Director Center for Integrated Research on the Environment CIRE

Profile

The

Center for Integrated Research on the Environment (CIRE)

invites applications for

Center Director

position. CIRE’s activities encompass natural and cultural resource issues throughout the nation and internationally and involve a diverse suite of stakeholders, customers, faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and research staff. Federal partners, like the USACE, develop Scopes-of-Work (SoW) that are submitted to the CIRE Director and Management Team to determine the assignment of faculty, research staff, subcontractors, and others, as required. The SoW is then reviewed by the CIRE Director and Management Team, at which point a proposal for work is generated and submitted to the federal partner for final review.

The Director will be the primary person responsible for seeking and acquiring new projects from a variety of federal partners (e.g., DoD, USACE, DoI, USDA). This will require development of relationships with each entity and consistent interaction with their project release platforms to identify project opportunities. The Director will also represent CIRE at a conferences and marketing outreach events to continue to expand CIRE’s nexus in federal lands management programs.

The Director reports to the Vice President of Research and will be supported fully by the CIRE Management Team. The Director oversees all proposals, manages and develops key relationships, and shares responsibilities for the management of the CIRE projects. The Director will assist in the oversight of project acquisition, proposal development, and liaising between federal and state partners.

The Director will provide the CIRE Management Team with guidance, leadership, and feedback. The Director will facilitate CIRE’s sustainable growth and expansion. Utilizing industry expertise, this person will effectively guide proposals, expansion efforts, and the development of new processes to foster long-lasting success at CIRE.

The Director will develop a plan to facilitate sustainable growth at CIRE. The general vision is that CIRE will manage 5-25 active projects at any one time with approved expenditures in those active projects of more than $15-20M. This may require operating with several faculty and staff who could be located in more than 10-15 different states. Thus, the Director must anticipate external and internal obstructions to projects’ and proposals’ successes and work with the Management Team to bring resolution to any issues that affect operations.

Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Oversight and direction of CIRE; including all project acquisition efforts, growth, and logistical matters

Providing long-term planning and organizational leadership for CIRE

Seeking project opportunities from a variety of outlets and develop project proposals in collaboration with the Management Team during the pre-award phase of SoWs and projects

Responsibility for CIRE’s year-to-year budget and reporting funding results to the VPR

Responsibilities are first, foremost, and predominantly administrative, in which operational decisions and forecasting are made. This requires advanced knowledge of large, multi-faceted business office and field operations

Primary direction and programmatic decision-making authority including planning and forecasting, but will rely on the Management Team for coordinating the execution of federal cooperative agreements and contracts for military project goals and objectives

Providing oversight, support, and/or supervision of field crews working on military and federal properties throughout the US

Assistance in the development of CIRE-specific systems and procedures to ensure effective managerial operations of all administrative and organizational components of the Center in the dynamical Federal, State and University environments

Provide the leadership interface between CIRE, the Army Corps of Engineers, and several other federal partners, project stakeholders, and customers

Travel up to 25% of duty time

This person will have a high degree of independence in establishing priorities and responsibilities of the unit and will report to the VPR. The Director will have supervisory responsibility for office staff hired in CIRE and will be supported by the Management Team for field supervisory duties.

The Director must have the capacity to daily maintain managerial command and control of CIRE’s projects, including their effective outreach across campus to colleges, schools, departments, faculty labs, and to other universities and private companies.

The University of Montana is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and has a strong institutional commitment to the principle of diversity in all areas. In that spirit, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who would assist the University in demonstrating its five priorities for action

: Place student success at the center of all we do; drive excellence and innovation in teaching, learning, and research; embody the principle of “mission first, people always; partner with place; and proudly tell the UM story.

Position Details

Position is full-time, 1.0 FTE, Letter of Appointment and includes a comprehensive and competitive benefits package

including Insurance package, mandatory retirement plan, partial tuition waiver, and wellness program.

Salary for this position is $170,000-$180,000 per year commensurate with qualifications.

Minimum Requirements

At least five (5) years of experience in a leadership position as a DoD civilian employee or commissioned contracting officer or grants officer or procurement analyst

At least five (5) years of experience in a leadership position as a DoD civilian employee or commissioned military officer in environmental compliance and cultural/natural resources program management at the USACE or AFCEC level

DoD Certified Acquisition Professional credentials of at least Level II in Contracting and Level I in Program Management (additional levels or certifications in additional specialties is a bonus)

Ability to leverage existing relationships to develop and maintain new business relationships with DoD, DoI, USFS, USFW, USDA and state/local agency customers/partners and private-sector contractors

The Director must have direct experience in conducting in-depth management of complex projects.

The person must possess graduate degree in business, finance, legal studies, or public administration.

The position requires extensive experience in working with and the handling of the complexities of large (>$10M) grants and programs.

The position also requires specific industry expertise, and the experience and skills to recognize and utilize an array of approaches needed for refinement of project implementation, sustainability, and reporting.

The Director must have experience in seeking, acquiring, and executing USACE-sponsored DoD projects on military lands. This person must have the experience, background, and capacity to exercise a high level of discretion and judgment over CIRE affairs including the capacity for forecasting and anticipating contract-by-contract managerial and operational constraints and opportunities.

Preferred Qualifications

Extensive experience in administration of pre-award and post-award federal compliance, either from the University or Federal side

Experience and education as a long-term Grants or Program Manager

Experience in long-term organizational planning for military field efforts, field operations management, and project management

About the Center for Integrated Research on the Environment

and UM

The Center for Integrated Research on the Environment (CIRE) promotes science and technology at the University of Montana, primarily in service to the Department of Defense. Our mission is to maintain readiness for the Department of Defense by conducting projects and providing deliverables in the cultural and natural sciences. CIRE is designed to work with federal, state, and tribal administrations and agencies in the collection, analysis, and application of environmental and cultural resource data, and to implement land rehabilitation and sustainability of public lands nationwide. CIRE applies best practices for sustainable use of land and water resources, innovative technologies, effective monitoring, education, and training.

The University of Montana is flagship, research institution with approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It is located in Missoula, a culturally vibrant community of about 75,000, surrounded by mountains and three rivers converge. Abundant recreational opportunities in surrounding state and national forests and nearby Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park complement a thriving intellectual atmosphere. The University of Montana offers eligible employees a generous benefits package that positively separates UM from other local employers and offers many programs and policies to support work-life balance for its employees.

Criminal Background Investigation is required prior to the Offer of Employment In accordance with University regulations, finalists for this position will be subject to criminal background investigations. ADA/EOE/AA/Veteran's Preference

Reasonable accommodations are provided in the hiring process for persons with disabilities. For example, this material is available in alternative format upon request. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, we encourage applications from minorities, veterans, and women. Qualified candidates may request veterans’ or disabilities preference in accordance with state law. References:

References not listed on the application materials may be contacted; notice may be provided to the applicant. Testing:

Individual hiring departments at UM may elect to administer pre-employment tests, which are relevant to essential job functions. Employment Eligibility:

All New Employees must be eligible and show employment eligibility verification by the first date of employment at UM, as legally required (e.g., Form I-9).

Company info

The University of Montana
Website : https://www.umt.edu