Job Opportunities

Organization Overview

The Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland (CGS, cgs.umd.edu) is a leading climate, energy, and sustainability research center based in the Washington, DC area. Through innovative research and policy engagement, CGS seeks to change the way that governments, diverse organizations, communities, and people envision and implement possibilities for ambitious climate and sustainability action.

Position Description

The Center for Global Sustainability (CGS, cgs.umd.edu) at the University of Maryland (UMD) seeks to hire up an Assistant or Associate Research Professor to join our expanding team. The candidate should have a demonstrated track record, appropriate to rank, of research production, field leadership, fundraising, and experience in the research-policy interface on topics of climate change and sustainability. This is a three-year, renewable, non-tenure-track position within CGS and on the faculty of the School of Public Policy at UMD. This position is primarily focused on research; teaching is not a requirement of the position but may be possible.

The ideal candidate will have strong methodological capabilities and experience in one or more of the following topical areas:

• Climate ambition assessment in major economies
• Long-term climate and development strategies
• All-of-society approaches to climate action and mitigation
• Financing the energy and climate transition toward net zero
• Just and equitable energy and economic transitions
• Strategies for fossil fuel phaseout
• Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, including methane
• Expertise in India, Brazil, Indonesia, or the United States

Experience and Qualifications

The candidate should be self-motivated, team-oriented, committed to mentoring and education, and interested in developing and applying field-leading research to inform policy-making on climate and sustainability issues. Specific required and preferred skills are:

Minimum Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. from an accredited college or university

Desired qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Public Policy, Engineering, Economics, or related field, with expertise in climate, energy, and/or sustainability issues
• Meaningful experience working in policy environments outside of academia
• Depending on rank, recognized national or international leadership in one or more fields relating to climate, energy, and sustainability
• At least 1–3 years of research-related experience beyond the Ph.D. for assistant rank; or 5–7 years for associate rank
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong research and project management skills
• Strong publication record appropriate to rank
• The ability and desire to work in a fast-paced, team environment
• Demonstrated experience in fundraising
• Ccommitment to educating, mentoring, and training the next generation of climate and sustainability research and policy leaders; this could include, but does not require, interest and ability to teach courses

To apply, please visit: https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/113817. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled; the priority deadline is October 15, 2023.

About the Center for Global Sustainability: Through world-leading research and policy engagement, the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland seeks to change the way governments, communities, businesses, and people can envision and implement possibilities for ambitious climate action. In a world with rapidly changing politics, technology, and knowledge about new opportunities, we develop and apply diverse research methodologies to illuminate pathways to success in realizing a higher-ambition trajectory toward our shared climate, energy, and sustainability goals. CGS has programs advancing understanding of: ambitious national and state climate strategies, fossil phase-out, energy innovation and technology, climate finance, and other priorities globally and in diverse country contexts, including programs in the United States, China, Indonesia, India, and Brazil, with additional projects and expertise in other major economies and a program supporting the State of Maryland. CGS supports over 50 researchers and works with a rich community of collaborators around the world. We also support building future research and policy leaders through our mentoring and education for students at the undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels at the University of Maryland and through our early career scholars’ program. CGS is housed within the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, which focuses on integrating practice with research, blending national and international policy, and working at all policy levels from local to global. It grants degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. It currently counts in its community roughly 800 undergraduates, 300 graduate students, 500 Executive Program students, 60 staff, and 80 faculty. The University of Maryland, College Park, is a land-grant, sea-grant, top ten R1 public research university, and is the major research university in the Washington, DC area, located 8 miles from the U.S. Capitol. It has an annual budget of $2.1 billion and administers approximately $1.2 billion in combined University of Maryland annual research awards. It has strengths in climate, energy, and environmental policy, climate and earth sciences, remote sensing, climate and energy modeling, and the social sciences. More information is available at cgs.umd.edu.

Diversity Statement: The University of Maryland, College Park, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. The Center for Global Sustainability is committed to fostering a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive world both within our community and through collaborative research and action. Read the CGS Vision on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion here.

Background Checks: Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify you from employment.

Organization Overview

The Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland (CGS, cgs.umd.edu) is a leading climate, energy, and sustainability research center based in the Washington, DC area. Through innovative research and policy engagement, CGS seeks to change the way that governments, diverse organizations, communities, and people envision and implement possibilities for ambitious climate and sustainability action.

Position Description

The Director of Communications and Public Affairs will lead initiatives to support, enhance, measure, and communicate the impact of CGS on policy, research, and other outcomes at global, national, and state levels. This is a key leadership position and reports to the CGS director.

Key Responsibilities:

• Overall Strategy: Develop both short- and long-term communications strategies that support, enhance, measure, and communicate the impact of CGS on policy outcomes, research, and other outcomes at global, national, and state levels. This includes refining and strengthening external strategy, marketing, internal and external communications, media engagement and placements, engagement with diverse audiences, and recruitment.
• Media Relations: Provide day-to-day communications support including heavy media relations – cultivating relationships with top-tier reporters, drafting messaging and talking points and placing op-eds.
• Thought Leadership: Support the delivery and development of thought-leadership, communications strategies and messaging to align and promote CGS, the CGS director, and other CGS principals across priority areas of expertise and research. In doing so, help raise the visibility and impact of CGS research, stimulate media interest, and build brand awareness among key audiences.
• Asset Development:
  • Prepare written materials for internal and external audiences, including one-pagers, memos, briefings, and presentation slides.
  • Create and edit digital/social communications toolkits including social media posts, newsletters, scripts, and blogs.
• Digital Channels and Community Management: Oversee design, production, and effective multichannel distribution of CGS’s research products and messaging. This will include enhancing and managing a robust digital and social media strategy and intelligence capability.
• Track, Measure, and Assess: Track and measure ongoing interaction and engagement with CGS’s brand, research, thought leadership, products and advocacy efforts. Use data-driven and other analytical strategies to determine program and initiative success. Understand and track the effectiveness of key marketing and brand initiatives, research, programs/events, and overall enhancement of experience.
• Policy and Public Affairs: Keep abreast of energy, sustainability, climate, and environment policy issues, flagging impact on CGS narrative, research, programs and partners.
• Events Support: Support preparation and execution of events and meetings, including invitation lists, guest correspondence, and materials in coordination with program leads, communications team, strategic engagement team, events team, and contract vendors. Manage and support research presentations and production, events, conferences, and other aspects of external engagement.
• Managing communications partner relationships: Explore opportunities for, and manage, relationships with partners and agencies to support social media, media engagement, or other aspects of the communications portfolio.

Experience and Qualifications

This position requires an innovative and energetic leader with a commitment and passion for building on CGS’s values, goals, and strategy. The candidate should be self-motivated, team-oriented, committed to mentoring and expanding the field, and interested in supporting and deploying leading research to inform policy-making on climate and sustainability issues. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated record of success.

Minimum qualifications:

• An undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited college or university

Desired qualifications:

• Advanced degree in relevant discipline
• Expertise in climate, energy, and sustainability issues
• Experience working with both universities and policy environments outside of academia
• Experience in linking research insights to external impact
• At least 10 years of experience in relevant areas, including marketing, communications, external affairs, media engagement, government relations, and/or brand management
• Senior management experience
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong project management skills
• The ability and desire to work in a fast-paced, team environment
• Commitment to enhancing CGS’s mission and goals

To apply, please visit https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/114418. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled; the priority deadline is November 10, 2023.

About the Center for Global Sustainability: Through world-leading research and policy engagement, the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland seeks to change the way governments, communities, businesses, and people can envision and implement possibilities for ambitious climate action. In a world with rapidly changing politics, technology, and knowledge about new opportunities, we develop and apply diverse research methodologies to illuminate pathways to success in realizing a higher-ambition trajectory toward our shared climate, energy, and sustainability goals. CGS has programs advancing understanding of: ambitious national and state climate strategies, fossil phase-out, energy innovation and technology, climate finance, and other priorities globally and in diverse country contexts, including programs in the United States, China, Indonesia, India, and Brazil, with additional projects and expertise in other major economies and a program supporting the State of Maryland. CGS supports over 50 researchers and works with a rich community of collaborators around the world. We also support building future research and policy leaders through our mentoring and education for students at the undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels at the University of Maryland and through our early career scholars’ program. CGS is housed within the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, which focuses on integrating practice with research, blending national and international policy, and working at all policy levels from local to global. It grants degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. It currently counts in its community roughly 800 undergraduates, 300 graduate students, 500 Executive Program students, 60 staff, and 80 faculty. The University of Maryland, College Park, is a land-grant, sea-grant, top ten R1 public research university, and is the major research university in the Washington, DC area, located 8 miles from the U.S. Capitol. It has an annual budget of $2.1 billion and administers approximately $1.2 billion in combined University of Maryland annual research awards. It has strengths in climate, energy, and environmental policy, climate and earth sciences, remote sensing, climate and energy modeling, and the social sciences. More information is available at cgs.umd.edu.

Diversity Statement: The University of Maryland, College Park, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. The Center for Global Sustainability is committed to fostering a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive world both within our community and through collaborative research and action. Read the CGS Vision on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion here.

Background Checks: Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify you from employment.

The Center for Global Sustainability (CGS, cgs.umd.edu) at the University of Maryland is looking for a Post-Bachelors Research Associate(s) with strong analytical and communication skills and a desire to apply those skills in support of climate and sustainability issues. This position will be a full-time appointment for one year and renewable for two years based on performance.

The mission of CGS is, through our research and policy engagement, to change the way that governments, diverse organizations, and people around the world envision and implement new possibilities for ambitious climate action. Our team has significant and diverse experience in both delivering field-leading research and informing, supporting, and implementing policy in national and international contexts.

The candidate should be self-motivated, team-oriented, and interested in developing and applying high-quality research to inform policy on climate and sustainability issues. Specific required and preferred skills are:

Desired qualifications:

• Degree in Public Policy, Engineering, Economics, or related field, with knowledge in climate, energy and sustainability issues.
• Background in quantitative analysis, data collection and management.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Coding skills in R and/or Python.
• Dedication and strong ability to learn quickly.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment.

To apply, please visit: https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/111044. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled; the priority deadline is September 11th, 2023.

The Center for Global Sustainability (CGS, cgs.umd.edu) at the University of Maryland is looking for Post-Masters Research Associate(s) with strong analytical and communication skills and a desire to apply those skills in support of climate and sustainability issues. This position will be a full-time appointment for one year and renewable for two years based on performance.

The mission of CGS is, through our research and policy engagement, to change the way that governments, diverse organizations, and people around the world envision and implement new possibilities for ambitious climate action. Our team has significant and diverse experience in both delivering field-leading research and informing, supporting, and implementing policy in national and international contexts.

The Post-Grad Research Associate will work with CGS and our collaborators, as appropriate, to develop and apply robust and innovative research approaches to better understand pathways to reach challenging and ambitious climate and sustainability goals at international, national, and/or subnational levels. Such research approaches may include integrated quantitative analysis and modeling, empirical methods, qualitative and mixed methods, or other approaches to understanding energy systems, land use, non-CO2 climate forcers, and other topics at the center of climate policy and sustainability debates. Specific projects may include but are not limited to the following:

• Near- and long-term low carbon development strategies of key countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, etc.
• All-of-society climate mitigation strategies in the United States.
• Pathways to achieve Maryland’s 2031 emissions reduction and net-zero targets
• Accelerated fossil transition pathways in key countries, potentially including but not limited to subnational strategies.
• Co-benefits of climate change mitigation, such as air quality and human health, economic development, and other national priorities.
• Scenarios for analyzing climate and transition risks to the economy and financial system.
• Decarbonization strategies for industry, transportation, and other sectors.
• Methane and other non-CO2 reduction strategies at national or subnational levels.
• Agricultural and other land-related mitigation options.

Primary duties and tasks of this position may include:

• Conduct background research and analysis of climate, energy, environment, and sustainable development policies.
• Conduct background research on energy technology trends.
• Collect and synthesize data for use in quantitative, integrated modeling.
• Process, analyze, and visualize data.
• Modify and run an integrated assessment model (GCAM) to produce different policy and technology scenarios.
• Process and downscale model outputs to needed resolution.
• Contribute to developing reports and research papers.
• Support policy engagements with key local, national, and international stakeholders.
• Use a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to address key research questions.

The candidate should be self-motivated, team-oriented, and interested in developing and applying high-quality research to inform policy on climate and sustainability issues. Specific required and preferred skills are:

Minimum qualifications:

• Candidates must have received a Master’s degree within the past 24 months from an accredited college or university.
• Excellent English language proficiency required, particularly written.

Desired qualifications:

• Degree in Public Policy, Engineering, Economics, or related field, with knowledge in climate, energy and sustainability issues.e
• Background in quantitative analysis, data collection and management.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Coding skills in R and/or Python.
• Dedication and strong ability to learn quickly.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment.

To apply, please visit: https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/111395. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled; the priority deadline is September 11th, 2023.

The Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland is looking for a Maryland Program coordinator. The mission of CGS is, through our research and policy engagement, to change the way that governments, diverse organizations, and people around the world envision and implement new possibilities for ambitious climate action. Our team has significant and diverse experience in both delivering field-leading research and informing, supporting, and implementing policy in national and international contexts.

This position will provide coordination and research support across a portfolio of research projects supporting the state of Maryland’s climate goals as part of an ongoing collaboration between the Center for Global Sustainability and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). It will support both internal project management and external stakeholder engagement, including the facilitation of Working Group meetings as part of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change (MCCC). This position will also contribute to research analysis and development of research products related to the Working Group areas and beyond.

The candidate should be self-motivated, team-oriented, and interested in climate and sustainability policy within Maryland in addition to climate equity and inclusion. Specific required and preferred skills are:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience with climate policy in the state of Maryland and knowledge of stakeholder groups.
• Experience with justice and equity aspects of climate policy at the state and/or local level.
• Demonstrated commitment to expanding multicultural knowledge, awareness, and skills as evidenced through demonstrating self-awareness; understanding and valuing others; demonstrating knowledge of social inequalities; interacting effectively with a diversity of people; and fostering equity and inclusion.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Education and Experience:

• An undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 4 years of experience in relevant areas, including policy analysis, research program management, communications, external affairs, media engagement, government relations, and/or brand management.

OR

• A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline with a minimum of 2 years of experience in relevant areas.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience in linking research insights to external impact.
• Experience working with both universities and policy environments outside of academia.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Strong project management skills.
• The ability and desire to work in a fast-paced, team environment.
• Commitment to enhancing CGS’s mission and goals.

To apply, please visit https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/111779. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled; the priority deadline is October 9th, 2023.