The University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment (IonE) is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary institution that works to advance sustainability through collaborative research, leadership and education programming, and public-interest storytelling and communications.

The Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota seeks a full-time Senior Research Project Manager who can provide programmatic management across a suite of interdisciplinary research projects and engage effectively with research collaborators within and outside of the academy. This position will support a diverse portfolio of externally funded research activities led by IonE staff. The salary range for this position is expected to be $70k-79k, dependent upon qualifications and experience, and will consider pay equity & parity within IonE and across the University system.

The senior project manager will focus on three specific projects:

• a suite of environmental decision support science projects focused on moving the needle to more usable Federal data products that improve lives and livelihoods;
• an education study focused on the role of mentorship, simulation games and student projects to enhance Minnesota high school studentsâ™ preparation for and interest in climate and energy-focused careers; and
• a sustainability research initiative that advances the stateâ™s economy and its capacity and competitive advantage in science and technology, helping create new Minnesota-based companies and secure a clean environment for Minnesota's citizens.

We are looking for a senior-level project manager who enjoys supporting diverse portfolios of research projects and driving teams toward sustainability impact milestones. This includes coordination with researchers, students, and non-academic project partners from diverse sectors, including government, education, the nonprofit sector and industry. Such a detail-oriented team member would be able to immediately jump in and develop semester and annual work plans, seamlessly coordinate distributed teams with highly sensitive relationships, organize and motivate teams toward goals, understand grant reporting requirements and how we can use them to facilitate new funding opportunities, quickly learn project budgets and proactively support grant accounting, and be resourceful enough to figure out how to do the things they might not otherwise know. Competitive candidates will usually have diverse professional work experience from supporting and managing projects to proactively and creatively developing programmatic efficiencies and problem-solving as an equal partner on projects.

This person will meet in-person and online multiple times a week with the project PIs to advance the externally funded research projects. The supervisor for this position will be Dr. Melissa Kenney, Director of Research and Knowledge Initiatives at IonE; you will also work closely with Dr. Cathy Jordan, Director of Leadership and Education. In addition to IonE colleagues with diverse skill sets, you will have colleagues who are also research project managers.

The position is located at IonE on the St. Paul, MN campus, and the person will be expected to fully participate in IonE, including attending IonE events and developing working relationships with other IonE staff and external partners. This position is structured to be primarily in-person, but could be set up to allow for a day or two of teleworking per week. The incumbent is expected to reside locally and there is no moving allowance provided for employees who will be permanently or temporarily moving to the Twin Cities metro region for this position. The position may involve some infrequent travel for workshops, conferences, and meetings as dictated by individual projects.

Please see the How to Apply section below for more details. 

***Informational Webinar:

• Thursday, November 30th
• 11:30am-12pm CST

Register below for an informational webinar about the Senior Research Project Manager opening at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment. Please submit your questions in advance through this registration form. If time permits, we will also take live questions.

Please know that attending the webinar will not be factored into candidate review. We host these sessions to give job-seeking individuals an opportunity to ask questions â“ to get a better sense of the role, the organization, and their future colleagues.

Please register here.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities
The percentages below reflect allocations of duties and responsibilities across all three projects, in order to give you the best sense of the type of work this job entails. All three projects are weighted equally, so each week, you can expect to spend, on average, about a day and a half on each project (30% time) â“ with the remaining 10% time in the "other" category of responsibilities. 

Additionally, the duties listed below are not exhaustive and may evolve and shift with the organizational priorities; percentages represent expected averages over several weeks instead of a strict week-to-week allocation of time. All work is expected to integrate IonEâ™s DEIJ values and implement community norms or explore creative administrative solutions to advance the DEIJ action plan.

• Project Management and Technical Support for Research Projects - 60% - This category of work constitutes the project management work necessary to support highly collaborative, distributed teams toward shared goals and milestones.
  • Development of project workflows and timelines given proposal priorities and milestones; provide weekly project priorities with team member assignments
  • Support the planning, logistics, and facilitate project meetings, conference calls, advisory council meetings and stakeholder meetings or workshops to promote internal team communication and external collaboration with other impact-oriented stakeholders
  • Technical support relevant to the project, such as finding and downloading data, helping to organize metadata files, providing survey or interview implementation and administration, Institutional Review Board (IRB) documentation, or conducting literature reviews
  • Serve as a point of contact for ad hoc support questions from project researchers to facilitate or enable their research and professional activities or stakeholders regarding research project details
  • Keep project records organized and up-to-date, given existing team standards or by developing updated or new standards
  • Other research support, as needed
     
• Direct the reporting and fiscal activities of the research projects - 20% - This category of work reflects the required project reporting to different audiences and grant budget management toward project milestones.
  • Collect data, maintain databases given best practices, and compile required grant reports on activities and outcomes
  • Coordinate project-related financial transactions, including making purchases, managing subaward budgets, tracking expenses, in collaboration with the PI and the university sponsored research offices
  • Write briefs synthesizing information gathered at major project workshops and meetings and facilitate transmission of that information to the appropriate channels
  • Collaborate on reporting strategies (e.g., infographics, memos, dashboards), as well as news and storytelling opportunities
  • Support relationships with contractors and external vendors, including setting up contracts, tracking deliverables, and submitting invoices
     
• Pre-award proposal development support - 10% - This category reflects the activities associated with applying for grants, external sales, and other external funding sources (i.e., pre-award) to grow our program and impact.
  • Development of proposal workflows and timelines given proposal priorities and milestones; provide weekly proposal priorities with team member assignments
  • Lead the coordination and agenda setting for proposal team meetings and follow-up with notes and action items
  • Using RFP requirements, create shared files and customize grant documents given templates that include basic entry of standard information
  • Coordinate the collection or customization of required RFP documentation (e.g., biosketch, letters of support) in the required format needed for proposal submission
  • Support proposal development including references, formatting, editing, and consistency checks
  • Other proposal support, as needed
     
• Other -10% - This category reflects IonEâ™s learning orientation and commitment to professional development and being part of our community.
  • Develop or grow your understanding of the intersection of DEIJ principles and how it intersects with your current work and future professional goals
  • Follow project management trends and develop your skills, and bring your insights and ideas back to your team, work, and in support of future career development goals
  • Other duties as assigned

Working Conditions
This role will be performed in person on the St. Paul campus with the opportunity for remote/virtual work approximately 1-2 day per week. IonE offices and meeting spaces are accessible, and the building has accessible gendered restrooms on-site. Non-gendered restrooms are accessible through the tunnel system but would not be considered convenient for regular daily use.

This position has been designated as "flexible work profile 2". Profile 2 is expected to work on-site more than 50% of the time. Your office will be located in St. Paul, MN. IonE management retains the right to modify flexible work

Required Qualifications

• BA/BS degree plus at least four years of experience or advanced degree plus two years of experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal eight years
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing, promoting, and/or advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts
• Demonstrated project management skills, including an ability to move projects forward in a collaborative manner
• Experience implementing action plans for projects and identifying alternative approaches to achieve goals
• Strong written communication skills and experience in composing and editing different kinds of communications (i.e., drafting project reporting requirements, web content) and the ability to send professional emails and engage with diverse staff and stakeholders in an office environment.
• Proficient using the suite of Google & Microsoft applications and willingness to learn university systems and other software, including experience or willingness to learn advanced functions and formulas in Google suite tools to create automated workflows for data analysis, financial accounting, and reporting 
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and efficiently manage up and across an organization, including proactive approaches to problem-solving and project organization
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple activities and juggle competing priorities

Qualities of strong candidates are likely to include some of the following:

• A connection or commitment to sustainability or environmental issues and topics
• An ability to read and synthesize information from the scholarly literature
• An understanding of research goals, how to collect data and draw valid conclusions, and summarize research findings
• Intercultural competency and high emotional intelligence, demonstrating a welcoming and inclusive approach to interpersonal interactions and a team-orientation
• Experience interacting with senior leaders from academia, government, NGOs, and the private sector at events, small group meetings, in written communication, and one-on-one
• Experience working with large, distributed teams, including programs and activities that span multiple institutions
• Professional or personal experience that could lend itself to working in higher education, especially at a public research university
• Agility and ability to handle multiple responsibilities with high attention to detail
• Adaptability, desire to find creative solutions, and a results-oriented attitude
• Able to give, receive, and ask for feedback to foster growth and development

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

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