Sustainable Healthy Communities Support - ORAU

The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Sustainable Healthy Communities Support position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Cincinnati, OH.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

What the EPA project is about

Within ORD, the Center for Environmental Measurement & Modeling (CEMM) conducts research to advance EPA’s ability to measure and model contaminants in the environment, including research to provide fundamental methods and models needed to implement environmental statutes. The methods and models developed by CEMM are typically applied at the airshed, watershed and ecosystem level. Within CEMM, the Watershed & Ecosystem Characterization Division (WECD) conducts research to advance EPA’s ability to characterize the presence, transport, transformation, sources, and impacts of contaminants in watersheds and ecological systems. WECD develops, evaluates, and applies watershed management tools to characterize both ecological response and economic benefits. The methods, tools, and technologies inform effective watershed management practices as well as minimize health risks to various chemical and microbial contaminants.

As a team member, you will receive hands-on administrative/scientific experience in support of a variety of special assignments and projects related to environmental restoration and management. This includes supporting project management activities, preparing power point presentations, literature and web searches, coordination with staffing on schedules, and a variety of activities involving internal and external communications for the Benefits from Remediation, Restoration, and Revitalization Research Area within the Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) Research Program of EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

How you will apply your skills

Primary responsibilities:

• Assisting with the application and development of decision support tools and methods for environmental management.
• Supporting principal investigator with project management activities.
• Supporting principal investigator in the convening and organizing of internal and external project meetings and calls.
• Assisting with research in various sources for current information on a variety of topics associated with ecosystem services research and case studies and decision support tool development and application.
• Developing power point presentations.
• Assisting with writing and editing science articles and other communications materials.
• Assisting with the development of content (e.g., new/updated text and graphics) supporting web site development and maintenance.
• A minor amount of lab and field work such as processing samples and assembling Hester-Dendy samplers.

Communications-related responsibilities:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team.
• Interacting with EPA scientists.
• Effectively communicating both verbally and in writing.

The team member may have opportunities to participate in conferences, workshops, and/or seminars in support of the Statement of Work. This position seeks someone who is organized; works independently; exhibits articulate written and oral communication skills; and is team-oriented.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• A mix of coursework in environmental sciences or sustainability;
• Technical writing experience as demonstrated by a technical writing sample;
• Experience with MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook;
• Experience compiling, organizing, and summarizing literature references; and
• Experience developing scientific graphics, tables and other products. 

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience as a member of a multi-person project team or with team leadership or organization (examples may include experiences in group projects or extracurricular teams or clubs);
• Experience with MS Access and EndNote X7; and
• Experience using open-source scripting languages and products development frameworks such as HTML, CSS, Javascript and Electron.

Location:  This job will be located EPA’s facility in Cincinnati, OH.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $24.01 for hours worked.

Hours: Full-time.

Travel: The participant may optionally participate in one to three overnight trips to Toledo, Ohio to collect water samples and change out water quality sensors at the Otter Creek restoration project.

Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin December 2024. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA.

For more information, contact EPANSSC@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have earned at least a Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, marine biology, zoology, chemistry, geography, social sciences, or a related field of study from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.