BBCS in Arizona Institute for Resilience at the University of Arizona is in search of a Program Coordinator (Admin Support Assistant III). As Program Coordinator for the BBCS, this role will facilitate effective interdisciplinary research in adaptive climate change science and novel solutions with faculty from many colleges across the University of Arizona. Working alongside faculty from several disciplines, the Program Coordinator creates a sense of unity and synergy across diverse faculty and postdocs and moves operations and strategic planning forward for programmatic success. About BBCS BBCS is an interdisciplinary research team of faculty and postdoctoral fellows established in 2016 contributing robust and predictive research in emergent issues around climate change to prevent species extinction, preserve ecosystem and human health, and sustain food security across multiple scales. By forecasting future environments and patterns of governance and biodiversity under changing physical, social, & economic conditions, we anticipate future challenges and opportunities, and develop governance and conservation strategies to address these issues. Learn about our work here. BBCS is a program of the Arizona Institute of Resilience, harnessing diverse approaches to turn science into actionable, community-oriented solutions. AIR’s focus is resilience, the practice of designing environmental and social systems to anticipate and integrate with global change.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here .

Duties & responsibilities:

• Communications & Meeting Coordination:
  • Maintaining up-to-date email listservs, website, Twitter account.
  • Submitting program accomplishments to internal UA newsletters and coordinating with departmental communications staff for press releases.
  • Arrange for virtual or in-person meeting spaces, coordinate recurring and unique meetings, disseminate meeting minutes and action items.
  • Provides guidance and assistance as needed to students, faculty, researchers and other staff on policies, practices and procedures.
• Postdoctoral Researcher Hiring and Other Student Support:
  
  • Prepare job announcements with faculty input.
  • Facilitate the candidate review process with participating faculty.
  • Coordinate with department HR for posting, compliance, and onboarding.
  • Facilitate new postdoc onboarding activities.
  • Complete program-related travel authorization paperwork and reimbursements for all collaborating students.
  • Prepare student certificates upon completion of research activities with BBCS.
• Financial Management:
  • Review monthly financial statements and update financial tracker.
  • Complete reimbursement paperwork to ensure all purchases comply with departmental and funding policies.
  • Prepare and submit annual program budget and rollover requests, according to university policies.
  • Monitor, review, and approve standard expenditures to ensure the activities of the office are conducted within established budgets.
• Strategic & Financial Planning:
  • Support the ongoing efforts to ensure long-term financial sustainability of the program, including collaborations with University of Arizona Foundation, finding research proposals relevant to the team, and supporting administrative tasks for grant submission.
  • Draft and submit annual strategic plans to guide BBCS activities that help us achieve our mission.
  • Enhance the dynamic internal organizational structure by designing centralized processes for streamlined communication, postdoc mentorship, and fluid cross-collaborations.
  • Ability to design, train, and implement new systems for record keeping, data entry, funding opportunities, and more.
• Event Planning:
  • Support postdoctoral researchers with annual celebratory events, symposia, or dissemination events that celebrate our accomplishments and novel research.
  • Manage all financial transactions, catering, space reservations, and communications pertaining to the events.
• Additional duties may be assigned.

Knowledge, skills & abilities:

• Strong organization skills
• Professional and efficient communication skills
• Ability to work independently and in a group
• Comfort with discomfort and researching to learn new policies/procedures
• Interest in research
• Interest in environmental sciences
• Strong digital abilities with Google Drive, UA Box, Microsoft Office programs, and other online software
• Ability to learn new skills quickly               
• Has extensive knowledge of University systems, operations and department practices and procedures; OR is willing to learn independently to develop this extensive knowledge.
• Diligent and self-motivated with the ability to work independently and in teams under minimal supervision with assigned general expectations.
• High attention to detail, strong organization skills, and
• Strong written, digital and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate with professionals across disciplines.
• Ability to read and interpret policies and procedures, as well as recommend internal procedures to improve equitable research, hiring, and management practices.
• Strong innovation and creative problem-solving skills with the ability to propose solutions to problems and solicit feedback from faculty and postdocs.

• High school diploma or equivalent, or equivalent learning attained through experience required and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

• Some experience in financial planning and grant management.
• Some experience in academic research.
• Current residence or ability to relocate to Tucson, Arizona.
• Experience in creating budgets, strategic plans, and other programmatic reporting.