The following position announcement has been posted on the NEON
website (www.neoninc.org) and will be appearing in: Nature, Science
and the Chronicle of Higher Education. All communications regarding
this position should be directed to Brian Wee, NEON Administrative
Director, AIBS, 1444 Eye St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005,
FAX; 202-628-1509, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
______________________________________
The National Ecological Observatory Network office (NEON:
www.neoninc.org), managed by the nonprofit NEON Corporation (NEON
Inc.), has an immediate opening for a full-time Project Manager (PM)
to manage the construction phase of the NEON facility from its
offices in Washington DC. Funded as a Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Center project of the National Science Foundation (NSF),
NEON is a continental scale research instrument consisting of
geographically distributed and networked infrastructure, including
lab and field instrumentation, site-based experimental
infrastructure, biodiversity archive facilities and/or computational,
analytical and modeling capabilities.
Job Description
The Project Manager reports to the NEON Inc. CEO. The CEO is the
Principal Investigator (PI) for the NSF funding. Together, the PM and
PI are accountable to NSF and to the NEON Inc. Board of Directors for
their project's performance and fiduciary and compliance
responsibilities.
The PM will be involved in all phases of planning, organizing,
conducting, and documenting project management of NEON in development
and construction, and annual or periodic validation review for its
operation. The PM exercises primary responsibility for the business
aspects of construction, maintenance and operation of the NEON
facility, including planning coordination; serving as the interface
with the relevant communities; preparing documentation for program
review and approval; preparing funding requests for operations,
maintenance and related programmatic activities; and overseeing the
project. The PM works closely with a variety of NEON scientists,
engineers, technologists, and contractors as well as NEON's business
office staff.
The PM is responsible for leading the NEON project team to develop
the Preliminary and Final Design plans. Additionally, the PM, subject
to favorable construction funding commitments, will be responsible
for executing the NEON (MREFC) Project Construction scope within
budget and on schedule. During the Readiness Stage, the PM's
responsibilities include:
- Managing the overall budget and schedule according to the
project reporting and financial guidelines required by NSF.
Allocating resources amongst the project tasks and authorizing
financial commitments and payments within established limits, and
presenting and recommending, as appropriate, commitments and payments
beyond these limits to the Board of Directors and NSF when costs
exceed established thresholds.
- Coordinating, communicating, and negotiating with the NSF
BIO Directorate and the NSF Large Facilities Office in a cooperative
teaming arrangement.
- Developing the NEON PMO and project management team by
identifying the necessary staff, office resources, infrastructure
requirements and other services needed to fully prepare NEON Inc. to:
(1) receive NSF awards; (2) complete the requisite deliverables; and
(3) demonstrate the ability to execute the NEON Project construction
within scope, cost and schedule.
- Formulating a detailed plan to complete the final NEON
Project Execution Plan (PEP).
- Establishing both schedule and budget reserves for the
Project Development Plan (PDP), and recommending to the Board of
Directors the appropriate level of contingency allocation throughout
the lifetime of the Readiness Stage.
- Ensuring that the PDP and technical approaches adopted and
implemented in the Preliminary Design / Readiness Stage are
consistent with the NEON Science Requirements, and identifying to the
Board of Directors where implementation of these requirements may
conflict with the allocated project resources. The PM has the
responsibility for decisions affecting capability, schedule, cost,
and risk and for providing the rationale to the Board of Directors
for approval of such decisions.
- Preparing a comprehensive cost and schedule baseline plan,
including the necessary software tools, configuration and change
control processes and procedures, skilled Earned Value Management
personnel, and training of the technical management to support the
implementation and construction of the NEON Project.
- Preparing and organizing formal management and technical
reviews of the Preliminary Design and major milestones, ensuring
compliance with the Science Requirements, schedule, and budget.
- Working with the NEON participating collaborators and
partner institutions to ensure effective oversight and management of
work tasks undertaken by the partners.
Skills, Experience and Qualifications
The successful NEON Project Manager candidate will possess the
following qualifications:
- Significant knowledge and experience with large project
management and oversight. Specific familiarity with the following
topics: Budget and budget contingency estimation and methodology,
Project Management Plans, Project Management Control Systems, Earned
Value Management Reporting, Development of a project's critical path,
Risk management, Development and management of a project baseline.
- Strong leadership skills, decision-making abilities,
effective communicator, and effective motivator.
- Extensive management knowledge gained in a research and/or
education-related setting and the ability to provide sound advice and
policy recommendations.
- Extensive skill planning, organizing, and directing teams
conducting reviews, developing and negotiating implementation of
recommendations for changes and improvements with NSF and awardee
management.
- Hold a MS or PhD in a field of science (preferably related
to the ecology, biology, chemistry or other earth sciences) or
engineering. Other MS or PhD degrees will be considered.
- Willingness to perform extensive travel.
- Occasionally, work may be required in remote sites, on-board
research vessels, or in areas that will expose the incumbent to all
kinds of occupational (e.g., construction sites) and environmental
(e.g., extreme hot or cold, high altitudes) conditions.
- Willingness to make a 7 to 8 year commitment to the
construction project.
To apply
This is a full-time, salaried position at the NEON offices in
Washington, DC, subject to the continuing availability of NSF
funding. Benefits include healthcare, paid vacation, and retirement
plan. Send cover letter, resume, salary history, and salary
requirements to NEON Administrative Director, attn. NEON Project
Manager Search, AIBS, 1444 Eye St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC
20005, FAX; 202-628-1509, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
