Posting #: . Salary Range: $55,000-$65,000. Application window open until position filled.

About the Department

The North Carolina Center for Coastal Algae, People, and Environment (NC C-CAPE) and the Carolinas Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) at NC State are seeking a full time community engagement coordinator to to lead community engagement and initiatives across a diverse portfolio of research projects relevant to environmental health disparities. The grant-funded community engagement coordinator position will begin immediately and is a full-time position with funding up to five years. The North Carolina Center for Coastal Algae, People, and Environment (NC C-CAPE) aims to understand, predict, and reduce risks to human health from cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in coastal waters of North Carolina by looking upstream and off-shore. We seek to reduce human health disparities through investments in innovative environmental data collection, data democracy, and policy. The NOAA-funded Carolinas Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP, formerly RISA), housed at NC State University, is committed to understanding our changing climate and addressing the impacts fairly. CAP works together with communities across the Carolinas to help predict and understand their exposure and vulnerability to climate threats, such as drought, heat, and flooding.

The selected candidate will be directly supervised by the NC C-CAPE community engagement director and work with guidance from both the NC C-CAPE and CAP co-directors and other team members to bring a sense of strategic vision to community engagement programs, evaluation, and their impacts on democratic approaches to data co-production and use, and synergies between NC C-CAPE and CAP missions.

This position is housed within the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) within the College of Sciences at NC State is one of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary geoscience departments. MEAS provides: (1) high quality geoscience instruction to the University community through it courses in marine, Earth, and atmospheric sciences; (2) educational opportunities for undergraduate, masters and doctoral students in geosciences through world-class research, and (3) outreach activities that foster improved public awareness and understanding of science. MEAS research programs are multi-disciplinary in nature and align with NC C-CAPE and CAP missions. MEAS is one of six NC State departments with a presence at the NC State Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), a coastal and marine science research facility located on Bogue Sound in Morehead City, NC (http://www.cmast.ncsu.edu), and MEAS faculty participate in the Center for Geospatial Analytics (http://geospatial.ncsu.edu). The North Carolina State Climate Office (https://climate.ncsu.edu/) and the Raleigh office of the National Weather Service reside on NC State’s campus. Additional information about the department and its facilities can be found at: https://meas.sciences.ncsu.edu.

Raleigh, North Carolina is a progressive and welcoming community with a wide range of potential collaborators at nearby academic and governmental institutions in the Research triangle. Opportunities exist to draw on departmental and campus resources to develop strong teaching expertise using best practices.  Please visit our Sciences Strategic Plan and the College of Sciences Culture Charter to learn more about the College of Sciences.

NC State promotes an integrated approach to problem-solving that transforms lives and provides leadership for social, economic, and technological development across North Carolina and around the world. NC State’s land grant mission of teaching, research, and service is dedicated to serving North Carolina and its people. Applicants are encouraged to review the institution’s mission, vision, and strategic plan and consider how their background, interests, and experience would enable them to support the university.

Essential Job Duties

The Community Engagement Coordinator requires the skills and knowledge to effectively solicit and convey crucial guidance to the research process and its relevance to reducing environmental health disparities in practice. They will be required to encourage community engagement in projects related to machine learning assisted algal bloom prediction, extreme precipitation and flooding, cumulative risk exposures, and public health. This role entails crafting and executing dynamic engagement strategies that facilitate a two-way exchange of information, and serving as liaison with external partners and entities for two grant-funded initiatives. Strong candidates will have demonstrated capacity for facilitation, event and/or program planning, and group leadership related to community engagement with science and/or policy.

Key responsibilities include managing end-to-end participant recruitment for community-based research activities; promoting data democracy, open data best practices and the principles of Open Science; creating processes that ensure reliable and long-lasting community contact.

Required duties and skills:

The Community Engagement Coordinator will perform a variety of project activities, including research study coordination, participant recruitment, and community-engaged research focused on environmental health disparities. This includes the following essential job duties:

• Staying up-to-date on the latest developments in environmental justice and community resilience policies and initiatives;
• Facilitating training, workshops, and activities to promote mutual understanding and knowledge co-production;
• Designing and executing engagement strategies within a variety of environmental thematic areas, ensuring the translation of complex scientific research into actionable insights for diverse audiences;
• Fostering relationships with community leaders, policymakers, and the general public, using effective communication strategies to engage non-scientific partners across diverse, rural, and underserved communities;
• Promoting data democracy, open data best practices, and the principles of Open Science and data democracy;
• Traveling overnight for community engagement across North Carolina and South Carolina;
• Preparing culturally relevant data summaries and reports for internal and external audiences as part of the data report back process;

Required Qualifications

• Post-baccalaureate credentials or a bachelor’s degree plus alternative or equivalent professional training and experience may be substituted for the advanced degree on an exceptional basis.
• Ability to travel to community events, including occasional nights and weekends.
• Ability to work from our Raleigh-based office during regular business hours most days.
• Excellent English-language, verbal and written communication skills, and strong interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two years of experience or post-baccalaureate education in one of the following fields: environmental health policy, community organizing, facilitation, science education, or program management.
• Prior experience implementing one or more community-engaged research frameworks (i.e. participatory science, community-based participatory research).
• Ability to provide at least one reference who can detail your experience from a community perspective.
• Spanish language proficiency.

NC State University is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as an individual with a disability, or status as a protected veteran. Individuals with disabilities requiring disability-related accommodations in the application and interview process are welcome to contact 919-515-3148 to speak with a representative at the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity.

If you have general questions about the application process, you may contact Human Resources at (919) 515-2135 or workatncstate@ncsu.edu.

Final candidates are subject to criminal & sex offender background checks. Some vacancies also require credit or motor vehicle checks. Degree(s) must be obtained prior to start date in order to meet qualifications and receive credit.

NC State University participates in E-Verify. Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States.