The Sevilleta (SEV) Long-Term Ecological Research Program is seeking a Program Manager to bridge scientific research and management in a large, long-term research program focused on dryland ecosystems in central New Mexico. The program spans research in ecology, evolution, ecohydrology, climate science, plant and animal physiology, biogeochemistry, microbiology, and geography. The SEV LTER has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation since 1988.
The Program Manager will be responsible for coordinating research site activities among LTER researchers and collaborators in national and international research networks. The Program Manager will conduct day-to-day oversight of field projects and facilitate new research, education, and outreach projects at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, serving as the principal liaison with researchers during the permitting process with the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Key tasks include facilitating new research projects and collaborations, including cross-college activities at the University of New Mexico, supervising the LTER Field Crew, maintaining and distributing GIS and remote sensing data, documenting site activities, assisting the Information Manager in managing long-term data, assisting with technical field work and other program management tasks as needed, and meeting with Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge staff to manage permits. The Program Manager will contribute to building strengths in scientific research, data analysis and visualization, as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations and research syntheses across sites within the US LTER network. Toward these ends, the position requires regular interactions with SEV LTER investigators, interdisciplinary collaborators, students, and staff as well as coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge and with researchers and information managers in the national LTER network. A successful candidate with have management experiences and strong soft skills.
Starting salary is likely to be $58,656 (grade 13, exempt) 1.0 FTE. We will not consider remote work for this position.
Please contact Jennifer Rudgers (jrudgers@unm.edu) using the subject line: SEV LTER PM for more information.
Responsibilities:
- Coordinate research site activities among LTER researchers and collaborators in national and international research networks. This includes facilitation of new research projects and collaborations, including cross-college activities at the University of New Mexico and as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations and research syntheses across sites within the US LTER network. This also includes organizing events (yearly All Hands Meeting, weekly seminar) and interacting regularly with SEV LTER investigators, interdisciplinary collaborators, students, and staff, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, and with researchers and information managers in the national LTER network.
- Conduct day-to-day oversight of field projects and ensure that ongoing data collection and experiments are completed according to regular schedules, including contributing to technical field work, data processing, and infrastructure maintenance, particularly when there is turnover in the field crew or other staff.
- Assist the Information Manager in managing long-term data
- Facilitate education and outreach projects at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, including leading tours and outreach events.
- Manage the permitting process with Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge staff as the principal liaison to the Sevilleta LTER Program, including regular meetings with SEV researchers and Refuge staff before, during, and after the permit review process.
- Maintain and distribute GIS and remote sensing data.
- Document site activities, update protocols, and manage field vehicles.
- Build strengths in scientific research, data analysis and visualization, as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations and research syntheses across sites within the US LTER network, including contributing and/or assisting with scientific publications.
- Manage and advise staff and students, including hiring process, overseeing fellowship reviews and progress reports, and staff performance reviews.
Preferences:
- Bachelor’s degree in Ecology, Environmental Science or Biology
- Expertise in plant species identification in US grassland ecosystems and dominant ecosystems of the Southwestern US
- Experience managing ecological datasets, including data and ecological metadata
- Experience with data management tools for large datasets (ideally using R)
- Experience with Windows-based systems
- Experience with LTER field data collection protocols
- Experience managing a team of people in field-based ecological research activities
- Strong skills in written and verbal scientific communication
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team of students, staff and researchers
- Demonstrated ability in project management involving diverse tasks and diverse staff
- Experience with designing experiments and longitudinal observational studies
- Familiarity with ArcGIS and spatial datasets
