Unidata Program Specialist IV (Community Services & Partnerships Manager)

Position Type:

Regular

Visa Sponsored Job:

No

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

No

Hiring Range:

111,246.00 USD - 139,056.00 USD

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

Application Closes at 12:00am MST on:

2026-08-08

About the Role

UCAR is excited to announce the job opening for the Program Specialist IV (Community Services & Partnerships Manager) role. This senior leadership role is responsible for building and sustaining the external partnerships that advance Unidata's mission of serving our broad community. This position leads community engagement, business development, and liaison work with universities, federal agencies, the private sector, and international organizations, as well as manages the Community Services Group.

NSF Unidata is a diverse community of education and research institutions with the common goal of sharing geoscience data and the tools to access and visualize that data. For more than 40 years, Unidata has been providing data, software tools, and support to enhance Earth System education and research. Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF Unidata is one of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)'s Community Programs (UCP).

Job Description

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 11:59pm MT on Friday, August 7. Applications will not be accepted past this date.

Required application materials (preferably in PDF Format):

• Resume

• Cover Letter

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.

• External Relations & Advocacy

Describe a time you built or managed a relationship with an external partner - a government agency, advisory committee, or similar stakeholder - where you had to balance that partner's interests with your organization's goals. What made the relationship successful, and how did you handle any points of tension or disagreement?

• Engaging and Expanding the Community

Describe your experience engaging and growing a professional community or user base - for example, through workshops, meetings, or working groups. How did you assess what that community needed, and how did you adapt your approach based on their feedback?

• Business Development & Strategic Funding

Tell us about a time you identified and pursued a new funding, partnership, or revenue opportunity for a program you supported. What was your strategy, and what was the 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) opportunities. UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

What You Will Do

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

Key Responsibilities

External Relations & Advocacy

This is the program's largest area of responsibility, spanning two key stakeholder groups: the Community Advisory Committee and federal partner agencies.

• Community Advisory Committee

• Lead the Community Advisory Committee: set meeting agendas, coordinate status reports, and track action items to closure.

• Manage recruitment and nomination of new committee members.

• Administer the Russell L. DeSouza award, in partnership with the Committee.

• Federal Agencies (NOAA/NWS, NCEP, NASA, and Other Partners)

• Initiate and manage collaborations with NOAA (NWS, NCEP) and other partner agencies, including business development and service as project liaison.

• Advocate for the Unidata community on data matters, negotiating data and software agreements and maintaining relationships with agencies holding data of community interest.

• Track agency planning for new data and software systems and represent Unidata's interests at agency meetings and workshops, creating opportunities for Unidata involvement.

Engaging and Expanding the Community

• Assess community needs and foster interaction across the Unidata community to promote sharing of data, tools, and ideas.

• Plan and lead community events, including the Unidata Users Workshop and dedicated sessions at AMS, AGU, and other professional meetings.

• Broaden the network of partner institutions, including outreach to other geoscience communities where collaboration adds value.

• Administer the Community Equipment Awards program, in partnership with the Unidata Director.

Business Development & Strategic Funding

• Develop and execute Unidata's business development strategy: promote products and services to expand existing funding relationships, secure new funding mechanisms and service agreements, and pursue philanthropic sponsorship opportunities.

• Identify and pursue additional funding opportunities aligned with the program's overarching business development plan.

• Serve as Principal Investigator on funded projects as needed, including management of project funds.

Manage the Community Services Group

• Oversee CSG activities and supervise staff (up to 2 direct reports).

• Facilitate close collaboration between CSG and Unidata technical staff.

• Serve on the Unidata Management Team, advising the Unidata Director on relevant plans and activities.

Who We'd Love To Join Our Team

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

Education & Experience

• Master's degree in science, education, or public administration

• 6 years of relevant program experience;

• Or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Desired, but not required:

• 10 years of experience in scientific program management (preferably within a governmental agency).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Subject-matter expertise: in-depth understanding of the principles underlying the Unidata Program, and of the broader agency landscape - especially NOAA line offices (NWS, NCEP, ESRL, NCEI) and NASA.

• Business development acumen: understanding of the funding environment, and demonstrated skill identifying program and business development opportunities and translating them into actionable strategies.

• People leadership: demonstrated experience supervising and mentoring staff, and leading senior-level interdisciplinary teams, including significant project management experience.

• Meeting and workshop facilitation: advanced skill planning and conducting meetings, workshops, and online discussion groups, including use of digital collaboration tools.

• Travel: ability and willingness to travel.

• Integrity and confidentiality: ability to handle confidential/sensitive information consistent with UCAR policy, acting with integrity and exhibiting behavior that merits public trust and confidence.

• Note: The employee remains bound, even after their employment ends, not to disclose or disseminate any confidential information received or accessed while employed at UCAR. This obligation applies to both confidential information belonging to UCAR, as well as confidential information received during employment at UCAR pertaining to any third party.

Preferred Qualifications

$111,246 - $125,150

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

Application Requirements

Cover Letter, Resume/CV

For full consideration, all application materials must be submitted by 12am (MST) at the start of the application deadline. These should highlight how your skills and experiences align with the responsibilities of this position. We recognize that no candidate will meet 100% of the listed qualifications. If you believe your background has prepared you for success in this role, we encourage you to apply.

Supplemental questionnaires are often requested in lieu of a cover letter, where you address critical skills needed for the position. Your answers will be read and weighed equally to your resume and should provide specific, detailed, and informative responses based on your direct and previous work experiences.

Background checks and/or federal screenings are conducted for candidates selected for hire.

Benefits Overview

UCAR offers a comprehensive benefits package: health insurance, dental, retirement plan, leave plans, tuition assistance, and employee assistance programs:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Short & Long Term Disability Insurance

• Generous retirement plan - UCAR contributes of 10% of base salary

• Time Off Plans

• Minimum 20 days of annual PTO

• 10 paid holidays

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave

• FAMLI Leave

• Tuition Assistance Program

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer

UCAR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes applications from all individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants are not required to provide age-related information (like date of birth or graduation dates) in initial submissions.

For sponsored positions: UCAR can sponsor individuals for H-1B status only if they are already in the U.S. in H-1B status or another visa status that allows them to change to H-1B status within the U.S. UCAR is unable to sponsor new H-1B visas for individuals who are outside the U.S. and need to obtain H-1B status through Consular Processing.

While UCAR does not prohibit the use of AI tools in job applications, we strongly recommend that applicants submit primarily original work.

All roles require compliance with U.S. export control regulations and work location requirements. All hybrid staff are expected to work on-site approximately 3 days per week.