Position summary:

The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) seeks a dedicated and skilled professional to serve as the Project Coordinator of Heat Equity Research Engagement. The Project Coordinator serves as a leader of a new initiative that seeks to bring research, tools, and technical assistance to communities across the United States and beyond in support of their ability to identify, prepare for, mitigate, track, and respond to the negative impacts of extreme heat and to advance cooling solutions. In partnership with state or federal government, other academic research institutions, and nongovernmental organizations, the initiative works directly with communities to provide training and technical assistance to build local capacity for heat mitigation, evaluate policy and planning priorities for protecting residents from heat, and facilitate learning.

Responsibilities will include:

• Collaborate and communicate with a diverse group of partners across a network of heat policy stakeholders. This will include facilitating effective communication among initiative leadership, external researchers, government agencies, community partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Develop and implement a system to recruit and respond to communities interested in participating in the initiative.
• Develop and implement systems to efficiently and proactively provide information, such as research-derived educational materials, to community partners and to track their technical assistance needs, progress, and ultimately their outputs and outcomes.
• Support grant management, budget tracking, and reporting to funders.
• Collaborate with colleagues to schedule and coordinate training and feedback sessions for the communities, and to share information with a broader network of interested communities.

Who we’re looking for:

• You are committed to supporting heat resilience in impacted communities. You have a bachelor’s degree (or masters) in public affairs, public policy, planning, social science, environmental studies, public health, or cognate fields. Ideally, you also have at least two years experience working in public policy, climate adaptation, community resilience, or similar fields and/or have lived experience in communities disproportionately impacted by extreme heat. You are committed to creating resources to empower communities to build heat resilience. You appreciate the importance of research-informed strategies for effective and equitable cooling solutions.
• You are a collaborator with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. You are a team player who can authentically build relationships and collaborate professionally with a diverse group of community partners, funders, and colleagues. You enjoy growing a network of civic partners that you can learn from and support to advance community priorities. You are a strong writer who communicates complex information in clear and accessible ways.
• You’re entrepreneurial and a proactive learner. You enjoy taking on new challenges that allow you to pioneer processes while helping to jump start exciting new initiatives. You proactively do your homework and take initiative, first running new ideas by your supervisor and then collaborating with colleagues to create new systems for doing things effectively.
• You’re highly organized and use technology to make administrative processes run smoothly. Above all, you have a strong attention to detail with excellent organizational and administrative skills. You use technology to make workflows move efficiently, including to ensure the careful tracking and delivering of tasks by deadline. You excel when you juggle multiple responsibilities. Ideally you have experience managing projects, grants, or contracts.

About the Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI):

Our mission is to advance effective and equitable solutions to pressing environmental challenges through actionable research that engages UCLA scholars, policymakers, and communities. We often focus on California, the world’s fourth-largest economy, to support a model of environmental leadership that is relevant globally. Our approach is collaborative. We unite scholars across a wide array of disciplines and engage with hundreds of civic partners who inform and use our research. The Luskin Center for Innovation has influenced dozens of public policies and investments for a more equitable and sustainable future.

It’s an exciting time to join the Luskin Center for Innovation, one of the most impactful research centers in California advancing environmental equity. You’ll be part of a team of faculty, staff, and graduate students working in collaboration with civic partners, including in communities of color, to advance environmental equity during a critical period for evidence-based environmental action.

Details and to apply:

Candidates with a range of lived, professional, and academic experiences are encouraged to apply. We value diversity in all its forms and are committed to inclusive and transparent recruitment, hiring, and promotion processes.

This is a full-time position. Anticipated pay range, depending on experience and qualifications, is approximately $36 to $38 an hour (or the annual equivalent of $77,000 to $80,000). This position is eligible for full and generous University of California benefits. See here for details about UCLA employee perks.

Apply by April 1, 2024. For more details and for the application process, see UCLA’s official job posting.