Research Project Manager - Military Veterans

The Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota seeks a full-time 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 project manager will focus on a suite of projects, including:

• the launch of a university wide Sustainable Foods Systems Forum focused on convening and seeding research at the intersection of sustainability, nutrition, public policy, and consumer behavior;
• environmental decision support science projects focused on moving the needle to more usable Federal data products that improve lives and livelihoods; and
• an education study focused on the role of mentorship, simulation games and student projects to enhance Minnesota high school students' preparation for and interest in climate and energy-focused careers.

We are looking for an early-career project manager who is a âœdetailed do-erâ â" someone who enjoys supporting diverse portfolios of research projects and driving teams toward sustainability impact milestones. Such a detail-oriented team member would be able to apply their skills to develop semester and annual work plans, coordinate distributed teams with highly sensitive relationships, be willing to learn grant reporting requirements and how we can use them to facilitate new funding opportunities, 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 including conducting research, supporting and facilitating project management processes, and relevant administrative or research experience that positions them to be able to proactively and creatively develop and coordinate programmatic workflows given initial onboarding.

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 Kelly Abraham, Sr. Research Project Manager at IonE; you will also work closely with Dr. Melissa Kenney, Director of Research & Knowledge Initiatives. In addition to IonE colleagues with diverse skill sets, you will have colleagues who are also research project managers.

Salary and Benefits : The starting range for this position is $53,500 to $58,000, with UMN civil service employee group benefits. There are opportunities to learn more sophisticated skills on the job; for eligibility in the higher end of the range, demonstrated skills across the core principal duties would be expected.

More Details & Working Conditions : 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. This position has been designated as Work Profile 2: Profile 2 is expected to work on-site more than 50% of the time. IonE management retains the right to modify flexible work arrangement agreements on a temporary or permanent basis for any reason at any time.

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. We encourage applications from individuals who belong to groups that have been historically underrepresented in environmental work and in academia, including those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, those with disabilities, Veterans, and those from LGBTQIA+ communities. 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.

Informational Webinar : We will hold an informational webinar on Friday, October 18, 12:00-12:30 pm CT.

• Register in advance here: https://z.umn.edu/9trr
• You may submit questions in advance to ensure we have time to address what is important to you.
• The webinar will be recorded; please email Ella McClure, mcclu296@umn.edu, for a link to the recording.

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Principal Duties and Responsibilities :
The percentages below reflect allocations of duties and responsibilities across all three projects, 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 IonE'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 - 50%
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
• Project support such as helping to organize metadata files, providing survey or interview implementation and administration, or Institutional Review Board (IRB) documentation
• 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. Maintain and follow the required change control plans when changes must be implemented on externally funded projects
• 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
• Manage comprehensive project reporting, including annual reports and interim updates, data and file management throughout the project lifecycle, dashboard management, financial tracking, and budget-related reporting.
• Support relationships with contractors and external vendors, including setting up contracts, tracking deliverables, and submitting invoices

Pre-award proposal development support - 20%
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 customized 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 IonE's learning orientation and commitment to professional development and being partof 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

Required Qualifications :

• B.A./B.S. degree; or combination of related education and experience equal to 4 years.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including an ability to work with project PIs (principal investigators) and distributed teams and stakeholders to develop project workflow, action plans, brainstorm alternative approaches, and facilitate next steps in a collaborative manner among teams of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Highly organized, and able to manage multiple activities, adapt project workflows to emergent changes, and juggle competing priorities while keeping project teams on track and drive results.
• 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, and Adobe professional 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.
• Experience with, or willingness to learn, project management software such as Basecamp.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and efficiently manage up and across an organization, including proactive approaches to problem-solving and project organization. Ability to communicate effectively, including communicating the need for clarity, assistance, or further guidance.
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing, promoting, and/or advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts.

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

• A connection or commitment to sustainability or environmental issues and topics
• An understanding of project goals, how to collect data and draw valid conclusions, and summarize research findings or project outcomes
• Intercultural competency and high emotional intelligence, demonstrating a welcoming and inclusive approach to interpersonal interactions and a team-orientation
• 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