SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTAL OUTREACH COORDINATOR(PROJECT/TEMPORARY)

The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

At the University of Washington, diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.

WSG has an outstanding opportunity for a Temporary Socio Economic Outreach Coordinator (7 months)

In the Pacific Northwest, several types of algae can cause harm through accumulation in shellfish and subsequent transfer up the food chain to humans and marine wildlife. High concentrations of some algal species can cause fish and shellfish mortalities through direct exposure. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) have economic impacts on the commercial and tribal subsistence shellfish industries, which employs over 3,200 people in Washington State and contributes more than $270 million to the state economy. Recreational fisheries can also be impacted, and rural communities can suffer devastating impacts to tourist industries, including hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores. Early detection of HABs can enable selective or delayed harvesting of seafood, which minimizes risks to human health and reduces the economic costs to Puget Sound fisheries.

Washington Sea Grant (WSG), the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Washington Department of Health (WDOH) have received a grant from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Centers for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (NCCOS CSCOR) to estimate the socioeconomic benefits of SoundToxins, an early warning system for HABs in Puget Sound.

In Puget Sound, there are currently 240 shellfish companies permitted to provide shellfish for consumption in the marketplace and many more poised to enter shellfish farming. The SoundToxins program was established as a partnership of state and tribal shellfish growers, universities, environmental learning centers, state and county agencies and private citizens to ensure the public health and safety of shellfish consumers and confidence in shellfish products.

SoundToxins participants include a network of professionals as well as community science volunteers who monitor water quality and alert state health officials to the presence of potentially harmful phytoplankton. The SoundToxins partnership was conceived and initiated by NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 2006. Today, SoundToxins has grown to 35 partner organizations and 92 participants including WSG, which now manages the program.

This recently-funded project will use a combination of methods, including in-person interviews and mail-in surveys to estimate the net socioeconomic benefits of the early warnings of HABs provided by SoundToxins. These warnings allow aquaculture producers to alter their behavior to minimize the adverse impact of HABs.  Another objective is to estimate the net socioeconomic benefits of SoundToxins information to recreational shellfish harvesters that allows selective harvesting at “safe” beaches, compared to blanket closures of multiple beaches prior to initiation of the partnership.

Duties for the position include:

• Support and participate in PI meetings
• Support steering committee meetings
• Complete DOH biotoxin data visualization analysis product with DOH and Economist for Recreational Shellfish Econ AnalysisComplete shellfish grower decision making flow charts
• Work to update grower mailing list
• Arrange and conduct trial survey questions with select participants
• Work with PIs and steering committee to compile final grower survey instrument
• Work with WSG Communications to produce and mail survey
• Compile survey reports, nudge participation if surveys not coming back, provide statistics as needed to economist for modeling
• Work with economist and other PIs to process data for modelingWork with PIs to develop DOH survey instrument
• Trial instrument with steering committee
• Deploy survey to DOH
• Compile results of DOH survey for economist
• Provide backup on SoundToxins alert system - the alert system is needed for this project.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in ecology, marine sciences, environmental sciences, oceanography or related field
• 3 years minimum work experience in related field

Desired Qualifications

• Capacity to manage demanding workflow; initiate, manage and complete tasks with minimal supervision; work effectively with diverse constituencies in-person and remotely via email and phone; and maintain attention to detail and process.
• Experience working with large numbers of diverse partners and volunteers, demonstrating effective engagement, recruitment, training, and continuing education.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills that demonstrate the ability to interpret technical information and explain it accurately in non-technical language.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion shared by Washington Sea Grant and the UW College of the Environment.
• Use of Microsoft Office and Google suite products.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis of data and visual representation.
• Experience with field work, data management, quality assurance and community science.
• Understanding of the complex relationships among federal, state, and tribal resource management authorities in Washington.
• Arc GIS and other data visualization tools.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter, and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.