing in means maintaining and growing collegial relationships with science and scholarly partners within the University of Washington and more broadly within the Academy.  Managing out means maintaining and deepening relationships with public-facing organizations in service of translating COASST science for public engagement.  These four directions: up, down, in and out require the Science Coordinator to constantly manage multiple tasks and activities, be able to respond in the moment to short-term crises while never losing sight of longer-term goals, prioritize and reprioritize, and identify and balance apparent and actual conflicts as they arise.

Dimensions and Impact:

As the main face of science, the Science Coordinator must have the expertise and experience to present to the participant community (over 1,000 coastal residents) as an “approachable expert”.  As a public-facing, actionable science organization, COASST presents its data and its science to both the mainstream science community (university scientists, agency scientists) and to a wide range of publics, including the news media and elected decision-makers at local, tribal, state and national levels.  COASST is regularly featured in national and international news media stories.  Attention to the highest quality of data, to understanding of and respect for all audiences, and to the quality and consistency of all COASST products is paramount for program success.  Next to the E.D., the Science Coordinator is the central position in the organization responsible for maintaining this quality, consistency and audience-centric approach.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Advance and support funding acquisition, management, and reporting of all grant, contract, and service agreements; manage budgeting and payroll (40%).
• Develop and maintain positive strategic external partnerships with data users and community stakeholders, including coordinating data use requests and maintaining relevant research permits and MOUs with agencies (20%).
• Coordinate research including, but not limited to, production of research progress reports and annual reports, management of weekly staff meetings and all project-specific meetings, contribute and edit peer-reviewed publication writing (10%).
• Adaptive management of program elements including trainings, data collection and data management procedures, protocols, and infrastructure (10%).
• Serve as a participant trainer, and as presenter at professional meetings and conferences (5%).
• Supervise COASST permanent and temporary science employees and student hourly positions (10%).
• Provide leadership and assistance to the COASST Participant Coordinator and COASST Verifier (5%).

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marine science or equivalent, plus two-three years of related experience.
• Demonstrated database experience. 
• Demonstrated organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and establish clear priorities in a highly dynamic environment. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated success in communicating with a variety of audiences (e.g., public audiences, natural resource managers, scientists, funders) and specifically including Indigenous communities.

Desired Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in marine science, biology or related field. 
• Teaching experience, in both formal and informal settings. 
• Two years of experience working in a community science, citizen science, or public engagement in science program. 
• Social skills to tackle even the most difficult and awkward of situations – a resource manager who needs data yesterday, a funder who is not returning calls, a disgruntled participant – with wit, grace, and aplomb. 
• Knowledge of marine science and specifically coastal systems of the North Pacific. 

Work Conditions:

• Flexible and available to travel for data collection and participant training, including occasional nights and regular (at least monthly) weekends. 
• Able to lift up to 60 pounds; and able to load and unload a vehicle, move equipment in and out of training locations, and set up and break down trainings.
• Able to walk on beaches, and hike into remote coastal locations. 
• Posess a valid Washington state driver’s license.