[SEMCO] WBNERR Job Posting

[Tracey Crago]

The following position, Research Translator, is
currently available at WBNERR. Details follow.


JOB DESCRIPTION
FOR
RESEARCH TRANSLATOR
WAQUOIT BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE
1/2000


DUTIES:  The Research Translator is responsible for
determining the
scientific information needs of coastal
decision-makers, working with the
research community and the literature to find the
information, and
developing innovative programs, activities and
materials to synthesize and
transfer the needed information to managers and
policy-makers.

The Research Translator will work at the Waquoit Bay
National Estuarine
Research Reserve (NERR) located within the towns of
Falmouth and Mashpee on
the South Shore of Cape Cod.  The Waquoit Bay NERR
is one of 25 sites that
make up the National Estuarine Research Reserve
System, a federal - state
partnership involving the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Management.

The mission of the Reserve is to provide long-term
protection to the
habitats and resources of this representative
estuarine ecosystem, which
serves as a natural laboratory for research by the
Reserve and others to
further our understanding of natural estuarine and
watershed-linked
processes and human influences on them.  The Reserve
works, through
partnerships, to make the resulting information
available to the public and
policy-makers to promote informed coastal
decision-making for this site as
well as for similar sites in the same biogeographic
region.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

· Work to develop and coordinate the Coastal
Training Initiative (CTI), a
new NERR System-wide program, at the Waquoit Bay
NERR.  The Initiative will
be the formalization of the science to management
program aspects of the
Reserve and provide training and technical
assistance to coastal
decision-makers.  The Institute will be developed
with partners,
specifically the Massachusetts Coastal Zone
Management Program and others to
be determined.
· Determine the needs of the regional coastal
decision makers for scientific
information and training (Note: the Reserve
functions as a regional
estuarine research site within the Northern
Virginian biogeographic region
that extends from northern New Jersey to Cape Cod)
· Conduct and/or supervise needs assessments of the
coastal decision-makers
to determine their information and training needs.
The assessments are to
include input on the desired format of the
information, content, topics, the
best time of day, week and year for training, etc.
·  Work with the Reserve staff, members of the
scientific community and
others to identify research results that will
fulfill the needs of the
coastal managers throughout the region
· Provide information to assist resource managers
and policy makers in the
development of plans to protect coastal zones.
Suggest management options
based on recommendations of scientists and
evaluation of literature.

· Communicate regional coastal zone management
research needs to members of
the scientific community (working closely with the
Research Coordinator and
other staff).
· Cooperate and collaborate with researchers to help
ensure that coastal
zone management research needs are addressed and to
ensure that results are
applicable to resource manager needs.
· Work with Reserve staff to identify research needs
that can be address by
in-house research.

· Maintain excellent working relationships with
members of the scientific
and coastal management communities to ensure smooth
transfer and translation
of information and data needs.  Working closely with
the Research
Coordinator and Reserve Manager, act as a liaison
between the scientific and
management communities.
· Attend scientific meetings.  Stay up to date on
current research.
· Serve on local and regional committees charged
with solving coastal zone
management problems.
· Promote interagency cooperation and collaboration
in addressing resource
management needs.

· Collaborate with the education staff to develop
the means to transfer
scientific information to the management community
through methods
determined by the needs assessment which might
include but not be limited to
the following:
· Workshops and forums
· Roundtable discussions
· Computer models and demonstrations
· One-to-one consulting
· Distance learning
· Courses
· Written materials (such as technical papers,
science to policy bulletins,
fact sheets, news articles, management plans, etc.)

· Coordinate with the education staff to develop and
implement methods to
evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of
programs and activities to
translate research results to coastal
decision-makers.

· Direct the Cape and Islands Citizen Water Quality
Monitoring Program at
the Reserve
· Supervise the Citizen Water Quality Monitoring
Coordinator and help to
determine citizen monitor training needs.
· Collaborate with partners in the creation of a
citizen water quality
monitoring network
· Serve on committees and task forces to implement a
regional approach to
citizen monitoring

· Participate in NERR System-wide activities and
meetings
· Work with Reserve Manager and other staff in the
development and
implementation of Reserve activities that will best
fulfill NERR mission.
· Maintain liaison with similar positions and
Coastal Training Initiatives
at other NERRS sites and at NERRS headquarters at
the Estuarine Reserves
Division of NOAA.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

The Reserve seeks a well-organized, self-motivated
person with significant
experience and knowledge in coastal and estuarine
ecology, coastal
management and innovative ways of transferring
science to management.
Applicant should have a graduate degree in Biology,
Environmental Science or
related field, Marine Policy or Environmental
Policy.  A dual degree in
science and policy is optimal.   The Research
Translator must be able to
work effectively with scientists, coastal
decision-makers, volunteers, and
the staff.  Excellent oral and written communication
skills are required.
Computer skills (spreadsheet, word and PageMaker)
are a must.  GIS
experience and grant writing experience is a plus.
The successful candidate
must like working with people and as part of a
team.  They should have a
strong environmental ethic and sense of humor

Yearly renewable contraction position - no benefits
40 hours per week,

Send resume, the names and phone numbers of three
references, writing sample
and application form to: Reserve Manager, Waquoit
Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve, PO Box 3092, Waquoit, MA 02536.
Application forms are
available on the DEM website:
http://www.state.ma.us/dem

Application deadline: no later than 5:00pm, February
28, 2000.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Management is committed to
Affirmative Action; minorities, females, veterans,
physically challenged are
encouraged to apply.

NOTE:  Application should include a writing sample
in addition to
references.  We would like to require the finalists
to provide a
presentation, translating science to a management
issue, to the staff as
part of the final selection.
Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
PO Box 3092
Waquoit, MA  02536
(508) 457-0495 (ph)
(617) 727-5537 (fx)
wbnerr@capecod.net
http://www.capecod.net/waquoit

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Tracey I. Crago, Sea Grant Communicator
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
193 Oyster Pond Rd., MS #2
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1525

Phone:     (508) 289-2665   Fax:  (508) 457-2172
E-Mail:    tcrago@whoi.edu   WWW:
http://www.whoi.edu/seagrant
                       and
http://www.marinecareers.net
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