Assistant Director of Engagement, Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR)

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Please see Special Instructions for more details.

Interested candidates should attach the following with their online application:

A statement of engagement philosophy.
- In your application for the Assistant Director for Engagement position, please include a 1-page statement that outlines your philosophy on engaging with a variety of audiences. Your statement should:
  - Explain your general approach to stakeholder engagement, including key principles that guide your work.
  - Describe how you tailor engagement strategies to meet the needs of different audiences, including government staff, scientists, neighborhood residents, or businesses.
  - Highlight any methods or tools you use to foster effective communication and collaboration.
  - Share an example of a successful engagement initiative you’ve led or participated in, and what you learned from the experience.
A sample of a written communication product tailored for a non-academic audience
- Please provide a 1-page sample of a written product demonstrating how you would effectively communicate a coastal resilience topic to an audience of local decision-makers (for example, these could include local government staff, homeowners, renters, businesses, or non-profits). Your sample may take any written format and may include graphics. Examples could include news letters, a fact sheet, social media posts, print outs of content for a web page, or more; just be aware our systems cannot accept video. You may either use a prior product you have created for other purposes or create a new product for this prompt, but your sample should:
  - Identify a relevant coastal resilience issue and its significance.
  - Communicate the potential impact of the issue on decisions.
  - Highlight any key data, information, or findings in a way that is appropriate for your audience.
  - Propose actionable recommendations or next steps that the decision-makers could consider.
  - Demonstrate an understanding of the audience by using language and framing that resonate with their decision-making processes.

For additional information regarding the position, please contact Search Committee Chair Carol Considine, Director of Applied Projects, ICAR (cconsidi@odu.edu). Review of applications will begin on April 30, 2025.The position will remain open until it is filled.

Posting Details

Job Title	Assistant Director of Engagement, Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR)
Department	COASTAL RESILIENCY AUTHORITY
Position Number	GP609A
Location	Norfolk, VA
Job Summary	The Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR) in the Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation (OERI) at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, is inviting applications for an administrative and professional faculty Assistant Director for Engagement to support ICAR’s collaborations with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. ICAR advances the practice of coastal resilience and adaptation by engaging with communities, organizations, and businesses to develop and deploy solutions based on integrated, innovative, and applied research. This position is part of a unique collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia. As such, this position provides unique opportunities to advance applied, community engaged research in Virginia’s coastal zone as well as an expectation to provide technical capacity and assistance to Virginia localities, Commonwealth agencies, businesses, and nonprofits. The ICAR Assistant Director for Engagement will fill a critical gap in Hampton Roads for outreach, coordination, technical assistance, and scientific synthesis and integration capacity on coastal adaptation and resilience issues. The objectives of the Assistant Director of Engagement for ICAR are to communicate effectively about coastal adaptation and resilience external to and internally within ODU, to facilitate and conduct community-engaged research that supports inclusive resilience, to connect communities for knowledge exchange, and to support the development of the resilience workforce. This position requires providing vision for ICAR’s engagement portfolio and designing programs and projects with minimal supervision to implement practices for climate adaptation and coastal resilience. The successful candidate will manage existing ICAR engagement initiatives but also convene teams of faculty and community members to develop, write proposals for, and manage engagement in innovative initiatives requiring co-production in communities for resilience and adaptation.
Position Type	FullTime
Type of Recruitment	General Public
Minimum Qualifications	Graduate degree in a field related to disaster and climate resilience and adaptation (e.g., science and risk communication, geosciences, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, geography, planning, emergency management, landscape architecture, public policy, public health, coastal engineering, or another related field). Considerable knowledge of hazards and climate change and their impacts, including but not limited to erosion, coastal storms, sea level rise, nuisance flooding, and extreme heat. Considerable knowledge of planning and practices to reduce the risks of hazards and climate change and adapt to their impacts across social, economic, and environmental systems. Considerable knowledge of use-inspired research practices, including co-production of research with stakeholders. Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills, including skill in communicating science and/or technical information to non-scientists and skill in using a computer and virtual meeting technologies. Skill in building partnerships, networking, group facilitation, and collaboration. Skill in facilitating, conducting, and communicating applied research with communities. Skill in incorporating the diverse perspectives of multiple communities, including communities that have been historically marginalized and/or excluded, into resilience and adaptation projects and programs. Ability to work with academic faculty to synthesize and integrate research across disciplines and to assist academic faculty in incorporating applied community needs and input into innovative research. Ability to write interdisciplinary grant proposals and manage grant budgets. Ability to flex communication style to multiple cultural environments. Ability to collate financial paperwork and produce project progress reports. Ability to work independently and as a part of a team.
Preferred Qualifications	Ph.D related to disaster and climate resilience and adaptation (e.g., science and risk communication, geosciences, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, geography, planning, emergency management, landscape architecture, public policy, public health, coastal engineering, or another related field). Considerable work experience that includes documented experience in public engagement, including engagement with historically marginalized, under-represented, and other vulnerable communities and people. This work experience could be in higher education, local or state government agencies, private sector resilience service contracting, nonprofits, and/or research center settings. Working experience in one or more of the following content areas: coastal resilience, climate resilience, science and risk communication, geosciences, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, geography, planning, emergency management, disaster recovery and resilience, landscape architecture, public policy, public health, coastal engineering, or another related field. Working experience with grant applications and successful grant management.
Conditions of Employment
Job Open Date	03/26/2025
Open Until Filled	Yes
Application Review Date	04/30/2025
Job Close Date
Special Instructions to Applicants / Additional Materials Required	Interested candidates should attach the following with their online application: A statement of engagement philosophy. In your application for the Assistant Director for Engagement position, please include a 1-page statement that outlines your philosophy on engaging with a variety of audiences. Your statement should: Explain your general approach to stakeholder engagement, including key principles that guide your work. Describe how you tailor engagement strategies to meet the needs of different audiences, including government staff, scientists, neighborhood residents, or businesses. Highlight any methods or tools you use to foster effective communication and collaboration. Share an example of a successful engagement initiative you’ve led or participated in, and what you learned from the experience. A sample of a written communication product tailored for a non-academic audience Please provide a 1-page sample of a written product demonstrating how you would effectively communicate a coastal resilience topic to an audience of local decision-makers (for example, these could include local government staff, homeowners, renters, businesses, or non-profits). Your sample may take any written format and may include graphics. Examples could include news letters, a fact sheet, social media posts, print outs of content for a web page, or more; just be aware our systems cannot accept video. You may either use a prior product you have created for other purposes or create a new product for this prompt, but your sample should: Identify a relevant coastal resilience issue and its significance. Communicate the potential impact of the issue on decisions. Highlight any key data, information, or findings in a way that is appropriate for your audience. Propose actionable recommendations or next steps that the decision-makers could consider. Demonstrate an understanding of the audience by using language and framing that resonate with their decision-making processes. For additional information regarding the position, please contact Search Committee Chair Carol Considine, Director of Applied Projects, ICAR (cconsidi@odu.edu). Review of applications will begin on April 30, 2025.The position will remain open until it is filled.
Criminal Background Check	The final candidate is required to complete a criminal history check.
Department Information	ICAR was launched by an interdisciplinary group of faculty in 2018 to leverage over eight years of ODU investment and leadership in coastal adaptation and resilience scholarship. Buoyed by a $3 million endowment by Joan Perry Brock, ICAR hired an executive director in 2021 and embarked on an organization process to build an interdisciplinary center focused on leading fundamental and applied research, education, and engaged partnerships to develop practical solutions to the challenges coastal communities face. In 2023, ICAR launched its faculty, student, and community partner affiliation program focused on sea level rise and climate science, social science and policy, flooding and built environments, and the health dimensions of coastal resilience. ICAR catalyzes the action needed to build vibrant communities, strong economies, and healthy ecosystems across the Commonwealth of Virginia despite natural hazards and climate change (https://oduadaptationandresilience.org/). The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the Chesapeake Bay, with more than 91,000 members around Virginia. The CBF advocates for effective, science-based solutions to pollution impacting the Bay, its rivers, and its streams. CBF engages on climate resilience and adaptation in recognition that climate change and its resulting impacts could lead to additional pollution loads to the Bay. As Virginia’s localities, organizations, businesses, and people act to implement solutions that reduce climate change risk, CBF seeks to ensure that these actions also benefit the outcome of Virginia’s clean water blueprint (https://www.cbf.org/how-we-save-the-bay/chesapeake-clean-water-blueprint/state-watershed-implementation-plans/virginia/index.html).
Equity Statement	It is the policy of Old Dominion University to provide equal employment, educational and social opportunities for all persons, without regard to race (or traits historically associated with race including hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, religion, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation or genetic information. Individuals from minoritized communities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Reasonable Accommodation Request	If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity & Diversity at (757) 683-3141.
Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision	The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or © consistent with contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
ODU Statement	Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, is Virginia’s forward-focused public doctoral research university with more than 23,000 students, a top R1 research ranking, rigorous academics, an energetic residential community and initiatives that contribute 2.6 billion annually to Virginia’s economy.

Applicant Documents

Required Documents

Curriculum Vitae
Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Optional Documents

Contact Information for Professional References
Writing Sample 1
Unofficial Graduate Transcripts
Other Document
Writing Sample 2

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).