Careers at UMass Amherst

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

About the Water Resources Research Center

The Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), a unit of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment in the College of Natural Sciences, supports research, education, and outreach on water resources issues of state, regional, and national importance as part of the national system of institutes authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964. Established in 1965, the Center encourages an interdisciplinary approach to resolving state and regional water problems and has involved the University system and many other Massachusetts colleges and universities in its research. The WRRC’s Research Grant Program stimulates and funds research on water resources throughout higher education institutions in Massachusetts. Several of WRRC’s long-term projects have provided consistent water resource data over many years. These include the Mass. Acid Rain Monitoring Project, a volunteer-staffed monitoring effort since 1984 with a 40,000-sample database, and the Blackstone River Water Quality Study, a comprehensive multi-state monitoring and analysis project since 2004. 

Job Summary

The Senior Research Operations Manager is responsible for the research programs and lab operations of the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) by securing Center base funding through proposal writing, leading the WRRC’s Research Grant Program, overseeing lab operations and quality control, administer lab and associated research budgets, partnering with faculty on grant proposals to fund research and lab infrastructure, and develop contracts for the WRRC, and writing annual and other reports.   

Essential Functions

• Serves as a key leader in research within the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), ensuring compliance and consistency with department, college, and university policies and goals and contributing to the development of policy, long-range plans and objectives, cross-disciplinary initiatives, and technology.
• Manages and coordinates research in ongoing and new research projects for the center, including the Blackstone River Water Quality Study and the Acid Rain Monitoring Project.
• Works with the WRRC Director in writing proposals to fund the purchase of new equipment and update existing equipment to equip the Environmental Analysis Lab with new analytical methods in water research.
• Leads and oversees day-to-day research activities of the WRRC, including lab management, monitoring, and provides functional supervision to staff and students. Under the direction of the WRRC Director, works with the Sr. Administrative Manager and other staff to ensure successful implementation of strategic plans, project development, and completion.
• Designs, coordinates, and implements data collection programs to meet the applied research and educational outreach goals of grant funded projects and community organizations, agencies, and other non-campus entities, ranging from small watersheds to multi-state watersheds to state-wide efforts. Assures data collection programs meet the research/educational objectives efficiently while providing adequate guidance for making effective management decisions. 
• Maintains current knowledge of laboratory testing trends and challenges, quality control of protocols, developments in water-related fields, and developments in complementary and competitive fields. Serves as a subject matter expert for staff and faculty, other water management professionals, public decision-makers, stakeholder organizations, and other audiences as appropriate.
• Oversees data interpretation operations; providing modifications to data collection programs and implements additional models as needed. Evaluate research outcomes. Implements models, as required by the project design, and statistically analyze results. Provides collected information for project reports.
• Secures base funding by preparing annual grant proposals and acting as liaison with funding sources, especially the National Institutes of Water Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey. 
• In cooperation with WRRC Director, represents WRRC regionally and nationally in water research. Participates in communications regarding water research with the campus community, the public, and the water resource professional community in Massachusetts and New England. 
• Collaborates with WRRC Director and the Sr. Administrative Manager on the development of water resource-related workshops, seminars, speaker series, and conferences. 
• Manages the Environmental Analysis Laboratory.  Provides guidance and support to other laboratories as projects dictate. Evaluates effectiveness and efficiency of laboratory functions; develops and implements ongoing improvements to methods, procedures, data reporting, and recommendations. Develops new analytical services to meet identified demand.
• Accountable for equipment and quality assurance for laboratory analysis as well as field water quality monitoring, including - sample collection and processing equipment needs; calibration of instruments; instrument field deployment and recovery; data management, processing, analysis, review, and reporting; manufacture and distribution of Quality Assurance samples; and internal lab QA/QC processes and procedures.
• Organizes research and educational programs for internal and external audiences and events and participates in one or more Center projects as a researcher. 
• Provides primary environmental research liaison between WRRC and other CAFE units and programs, including UMass Extension, the Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station and the UMass Cranberry Station.

Other Functions

• Works collaboratively and effectively to promote teamwork, diversity, equality and inclusiveness. 
• Works in partnership with colleagues within the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) community and across the campus to support the Dean’s strategic priorities. 
• Performs other duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of the College of Natural Sciences. 

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Master’s degree (preferably in a field directly related to the environment, natural resources, or engineering) and four (4) years of relevant experience.
• Advanced understanding of analytical methods, water lab operations, watershed processes, statistics, state environmental regulations and state agency data requirements as well as other factors required for making effective watershed monitoring and management decisions required.
• Experience in conducting water quality sampling and analysis.
• Excellent communication, editorial, writing, and organizational skills. Computer literacy (MS Office, in particular Excel and R software).
• Ability to work effectively with faculty, agency staff, volunteers, and the public. 

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Specific education and training in hydrology or water resource management.
• Evidence of writing and publishing in research journals.
• Experience in leading a water or environmental analysis lab and conducting monitoring and lab analyses.
• Work experience in writing grant proposals, grant administration, and budget oversight. 
• Demonstrated success working with faculty, agency staff, volunteers, and the public. 
• Demonstrated success in obtaining grant funding from federal and state agency sources. 
• Prior experience managing citizen-science research activities. 

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• In addition to typical in-office working conditions, the Manager will be able to actively participate in field-based activities including water monitoring and sampling.  

Work Schedule

• Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm or equivalent.
• This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee’s work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Level 28

PSU Hiring Ranges