CPAESS Program Specialist II - Event and Travel Team Lead

Visa Sponsored Job:

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

Job Location:

Position Type:

Hiring Range:

$72,082 - $90,103

*Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, and skills relevant to the role.*

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 11:59pm MT on Friday, July 24. Applications will not be accepted past this date.

Required application materials (preferably in PDF Format, when possible):

• Resume

• Questionnaire - to be completed when submitting your application
  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. Please keep responses to 1-3 paragraphs per prompt.

  • 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?

Background checks are conducted for candidates selected for hire. Learn more.

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.

Here is a summary of what one would expect to be generally responsible for in this role.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Event Management

• Provide high-level project management of CPAESS events and subawards, including budgets, vendor negotiations, deliverables, and reporting.

• Manage a portfolio of meeting and subaward projects on a day-to-day basis, including complex, time-sensitive deliverables.

• Drive standardization of project management best practices; identify opportunities to improve program effectiveness and recommend courses of action.

• Act as Meeting Planner or Travel Coordinator as needed; serves as staff specialist for event and travel support.

Team Leadership & Supervision

• Manage a team of event coordinators and travel arrangers, including annual performance evaluations and development/monitoring of SMART goals.

• Forecast staffing requirements and oversees training, development, and professional growth of team members.

• Partner with the CPAESS Assistant Director on staffing actions, and recommend salaries for promotions and merit increases.

• Maintain processes that build a diverse and inclusive workforce and workplace environment.

Sponsor & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the primary point of contact to assess sponsor needs, budgets, and new event opportunities.

• Develop proposals and budgets in collaboration with the CPAESS Assistant Director and leadership team.

• Represent CPAESS to sponsors and external stakeholders.

Successful candidates will ensure their application materials speak to the following criteria:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in science, education, public administration or a related field;

• 2 years of relevant experience in event and program planning;

• Or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Desired, but not required:

• CMP or PMP Certification.

• Experience with content management software, such as Drupal.

• Knowledge of travel planning and program management processes, including UCAR's travel policies and procedures.

• Experience with Cvent Event Management Software.

• Knowledge of relevant UCAR policies.

• 2 years of supervisory experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Project Management

• Demonstrated project management skills, including prioritization, risk assessment and mitigation, budgeting, and project accounting; ability to develop a project risk management strategy and report on status to the CPAESS director and stakeholders.

• Advanced skill in organizing, coordinating, and prioritizing a wide variety of tasks, working independently across multiple concurrent deadlines while maintaining high quality and quantitative standards.

• Core competencies include initiative, communication, critical thinking, creativity, analytical reasoning, and process management.

• Understanding of government contracts management processes; ability to work with UCAR Contracts personnel to meet contractual project needs.

Supervision

• Demonstrated ability to supervise the work of others, interpret and apply policies and procedures, and handle confidential information with discretion.

• Skill in identifying program opportunities and problems and recommending courses of action.

Event Planning & Technical

• Demonstrated knowledge of event planning and logistics, including AV equipment, onsite support for in-person events, and online meeting/registration platforms; experience with tools such as Zoom, WebEx, and Slido.

• Proficiency with relevant business software: Google's suite of apps, Concur travel and expense management, and standard word processing, database, presentation, and spreadsheet tools.

• Experience developing events, proposals, and budgets in partnership with steering committees.

Other

• Professional and collegial attitude when managing stressful timelines and complex programmatic situations.

• Demonstrated ability to adapt to a changing work environment.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to perform well as an effective team member within diverse groups.

• Proven ability to develop and foster positive relationships with a variety of stakeholders.

• Advanced oral communication skills; proficient written English communication, including drafting, editing, and proofreading complex materials for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity.

• Ability to travel when required (4-6 domestic trips per year, with trips lasting up to a week at a time).

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.

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.

At NSF NCAR| UCAR | UCP, you will work alongside a dedicated team of professionals conducting critical research and community outreach to solve complex Earth system science problems including climate change, air pollution, extreme weather, floods, drought, wildfires, and space weather, all with the goal of improving human life and reducing economic loss. Each of us, from scientists to the professionals who support their work, serves the public and a collaborative community of scientists in our mission to understand the complex processes that make up the Earth system, from the ocean floor to the Sun's core.

Flexible Work

At UCAR, we are committed to supporting our mission by giving staff the flexibility to find the schedule and location that works best to maintain their own work-life circumstances and reach their full potential as professionals. Many positions within our organization are eligible for fully on-site, hybrid (three days per week) and/or flexible work hours.

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.Whatever your intersection of identities, you are welcome at UCAR.

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.

Work Location

UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

AI Software

ChatGPT and similar AI software are powerful tools that are changing theway society receives, processes, and leverages information promptly. While we acknowledge its benefits and do not restrict leveraging it with job applications, we highly encourage a majority of the applicant material to be original work.