Part Time, Program Manager for Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments

About the role

Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) seeks a Program Manager to provide strategic operational and programmatic leadership for several flagship U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research (BER) programs, including NGEE-Tropics and NGEE Arctic, the AmeriFlux Management Project, and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) Science Focus Area.

Responsibilities

• Stakeholder and team communications: Serves as an important liaison between EESA leadership, DOE program managers, collaborating institutions, and project teams.
• Program Operations & Strategic Support: Partner with the PIs to understand their business needs and provide recommendations pertaining to operations activities; oversee the programmatic administrative activities to ensure provision of timely and effective support, including meetings and events, personnel activities, and other program initiatives.
• Proposal Development: Coordinate and manage proposal creation and submission, interfacing with PIs, EESA management, and resource analysts to validate that requirements for document assembly, content review, and submission are in compliance with the guidance provided by the funding source or by collaborators (e.g., DOE, other federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, or private industry).
• Progress Tracking, Reporting and Compliance: Track project milestones, and deliverables. Create concise and logical scientific technical project progress reports as required.
• Budget and Finances: In collaboration with Resource Analysts, utilize institutional systems to assist with tracking budget/spending and providing PIs with routine financial reports and occasional special reports.
• Subcontracts management: Following general guidelines for assessing financial status of subawardees, manage encumbrances and make recommendations for subawardee funding increments. Coordinate and process subcontract requisitions with the Procurement Department and EESA matrixed Financial Staff. Coordinate process for subawardee milestones and deliverables via quarterly newsletters.
• Field Site Safety & Property Management: Support field site safety and fieldwork coordination, property and equipment tracking, and site closeout activities to ensure compliance and effective stewardship of program resources.
• Recruitment and Hiring: Work closely with the CESD Sr. Advisor, and HR Center staff to help plan and coordinate the recruitment and onboarding of new positions into the Program and related projects.
• Meetings/Events: Oversee the full range of event coordination and management, which may include travel. Develop and track schedules and oversee a variety of deliverables; such as scientific presentations, posters, and media materials.
• Program Communications: Help maintain program visibility through websites, outreach materials, and communications platforms. Monitor and maintain/update the content for project websites and intranet.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field with 2–5 years of experience in program administration, project coordination, planning, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proficiency with business and productivity software, including Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, calendar management tools, email platforms, and enterprise business systems.
• Working knowledge of project planning, budgeting, scheduling, resource coordination, and information tracking.
• Experience providing programmatic and operational analysis to support organizational goals and decision-making.
• Strong organizational skills with a high level of integrity, professionalism, discretion, and accountability.
• Experience preparing, organizing, and maintaining technical or scientific reports, documentation, and related materials.
• Proven ability to work independently, establish priorities, manage multiple responsibilities, and exercise sound judgment within assigned areas of responsibility.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across diverse teams and stakeholder groups.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong editing and proofreading skills, with attention to grammar, style, clarity, and overall document quality.
• Experience using institutional or enterprise systems (such as FMS, Cognos, eSRA, or similar platforms) to support proposal submissions, budget development and tracking, spend plan management, and financial reporting.
• Advanced technical proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, websites, databases, and other business applications.