Overview: 

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) develops collaborative solutions to global ocean challenges. Our scientists explore dynamic ocean systems from marine life to environmental conditions to coastal economies. We infuse our discoveries into the policy arena and design solutions with fishermen and seafood businesses to protect fishery resources, harvest them responsibly, and market them as premium quality food. We share our discoveries with the public and nurture a culture of leadership in communities that depend on the sea. Our education programs cultivate science literacy and build a foundation of collaborative problem-solving among our next generation of leaders, scientists, citizens, and stewards. Each year, we serve over 25,000 stakeholders from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia.

GMRI is seeking applicants for a combined project manager and research associate to work under the supervision of Dr. Kathy Mills; the position will be based in Portland, Maine. The successful candidate will support coordination and management of FishSCORE (Fisheries Strategies for Changing Oceans and Resilient Ecosystems by 2030), a global program endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. FishSCORE is a global network of fishery scientists, stakeholders, resource managers, community practitioners, and policy makers who will co-develop knowledge and tools for assessing and operationalizing climate resilience in diverse fisheries around the world. The successful candidate will coordinate, facilitate, and participate in a broad range of activities related to FishSCORE (see ‘responsibilities’ section for more details). While FishSCORE will be the primary focus, this position will also support research related to climate impacts, adaptation and resilience, which will contribute to the overall goals of the FishSCORE program. The successful candidate would serve as a research associate on a few projects aligned with his/her areas of expertise, experience, and interest. Within the existing project portfolio, topical expertise in quantitative ecological analysis, ecological and coupled social-ecological modeling, or qualitative social science would be valuable. This is an exciting and unique opportunity for candidates to hone their research skills while simultaneously gaining valuable project management experience.

Responsibilities/Tasks:

FishSCORE project management

  • Help build the FishSCORE network with participants from fisheries around the world
  • Support development of program structure, coordination, and implementation plans
  • Coordinate and facilitate FishSCORE team meetings as well as projects and initiatives (e.g., working groups, webinars, workshops)
  • Support internal communications within FishSCORE and external communications with other Ocean Decade entities and interested parties—including developing and maintaining communication platforms, websites, and data management systems as well as preparing materials for workshops, presentations, and media
  • Lead project reporting for Ocean Decade entities, sponsors, and as needed for other purposes
  • Manage project budgets and budget planning for FishSCORE, both within GMRI and in coordination with other partners and sponsors as needed
  • Participate in FishSCORE activities and research as aligned with interests and expertise
  • Conduct literature reviews and other scoping (including attending topically-relevant meetings) to develop background necessary to guide project activities and situate them within other ongoing efforts
  • Contribute to strategy and proposal development to support future projects and activities, including research, engagement, communication, and synthesis efforts

Research Associate role

  • Research responsibilities will be determined in collaboration with the successful candidate based on how project needs align with the interests, skills, and experience of the candidate. We have a strong need for more research capacity associated with species distribution modeling, but the full project portfolio in Dr. Mills’ Integrated Systems Ecology Lab spans a range of ecological and social science topics and approaches. In general, these responsibilities will include:
  • Acquire and manage project data sets, including following data collection and management standards for biological and human subjects research and adhering to rules for use of certain fishery-dependent data sets
  • Organize data and conduct appropriate analyses (e.g., statistical, modeling, qualitative)
  • Visualize and synthesize results of analyses and modeling
  • Perform literature reviews and syntheses associated with research topics
  • Manage notes and code for manipulating and processing data in accessible, replicable, and well documented manners
  • Contribute to writing of project reports and manuscripts

Other General Responsibilities:

  • Participate as a member of Mills’ Integrated Systems Ecology Lab and GMRI’s research team, including joining lab meetings, research staff meetings, GMRI staff meetings, and other activities
  • Collaborate with and contribute to GMRI’s community team and Climate Center on topics related to climate change and fisheries
  • Interact with internal groups and external partners to help identify ways of improving, advancing, and better integrating our work on climate change impacts, adaptation, and resilience to enhance and extend its impact
  • Occasional domestic or international travel to FishSCORE network meetings, project team workshops, and industry and scientific conferences
  • Participate in GMRI Communications and Development activities, as appropriate
Requirements
  • Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, including natural sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary degree programs or equivalent work experience in fisheries management or science
  • Knowledge of marine fisheries
  • Familiar with and conversant in terminology, concepts, and research associated with climate risk, vulnerability, adaptation, mitigation, and resilience
  • Prior experience working in collaborative settings with scientists, natural resource-based industry or business stakeholders, natural resource managers, and/or community members
  • Strong written and oral communication skills, including print materials and presentations for scientific, stakeholder, public, and/or media audiences
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team
  • Excellent time management and organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and timelines
  • Fluent in English
  • Eligible to work in the United States

Other Preferred Qualifications:

  • Familiarity and experience with the Google platform (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms, etc.), Box, WordPress, R, GitHub
  • Prior experience working with fishing industry stakeholders, fishery managers, and/or coastal communities
  • Experience designing and facilitating meetings and workshops with scientists and non-scientists
  • Experience managing working groups or project teams to achieve desired products (including work planning and coordination, scheduling, budget management)
  • Experience managing project budgets and timelines
  • Eye for graphic design and ability to implement designs in R, Illustrator or other tools, or in some cases to translate a vision to our graphics designer and work collaboratively to generate final set of products
  • Proficient in a language other than English

Diversity and Inclusion:

Gulf of Maine Research Institute has a long-standing policy and commitment to providing equal access and equal employment opportunities in all terms, conditions, processes, and benefits of employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. GMRI’s employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status.

Applicants and employees are encouraged to voluntarily self-identify their race/ethnicity, gender, disability status and veteran status to assist GMRI in fulfilling various data reporting requirements of the federal government. This self-identification is completely voluntary, will be kept confidential and separate from your application data, and used only to meet federal reporting requirements. Providing or declining to provide this information will not result in adverse action of any kind.

Salary and Benefits:

Gulf of Maine Research Institute offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary: $52,200 to $67,000

Application Instructions:

All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter, CV or résumé, and list of three references and their contact information. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the successful candidate has been selected.

Per GMRI’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all GMRI personnel are required to maintain full vaccination status against COVID-19, as defined by CDC, unless a reasonable accommodation is approved.

Salary Description
$52,200 to $67,000 yearly

More information can be found here.