Careers

USDA - Agricultural Research Service Great Plans Agroclimate & Natural Resources Research Unit located in El Reno, Oklahoma is recruiting anew Director for the Southern Plains Climate Hub.  The Great Plans Agroclimate & Natural Resources Research Unit has a long tradition of research impacting natural resource issues and the Southern Plains Climate Hub plays a major role in this research. Plus, Central Oklahoma is a fantastic region with numerous indoor and outdoor opportunities. Please distribute to colleagues.

Full job announcement and application details: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/629078200

Open & closing dates - 12/30/2021 to 1/31/2022

Job Series: 0401 General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences (0401) or General Physical Science (1301)

GS level: 14 or 15

Duties

• Ensure the Hub's Partnerships/Coordination; Research; Information Synthesis/Tool Development; Assessments; Education; Communication and delivery strategy; and adaptation and mitigation and mitigation demonstrations are accomplished.
• Oversee the various projects involving subdivision of activities into separate phases.
• Serve as a key conduit for communicating stakeholder needs to the research leadership within agency/USDA and other research institutions.
• Oversee the analyses of the gap between the needs of the stakeholders and the availability of the current tools and information services.
• Collaborate with Federal and state research organizations to identify USDA Climate change research within the region and to integrate results of the research into the Climate Hub deliverables.
• Coordinate and/or participate in Hub climate change outreach efforts with regional USDA Service Centers, Cooperative Extension, State Climatologists, and other outreach providers in their region.
• Serve as a regional subject matter expert on topics of climate change adaptation and mitigation of working lands and agricultural systems.
• Represent the agency on issues relating to weather and climate variability and projected climate change with direct and indirect impacts to agriculture and forestry. 

Qualifications

At the GS-14: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. Qualifying experience for GS-14 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-13 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience conducting research related to weather or climate change; providing feedback to stakeholders regarding weather or climate change; and managing a communication plan that provides access to scientific research data.

At the GS-15: Qualifying experience for GS-15 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-14 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience interpreting and synthesizing climate change forecasts and information to support decision makers; participating in the identification of research that meets stakeholder's needs and the development of climate change research proposals; and collaborating with Federal and state research organizations to identify climate change research needs.