Communications Specialist

Position Function:

The principal function of the communication specialist is to work with NGI and NOAA scientists to prepare documents and communication materials for both NGI and NOAA websites and reports. Communication expertise in the form of writing, 508 compliance and breaking down scientific material for the goal of informing the public is required to complete this work. The position will be located at the Mississippi State University Science and Technology Center at the Stennis Space Centers, MS. The communication specialist will be affiliated with the Northern Gulf Institute, a NOAA Cooperative Institute. The work done will support the mission of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). For more information about the Northern Gulf Institute and partnerships with NOAA, see https://www.northerngulfinstitute.org

Salary Grade:  14

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges.  For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Department Profile:

The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute comprised of six academic institutions that are geographically distributed across the U.S. Gulf Coast states. The six NGI member institutions are Mississippi State University (lead), the University of Southern Mississippi, Florida State University, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory. Together with NOAA and in support of their strategic plan, NGI conducts research on interconnections among Gulf of Mexico environments, habitats, resources, and people and engages in outreach to help others learn about and make decisions based on these interconnections.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

● Work with a team of ocean scientists, data scientists, programmers, NOAA data stewards, stakeholders, and program partners to generate novel communication materials and tools to accommodate NOAA goals and mission objectives.
● Identify, coordinate, and correspond with data contributors to create materials for informing the scientific community and the public.
● Literature Synthesis: Construct comprehensive literature reviews and complete 508 compliance checks for NGI and NOAA public communication materials.
● Assist in publishing and presenting research results at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
● Collaboration & Communication: Participate in regular multidisciplinary team meetings to coordinate research goals across federal and academic partners.

Minimum Qualifications:

● Bachelor’s degree in communication, Journalism or related field or equivalent education and/or work experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

● Existing Department of Commerce moderate risk clearance.
● Experience and knowledge of scientific writing.
● Experience integrating scientific materials in websites and other communication materials.
● Interest in applied, mission-driven research.
● Experience in a related field within the last 5 years.
● Formal training and at least 2 years’ experience in WORD, website software and poster formatting software

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

● Demonstrated real-world understanding and experience in creating communication materials from scientific data and results.
● Demonstrated understanding and experience working with scientific materials.
● Demonstrated commitment to open-source code and FAIR public documents.
● Formal training and at least 2 years experience in using standard communication software.
● 508 compliance training and formal experience.
● Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
● Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently or as part of a collaborative team across the organization.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

Occasional and/or light lifting required. Limited exposure to elements such as heat, cold, noise, dust, dirt, chemicals, etc., but none to the point of being disagreeable. May involve minor safety hazards where likely result would be cuts, bruises, etc.

Routine deadlines, usually sufficient lead time;