Climate Science Outreach in Agriculture and Forestry
John Muir Institute of the Environment
Background:
The University of California at Davis and the USDA Pacific Southwest
Forest Research Station invite
applications for an outreach and education specialist in agricultural
and natural resources impacts of
climate change. As part to of the newly forming US Department of
Agriculture Southwest Climate Hub,
we seek a broadly trained scholar to work in the area of aggregating
applied research of practical use for
agricultural and natural resource management.
USDA's regional hubs will deliver information to farmers, ranchers
and forest landowners to help them
adapt to climate change and weather variability. The Hubs will build
capacity within USDA to provide
information and guidance on technologies and risk management
practices at regional and local scales.
Position Overview and Major Responsibilities:
The position will coordinate efforts at the USDA Southwest Climate
Science Hub (USDA SCSH),
aggregating applied research of practical use for agricultural and
natural resource management; creating
and maintaining networks of partners within and beyond the
University; and working with the USDASCSH
team and other partners on fundraising, administering grants,
oversight of knowledge
management, and targeted engagement and communication with multiple
stakeholders.
The USDA Southwest Climate Science Hub will cover Arizona, Colorado,
California, Hawaii, Nevada, New
Mexico and Utah. The Academic Coordinator will partner with
scientists at the USDA Forest Service,
Agricultural Research Service, Natural Resources Conservation
Service, and in the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, to support USDA SCSH
activities, primarily within California.
Specific responsibilities will include (1) providing leadership,
coordination, and organizational support to
the research, engagement and communication efforts of the USDA SCSH;(
2) interfacing with campus
faculty and students, as well as the public and private sectors of
the agricultural and forestry
communities, and coordinating and maintaining contact with scientists
working in agricultural and forest
sustainability at other institutions, and (3) developing a curriculum
of material to provide the forestry
and agricultural managers of the southwest region; (4) soliciting
information needs from stakeholder
communities to organize and conduct informational workshops and
webinars; and (5) building and
managing an informational database.
The coordinator will report directly to JMIE's Director. This is a
100% appointment, on a fiscal year basis.
Candidates who have recently completed their PhD, or will have
completed it by the start date are
eligible for this position. However, this is not a research position.
We currently have funding for two
years. The position carries University of California benefits.
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, a short (1 2
page) description of how the
candidate envisions integrating into the aforementioned research
areas. This package should be
submitted as a single PDF file. Candidates are also encouraged to
submit pdf copies of two publications.
All materials should be addressed to Dr. Mark Schwartz and emailed
to: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]. Please
arrange to have three letters of recommendation, including one from
the candidate's Ph.D. advisor, sent
under separate emails to <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected].
Consideration of candidates will begin1 May , 2014.
The University of California is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity employer with a strong
institutional commitment to the development of a climate that
supports equality of opportunity and
respect for differences.
Mark W. Schwartz
Professor, Environmental Science & Policy
Director, John Muir Institute of the Environment
