CPAESS Program Specialist II - Event and Travel Team Lead
Job Description
UCAR is excited to announce the job opening for the Program Specialist II role with the Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS). This position serves as Event and Travel Team Lead for CPAESS. With broad direction, draws upon excellent project management, organizational and time-management skills to successfully manage events and travel at the programmatic level.
- Community Building assembles the scientific community for conferences, workshops, and events.
- CPAESS provides a comprehensive suite of services to sponsor organizations including in-person, virtual and hybrid meetings, planning and management, financial management, broadcasting capabilities, website development, registration services, digital communications, and a multitude of other logistic capacities.
- Scientific Programs holds educational events such as summer schools, institutes, and special events such as symposia.
- These two thematic areas enable sharing and deepening of specific scientific topics as well as training and networking opportunities.
CPAESS serves the Earth System Science community in three distinct areas of service. We partner with federal agencies and businesses to hire critical scientific staff enabling a more robust workforce. Through our scientific programs we seek to edify new research with our postdoctoral programs, our visiting scientist and internship programs, along with our interagency support programs. We also help build the Earth system science community by convening and managing summer schools and institutes, conferences, and advisory committees.
Required Application Materials
In lieu of a traditional cover letter, answer the following prompts that address the critical skills needed for this position. Your answers will be read and weighed equally to your Resume/CV and should provide specific, detailed, and informative responses based on your direct and previous work experiences.
- Program & Event Management: Describe a time you managed a complex, high-stakes event or program with a tight timeline and multiple stakeholders (e.g., budget constraints, vendor negotiations, competing sponsor priorities). What was your approach to keeping the project on track, and what specific decisions or trade-offs did you make when things didn't go as planned? What was the outcome?
- Team Leadership & Development: Tell us about your experience supervising or leading a team - including someone whose performance needed active management. How did you approach goal-setting, feedback, and professional development, and how did you balance your team's day-to-day workload with your own project responsibilities?
- Stakeholder/Partnership Management: Describe a situation where you had to assess a stakeholder, partner, or client's needs and translate them into a proposal, budget, or plan - particularly one where expectations, scope, or resources shifted along the way. How did you manage the relationship and communicate changes, and what did you do to maintain trust and a positive outcome?
Work Location Expectations
This position is open to candidates seeking in-person or hybrid (combination of 3 days in-person and 2 days of remote). UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.
Background Checks
Background checks are conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more.
Benefits Overview
UCAR affirms its commitment to employees through competitive benefits. In addition to medical, dental, vision, retirement, and life insurance, UCAR offers a variety of programs focused on work-life balance and professional, and personal development. These include: Tuition Assistance, time off allowance to attend classes, and other professional development opportunities. UCAR contributes 10% of your eligible pay into your retirement account; 100% fully vested on day one. Starting minimum accrual of 20 days of personal time off each year (prorated for less than full-time positions). 10 paid holidays. 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Short-term medical leave paid at 100% of your regular salary. EcoPass for local Colorado residents to use the Denver and Boulder-area transit system at no cost.
Commitment to Job Application Fairness
Applicants are not required to provide age or age-related information and may redact information related to age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution from any submissions during the initial application process.
Equal Opportunity Employer
UCAR is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or pregnancy.
Export Control
All positions are required to comply with U.S. export compliance regulations and work location requirements regarding access to facilities and research systems.