Researcher

Pacific Institute Researcher
Research · Oakland, California
Pacific Institute Researcher

Position Title: Temporary Researcher

Duration: Initial 6-month contract with the possibility of long-term extension

Application Deadline: April 8th, 2022

Hours: Full Time (35 hours per week)

Location: Flexible (based in the United States)

Compensation: $35 to $45 per hour

Travel: Some business travel may be required, including overnight stays

Start Date: Available immediately

Organization Description

Founded in 1987, the Pacific Institute is a global water research and policy non-profit organization based in Oakland, California. Our mission is to create and advance solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges. We combine science-based thought leadership with active outreach to advance water sustainability and resilience in communities around the world. Our science-based approach draws from many disciplines and benefits from collaboration with diverse stakeholders, from local governments and UN agencies to businesses and grassroots organizations.

Position Description

We are seeking a collaborative and impact-focused Researcher to support interdisciplinary research and analysis that advances water and climate change sustainability, resilience, and environmental justice with an explicit focus on water-related challenges faced by and solutions for the most marginalized, frontline communities. The ideal candidate will have an interest and ability to learn new topics quickly; passion for water and climate change equity and justice; strong verbal and written communication skills; ability to work independently and in collaborative teams; and willingness to support a variety of tasks, from project coordination to qualitative and quantitative research, writing, and oral presentations. They must also be skilled at working across disciplines, cultures, and different ways of knowing and communicating.

Over the next six months, the Researcher will support projects conducting water-climate-equity research and creating decision-support products for frontline communities, community-based organizations, natural resource managers, and/or policy makers. Preferred applicants will have interest in and significant experience studying the distributional effects of environmental policy and/or the equity and fairness of environmental policy processes. Additional opportunities beyond the initial six months will depend on performance and availability of funding.

Core Responsibilities

This position includes the following core responsibilities:

• Conduct primary and secondary interdisciplinary research and analysis on water-climate-equity topics;
• Gather information and data through analysis of primary and secondary data, literature reviews, and contacts with other researchers, practitioners, and organizations;
• Document and write up results of work performed, including synthesizing large amounts of information and preparing final reports and other written products;
• Prepare non-technical communication materials on research topics, such as blog posts, opinion articles, oral presentations, and press releases;
• Write and submit comment letters to federal, state, and local agencies;
• Support fundraising activities, including the preparation of periodic reports for foundations and donors;
• Provide other project support as needed, including coordinating internal meetings with the project team and external meetings with stakeholders and taking notes during meetings.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s level minimum) in water resources, environmental or sustainability sciences, social sciences, or natural resource management;
• Minimum five years of work experience in relevant field, including significant non-academic work and/or lived experience with climate-water-equity issues;
• Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical skills, including proficiency with interdisciplinary research and literature reviews and managing large/complex datasets;
• Experience conducting interdisciplinary research and writing synthesis publications across the social and natural sciences related to water-climate-equity;
• Proficiency with creating and managing citation databases and bibliographies;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to create compelling Power Point presentations to summarize and visualize findings;
• Great organizational skills including an ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines; and
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Desired Qualifications

• Interdisciplinary degree, ideally in combined social-natural sciences;
• Strong climate change sciences background;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, QDA (e.g., Atlas.ti, NVivo, MAXQDA), database management, and/or Geographic Information Systems software (e.g., ESRI ArcGIS, QGIS);
• Familiarity with water challenges in both urban and rural areas or small water systems through research and/or work experience; experience with tribes and Indigenous communities and/or communities of color a plus;
• Experience working on large, interdisciplinary assessments (e.g., US National Climate Assessment or similar);
• Interest or experience developing web-based maps or visualizations for sharing research findings;
• A keen interest in connecting data-driven research with water management decisions.

Compensation and Benefits

The temporary position is not eligible for paid vacation, health, dental or retirement benefits. If the position is advanced based on performance and funding, the Pacific Institute offers an excellent compensation package including a generous health, dental, and Institute-matched retired plan and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience and reflects the geographic location and field. The initial compensation for this position is expected to range from $35 to $45 per hour without benefits.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Pacific Institute is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Recognizing the inherent inequities that exist in our society, our sector, and our work, the Pacific Institute is dedicated to improving our internal policies, procedures, and programmatic priorities to ensure a diverse workforce and culture of inclusion. We have accelerated our efforts and refreshed our approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As part of this commitment, we request that all candidates include a short statement to address how your addition to our staff would contribute to our DEI efforts in their cover letters.

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter (including a DEI statement as described above), CV, and writing sample. The writing sample should be 5 to 10 pages in length maximum (as solo or lead author) that demonstrates proficiency of the required qualifications.

Information

• Location: Sacramento, United States

Industry experience

Education: Masters

Seniority: Expert, Engineer, Consultant

Years of experience: 5 to 10 years

Taxonomy

• Research Institute
• Research
• Information & Research