Associate Director

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Associate Director

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Position Type: Staff Full Time
Campus: UMass Boston
Department: SFE - Dean's Office
Pay Grade: 34
Date opened: 09 Apr 2026 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: 08 May 2026 Eastern Daylight Time

GeneralSummary

The Stone Living Lab (SLL) is an innovative and collaborative initiative focused on testing andscaling upnature-basedapproachestoclimate adaptationin Boston Harbor and beyond.We are a unique partnership between government agencies and nonprofits: UMass Boston School for the Environment, Boston Harbor Now, the City of Boston, the MassachusettsDepartmentof Conservation and Recreation, theMassachusetts Executive Office ofEnergy & EnvironmentalAffairs,the National Park Service, andthe Massachusetts Tribe atPonkapoag. As a "Living Lab," we bring research into the real world by engaging scientistsand the communityin collaborativedesign andexploration.Ourworkbringsusnot only along the coastlineof BostonHarbor, but into thewateritselfand out among the Boston HarborIslandsand other locations. Our areas of focus are research and monitoring, education and engagement, policy innovation, and climate preparedness.

The Stone LivingLab seeks an Associate Director to play a strategic role in attracting funding, developing research partnerships, and implementing a research agenda focused on coastal resilience and nature-based solutions . The Associate Director will apply strategic thinking toalign research priorities with long-term goals and increase Lab capacity for growth and new projects. This multi-year ro l erequires someone who is passionate about building research programs from the ground up, fostering trust-based research partnerships, managing complex projects and teams, and driving measurable outcomes in climate adaptationandnature-basedsolutions.Thisrolewill behousedwithintheSchoolfortheEnvironment and will work on SLL projects.

Thispositionisgrant-fundedandwillbeassessedonanannualbasistoconfirmtheavailabilityoffunding.

Exampleofduties

• LeadresearchprojectsandresearchproposalstoexpandLabcapacityforresearchon nature-based solutions.
• Presentresearchandprogramoutcomestointernalandexternalstakeholders.
• Writeandreviewresearchpresentations,reportsandotherscientificoutputssuchaspeer-reviewed journals.
• SupportotherresearchersindevelopingproposalsalignedwiththeLab'spriorities.
• Strategicprogramandoperationsmanagement.
• Overseeplanningandimplementationofworkshops,andotherresearchdissemination.
• AttendLabcommittee/workinggroupmeetingstomonitorprogressandcoordination.
• EnsurethattheLab'sresearch,policy,andeducationactivitiesalignwiththeLab'sguiding principles, directional visions, and internal processes .

Engagement

• Buildstrategiccollaborationswithcommunitypartners,publicagencies , andprivatesectorleaders .
• Assistwi t hrecruitmentandengagementofLabcomm i tteesandwork i nggroups .
• Serveonrelevantun i versitycommitteesandrepresenttheLabonissuesrelatedtocoastal resilience and climate adaptation.
• Performotherdutiesasassigned .

Qualifications

• Doctorateinrelatedareaand/orequivalentexperience/training .
• Advancedknowledgeofadmin i strative , humanresources,andbudgetmanagementprinciples and prac t ices.
• Advancedability to think creatively and independently on concepts requiring advanced analyticalsk i lls .
• Advancedinterpersonalskillsandabilitytoworkwith avarietyofgroupstoachieveresults.
• Exceptionalabilitytoworkcollaborativelywithinterna l andexternalpeersandmanagers.
• This pos i tion is hybrid and requiresa min i mum of twodays i n the office perweek .I t i sa37.5hrs/wkposit i on.

SupervisionExercised

Pos i t i on mayattimessuperviseundergraduateandgraduatestudentinternsandvolunteers.

Numberofnon - studentemployeesdirectlysupervised: 0

Numberof non-studentemployeesindirectlysupervised: 0

Averagenumberofstudentemployeessupervisedatanygiven time: 0-10

Application Instructions

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, wewill ensure that persons withdisabilitiesare provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact or .

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

The University of Massachusetts Boston provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, genetic information, pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, or membership in any other legally protected class. The University of Massachusetts Boston complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the university operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

UMass Boston does not provide visa sponsorships for non-academic positions.

The University of Massachusetts Boston is committed to providing a safe and secure environment that is supported by qualified employees for all of its students, faculty and staff to carry out the University's teaching, research and public service missions. As a condition of employment, the University will conduct appropriate background check reviews. For more information, please see the University of Massachusetts Boston campus policy and procedures for employee background reviews.

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