The IOOS Association is a nonprofit organization that supports the public-private partnership between NOAA’s U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS) program and the 11 nonfederal regional observing systems (Regional Associations) that implement the coastal and ocean observing activities. The IOOS Regional Associations form the membership of the IOOS Association, which facilitates collaboration across the regions, the broader ocean observing community, and ocean users around the nation. The IOOS Association also works to communicate the value of ocean observing as a tool to support everyday decisions and long-term prediction and planning, and to ensure equitable services are delivered.   

The Program Specialist role is a newly created position in response to the receipt of a five-year subaward grant from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Program Specialist will manage, monitor, track, and provide convening and collaboration support for an unprecedented collaboration across all 11 IOOS Regional Associations to build capacity for equitably delivering coastal observations and information services to support decision making related to public health, safety, and resilience. The Program Specialist will primarily support the following project:

• Equitable Service Delivery (ESD): This initiative will support capacity building across the 11 IOOS Regional Associations to undertake equitable service delivery – or the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial process of engaging with users to provide relevant and timely information. This initiative will leverage resources and expertise across regions, identify common capacity needs, and inform a national framework for IOOS to improve the network’s collective ability to reach frontline communities.

This is a 100% remote position that requires travel for workshops and/or other meetings 6-8 times per year. 

Interviews for this position will be conducted on a rolling basis with a targeted start date no later than January 1, 2025.  

Responsibilities

Equitable Service Delivery (ESD) program management:

• Participate in monthly program management calls with the ESD Executive Team (consisting of representatives from the IOOS Association, Regional Associations, and the NOAA U.S. IOOS Program Office).
• Build understanding of the landscape of equitable service delivery and community engagement activities occurring across the IOOS Regional Associations with internal and external audiences.
• Research opportunities to build cross-regional capacity, resources, or expertise and make recommendations to the ESD Executive Team on project scope, objectives, and activities.
• Facilitate the activities of the ESD project Executive Team, including organizing their meetings and implementing the process for broader RA input to decisions.
• Liaise with and coordinate participation of the IOOS Association DEIA Committee (or RA-designated staff) in the ESD project.
• Identify and manage project subcontractors and consultants to help achieve project goals and objectives.

Convening and collaboration:

• Organize and hold monthly project calls with external partners to discuss progress toward milestones and deliverables, address common challenges and opportunities, and identify actions needed to advance the project.
• Organize in-person workshops as needed to include working with project working groups or committees on workshop agenda, speakers, and supporting logistics and travel reimbursement.
• Support virtual workshops including setting up the meeting platform and taking notes.
• Develop tools or resources to support collaboration, such as to gather information about shared needs or identify common issues.
• Facilitate coordination and communication across the project and with the IRA Coordination Team (representatives from IOOS Association, the prime awardee (MARACOOS: Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System), and the NOAA U.S. IOOS Program Office).
• Attend project-related and relevant meetings and report back information to broader project teams.

Metrics and progress tracking:

• Develop and maintain a system to track progress on milestones and deliverables.
• Manage and monitor project action items arising from the regular calls and other convenings.
• Ensure project successes and potential issues or problems are brought to the attention of the IRA Coordination Team.

Reporting and communications:

• Work collaboratively with the Program Specialist–Pan-Regional Collaborations to collect and collate data and information needed for technical reporting to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and prepare technical reports for submission to NOAA.
• Lead coordination of information and respond to any other NOAA inquiries that may arise outside of technical reporting.
• Synthesize information on impact of project work to support strategic communications.
• Develop project outreach and communications materials for use by all RAs, including content for social media and the IOOS Association website.
• Attend conferences to present on or otherwise promote the IRA projects.
• Lead development of a communications strategy to disseminate project outcomes and ESD success stories to broad audiences.

Organizational support:

• Support the Executive Director in reporting on IRA progress to the IOOS Association Board and other audiences.
• Support the planning for and attend the Fall and Spring IOOS Meetings – two in-person meetings per year that convene the Directors and Staff of the IOOS Association, Regional Associations, and the NOAA U.S. IOOS Program Office.

Experience and Qualifications:

We acknowledge that people bring all of themselves to their work, and your perspective, talents and skills may come from a wide range of work and life experiences. Your qualifications may include paid work, volunteer work, projects in a different field, or other experiences that have helped you build the competencies and knowledge needed to be successful in this role. We welcome and encourage diverse perspectives combined with a spirit of collaboration and community. We excitedly anticipate your application.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution; plus a minimum of five years of relevant project coordination experience, or an advanced degree may be substituted for experience
• A background in environmental justice is highly preferred
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated success organizing and managing workshops; Project management training or certification preferred, but not required
• Demonstrated ability navigating and bringing individuals with diversity of thought together to create and advance common goals
• Ability to work collegially within a small organization
• Self-motivated and driven to advance project goals and objectives
• Comfortable with virtual meeting platforms and remote work technologies
• Excellent customer service orientation
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated success of creating systems for keeping constituents well informed
• U.S. citizenship with access to a home office and reliable internet anywhere in the USA; Core working hours will be Eastern Time zone  

Salary and Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position that includes access to a benefits package including medical, dental and vision stipend; paid vacation, sick days, holidays, and birth/adoption leave; and Simple IRA retirement contribution. The salary for this position is $85,000.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IOOS Association provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.