The Social and Economic Analysis Branch (https://www.fort.usgs.gov/branch/400) of the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) North Central Climate Science Center (http://nccsc.colostate.edu/) are excited to announce an employment opportunity for a social scientist at the Fort Collins Science Center, Colorado. We seek a social scientist with expertise in the context of climate change to join our Team working on a project titled the Ecological Drought Initiative.
The Ecological Drought initiative includes an actionable science working group intended to connect scientists and managers to identify science needs for drought-related decisions and ultimately provide managers with a drought adaptation and planning toolkit. This effort recognizes that the social-ecological contexts in which drought-impacted DOI management decisions are made have not yet received sufficient attention. This work will focus on organizing the interdisciplinary science effort and providing the social science necessary to understand the social and social-ecological systems in which ecological drought occurs and the complex adaptive systems in which public lands managers make decisions.
The incumbent for this project will organize and provide leadership for an interdisciplinary group of scientists working toward the common goal of understanding the social-ecological systems in which ecological drought occurs. She/he will also conduct social science research related to climate change/drought as a member of the science team. The incumbent will be responsible for communicating science results to resource managers, field scientists, the scientific community, and the public via management-oriented technical media, presentations at meetings and workshops, consultations, the internet, and publications in high impact journals.
We prefer either recent PhD graduates or MS graduates with targeted skills. Preferred candidates will have education in a relevant social science field with specialized experience in the context of drought or climate change. Candidates with interdisciplinary, scientific backgrounds and experience in drought or climate change are encouraged to apply. An understanding of drought and climate data and models is beneficial but not required. This is a one-year, full-time, non-Federal student contractor position with the possibility of extension, based on future funding and performance. Candidates must be active students, or have graduated within the last two years. Candidates must be U.S citizens. Salary is competitive with similar jobs in the science/research field at comparable education levels.
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Please send a CV/resume to Rudy Schuster (schusterr@usgs.gov) and Nina Burkardt (burkardtn@usgs.gov). Interviews will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.