ATNI Position Announcement: Assistant Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison

This full-time position is an employee of the Affiliated Tribes of NW Indians (ATNI) and is assigned to the Northwest Adaptation Climate Science Center (NW CASC) to serve as the NW CASC’s Assistant Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison for Tribes located in the Pacific Northwest. The Assistant Tribal Liaison will work with the Senior Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison to advise the NW CASC on tribal issues as they pertain to climate change, resource vulnerability, and climate adaptation actions. Our liaisons also provide climate adaptation training to tribal nations, develop partnerships to advance tribal resilience to climate impacts, and serve as an informational hub between Tribes, Federal agencies, researchers, and other tribal and non-tribal partners. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Helps carry out the services delivered by the NW CASC and ATNI’s climate change program;
• Helps ensure that NW CASC research is framed holistically and inclusively to encompass the themes of environmental sustainability, traditional knowledge, exposure of indigenous peoples to the impacts of climate change, adaptation, and interpretation of locally relevant research findings;
• Assists the Senior Tribal Liaison in the translation and communication of NW CASC science to tribal officials and resource managers based on the relationship of trust among tribal nations and with the tribal citizens;
• Serves on panels and engages in strategy sessions, workshops, and partner meetings;
• Works with tribal education programs to: (1) build the scientific capacity and workforce of Tribal Nations within the context of traditional and cultural practices; (2) enhance the diversity of the Federal workforce, particularly the Department of the Interior (DOI); and (3) assist with planning ATNI’s Tribal Climate Camps and Climate Summits; and other opportunities upon request;
• Reviews reports, proposals, correspondence, and other documents for ATNI, NW CASC, DOI, USGS, and others, upon request;
• Recommends appropriate tribal collaborators for NW CASC related proposals and projects;
• Coordinates and organizes the planning, logistics, and programmatic activities for tribal related trainings, workshops, conferences, etc.;
• Attends and presents at tribal meetings, as appropriate;
• Prepares reports and tracks NW CASC tribal related activities and corresponding metrics;
• Conducts outreach to tribal communities to learn about and assess their climate science needs and questions and to inform them of the climate science and adaptation resources available to them through meetings with tribal governments, departments, NGOs, TCUs and schools, and individuals involved in climate adaptation work; 
• Provides climate adaptation planning support to tribal governments and community climate resilience stakeholders in coordination with the NW CASC and other partners; 
• Maintains database and ongoing contact with tribal resource managers and tribal personnel involved in climate planning and risk management; and 
• Under the guidance of the Senior Tribal Liaison, the NW CASC director, and ATNI’s Climate Resilience Program Director, assists with the management of ATNI’s internship programs;
• Participates in a network of tribal climate science liaisons working within the CASC network;
• Uses WordPress to edit, update, and maintain a website for outreach and coordination of activities with NW CASC and tribal communities; Provides content to be included in ATNI newsletters.
• Conducts ATNI and/or CASC-related research as time permits.

Qualifications Required (applicants will be assessed based upon these qualifications)

• Master’s degree preferred, or bachelor’s degree with at least three years of experience, in an area of science relevant to climate change and tribal issues, including the social sciences and public health;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience related to a) environmental sustainability, b) tribal traditional knowledge, and c) exposure of indigenous peoples to the impacts of climate change, adaptation, and interpretation of locally relevant research findings;
• Incumbent understands tribal governments and communities, values, needs, Indigenous knowledges, and knowledge of tribal treaty rights and federal trust relations;
• Demonstrated knowledge of, and previous involvement in, issues that tribal communities in the Northwest are facing that could be addressed through research in climate change impacts;
• Ability to assist in development and evaluation of research proposals, methods and outcomes;
• Strong oral and written communication skills, especially the ability to articulate relevant climate change-related issues and program products and concepts to American Indian communities and non-scientists generally;
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as a collaborative team member;
• Demonstrated ability to organize, prioritize, document, and manage multiple projects.
• Native American hiring preference. ATNI preferentially hires citizens of federally-recognized Tribal Nations. 

This position reports to:  ATNI’s Senior Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison

Duty location:  Flexible within the Pacific Northwest with possible locations including the Portland, OR, Spokane, WA, and Seattle WA areas

Salary: $43,683-68,290/year (location dependent and commensurate with experience)

Benefits: ATNI offers 80 hours of vacation and 40 hours of sick leave annually and has a 401k and health benefits program available.

Required application materials: Qualified candidates must submit cover letter that emphasizes any experience with Indigenous communities, climate impacts and/or resilience; résumé; unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.); salary history; and one example of writing skills (publications, reports, etc.).  Incomplete applications may be determined ineligible.

Application instructions: Initial review of applications will begin on September 16, 2022 and the position will be open until filled. All necessary materials must be e-mailed as a single pdf (if possible) to cjones@atnitribes.org.  Subject line should include: ‘Asst. Tribal Liaison Applicant’

For more information, contact: 

Chas Jones, PhD

ATNI Climate Resilience Program Director

(815) 456-4173

cjones@atnitribes.org