Research Coordinator

Are you an experienced researcher with a passion for protecting Oregon’s environment? Apply to be our next Research Coordinator (Research Analyst 4) by July 27, 2025! This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule reporting to our Shutter Creek Landing office 2-3 times per week. The work of this position is based in the Coos Bay area and statewide travel may be required.

Make a Difference for Oregon. The Department of State Lands (DSL) manages the lands that help fund our public schools and protects the state’s waterways and wetlands for the many benefits they provide. Our stewardship ensures vital natural and financial resources contribute to a vibrant, healthy Oregon now and forever. The DSL team makes a difference for Oregonians every day. As our Research Coordinator, you will too.

In this position, you will lead strategic day-to-day research planning, coordination, partnership, and scientific efforts for the Elliott State Research Forest (ESRF), under the direction of the ESRF Manager.

This is a full time, permanent position and is represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

What’s in it for you?

• Serve as the connection between the ESRF mission’s research foundation and its management and operational needs with relevant communities (e.g., the research community, forest managers and implementers).
• Receive 1-on-1 mentoring and support from natural resource experts.
• Join an organization with smart, driven, co-workers who care about Oregon’s economy, environment, and communities, and their co-workers.
• Gain full benefits with 95% to 99% of medical insurance premiums paid by the agency for full-time employees, including mental health and alternative care coverage.
• Accrue 8 hours of sick leave and at least 8 hours of vacation leave per month, with your vacation leave accruals increasing every 5 years.
• Receive 11 paid holidays, 1 floating holiday, 3 personal business days and other employee benefits such as optional insurances and flexible spending plans.
• Automatically enroll into the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) after 6 months of full-time service.
• Earn the initial monthly salary range for this position starting at $6,122- $9,409 for employees new to DSL; current PERS participating members start at $6,545-$10,063.

Working Conditions:

Your work as our Research Coordinator will be a mix of field and office settings; about eighty percent (80%) of the work is conducted in the office and about twenty percent (20%) of the time is spent traveling and doing fieldwork. The fieldwork requires the ability to traverse difficult terrain during all weather conditions and an ability to work independently and sometimes alone in isolated locations. Occasional lifting and moving of equipment or samples weighing fifty pounds. Occasional walking distances more than fifty feet on uneven ground at construction sites or along the roadway. DSL provides agency-maintained vehicles, reimbursement for field gear, and travel expenses for authorized, on-the-job travel and fieldwork. This position is expected to work both independently in the field and with a team.

What you will be doing:

As our Research Coordinator, you will have the opportunity to:

• Plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research consistent with the ESRF Forest Management Plan, in collaboration with the staff, board and external partners.
• Maintain working knowledge of current and foundational science within the following areas: Biodiversity and at-risk species, climate change adaptation and forest carbon, natural and human-caused disturbance, socio-cultural intersections, and aquatic habitats and water in relation to forest management.
• Solicit funding for research proposals that respond to ESRF unifying research questions and oversee, track, and disperse resources in a manner responsive to the needs of grantors and the requirements of collaborating partners.
• Develop the next steps and finalization of a research consortium approach with multiple partners, advancement of related governance structures.
• Clarify and establish long-term research approaches and plan components.
• Coordinating near-term research project efforts and related monitoring.
• Build and maintain partnership efforts needed to build, support, and maintain the forest’s effectiveness in the areas of research and science.
• Support ongoing efforts with Oregon State University and other institutions; Tribes interested in integration of Indigenous stewardship and research opportunities on the forest; state and federal agency partners and their research and science priorities; local and statewide entities; and researchers themselves.
• Engage in the next step process for the Shutter Creek property and potential integration of research and science infrastructure in its future.
• Strategize efforts to situate the ESRF with the larger research, experimental, and science community and position the forest within relevant networks or statewide, national, and international relevance.
• Be a spokesperson for ESRF research and science efforts and interests, as well as engaging in opportunities to expand its profile in funding, policy, and science circles.
• Coordinate with forest staff, operators, and researchers in integrating research projects with management efforts.
• Advance opportunities or efficiencies in research-based monitoring with compliance-based monitoring and reporting.
• Engage the public in advancing ESRF research projects and overall endeavors.
• Lead field trips into the forest and deliver technical and educational presentations and lectures related to research in the forest.

For a full description of the duties and working conditions, please email Tricarico.schwartz@dsl.oregon.gov to request the position description.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS- to be considered for this position, please ensure you have one of the following combinations of education and/or experience:

A bachelor’s degree in Forest Ecology, Forest Management, Forest Biometrics, Forest Biology, Ecosystem Management or other related degree included six-quarter units in statistics or quantitative analysis methods and procedures, and three (3) years’ experience using computerized applications to independently gather, compile, and analyze data and prepare narrative or statistical reports. Two (2) of the three (3) years must have included coordinating complex research projects.

OR

Five (5) years of research experience using computerized applications to independently gather, compile, and analyze data and prepare narrative or statistical reports. Two (2) of the five (5) years must have included coordinating complex research projects.

NOTE: A master’s degree in environmental or a closely related field will substitute for up to one (1) year of the required experience and a doctorate degree in environmental science or a closely related field will substitute for up to two (2) years of the required experience.

Applicants who have obtained a master’s degree or Doctorate that included work experience from an internship, work/study, thesis, or similar program may list this experience in their application to receive credit for the work experience. The master’s degree/Doctorate and applicable work experience will be considered separately, and both the education and applicable experience may count toward minimum qualifications.

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES- tell us which of the following skills, experiences, and related talents you have by highlighting them in your application materials:

• Experience interpreting and synthesizing laws, regulations, and legal and policy documents to understand and share the implications of those with agency partners, other stakeholders, and the public.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team on long-term projects.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Examples of excellent written communication skills include, but are not limited to, documents clearly written with minimal errors, proper punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
• Experience working with user groups of public lands and a basic understanding of public lands conflicts.
• Experience in project management; ideally including experience with forest research, forest management, or related project work.
• Prior experience and ability to communicate about and engage in public speaking events and meetings on potentially high-profile, complex and controversial topics.
• Familiarity with the ESRF’s foundational history and documents (including mission and management policies adopted by the State Land Board, the Habitat Conservation Plan, Forest Management Plan).
• Forest science research knowledge and experience.
• Professional engagement experience: ability to develop and implement processes and plans to engage a variety of stakeholders such as the public, community organizations and interest groups, public agencies and governments, elected officials, and Tribes.
• Expertise in designing and facilitating different types of meetings, including large public meetings, to support collaboration, inclusive processes, and consensus building; experience planning and coordinating meetings and events.
• Knowledge of forestry and forest management, and/or forest carbon projects.
• Have or obtain a valid Oregon driver’s license, possess a good driving record, and be able to operate sedans or light trucks on forest roads of varying conditions.

The Oregon Department of State Lands is committed to seeking and sustaining a culturally, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse working environment. The Department hires staff interested in supporting environmental justice by including communities traditionally underrepresented in public processes. We encourage members of these communities to apply, even if they do not meet 100% of the desired attributes. The Oregon Department of State Lands understands that an authentic focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace will in turn create a workforce aligned to meet the challenge of serving all Oregonians.