Assistant Director, Texas Extreme Weather Adaptation Policy Lab

Job Posting Title:

Assistant Director, Texas Extreme Weather Adaptation Policy Lab

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Hiring Department:

Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

Purpose

The LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin seeks an Assistant Director for the Texas Extreme Weather Adaptation Policy Lab. The Assistant Director will report to the Director and participate in the development of policy-focused activities that increase the resilience of Texas communities to increasingly extreme weather events.  

Most important among these activities is the development of an annual Texas Extreme Weather Adaptation Leadership Academy. The Texas Extreme Weather Adaptation Leadership Academy trains local public officials and community leaders on how to adapt to the extreme weather events that are likely to impact their communities. The Academy will focus weather hazards that include: 1) extreme heat, 2) drought, 3) wildfires, 4) flooding, as well as 5) coastal flooding and erosion. For each hazard, the academy will prepare public and community leaders to understand: 

A. The predicted severity of specific extreme weather impacts on their community

B. Which populations within their community are most likely to be affected by those impacts 

C. Actions that families, businesses and governments can take to increase their resilience

D. A roadmap for improving community-scale policy adaptation

E. Which local, state, and federal programs provide technical and financial support

F. How to apply for and participate in these local, state, and federal programs 

A second activity of the Lab will be the creation of the hazard-specific policy advisory committees. Each committee will be comprised of experts from the research, private, nonprofit, and public sectors who are motivated to share their expertise with community and public leaders who seek to increase community resiliency. These advisory committees will also assist in the development of Leadership Academy trainings.     

A third activity of the Lab will involve bespoke, project-specific advising on community-specific extreme weather policy development and planning. For example, in the first year of the Policy Lab, there is an opportunity to support the City of Austin as it undertakes an impact assessment as well as a multi-hazard policy adaptation road map. These projects will serve as case studies for future use within the Leadership Academy. 

Responsibilities

• Assist in coordinating the Extreme Weather Leadership academy under supervision of the Director.

• Assist the Director in creating specific impact assessments and adaptation projects for local government.

• Communicate with scientists involved in making climate projections of extreme weather impacts for state and local leaders and planners.

• Assist the Director in coordinating with university researchers and public agency experts who focus on policy strategies for increasing local resilience to extreme weather impacts.

• Oversee teams of graduate student employees.

• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree

• At least 1-2 years of experience with public policy program coordination and implementation.

• Experience with proposal writing and public policy coordination.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree

• Experience with resiliency policy and planning for extreme weather hazards

• Experience with proposal writing.

• Experience with organizing training courses and scheduling speakers.

• Experience in coordinating with scientists, university researchers, and public agency experts on data products and policy strategies

• Experience dealing with specific impact assessments and adaptation projects for local government

Salary Range

$75,000+ depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Occasional after hours, weekend and holiday work may be required.

• Some travel in Texas, nationally and/or internationally may be required.

• Standard office conditions

• This position is based in Austin, Texas.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• Writing sample

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer , complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031 .

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.