Community-Engaged Research and Capacity Building Fellow - NOAA

Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Community-Engaged Research and Capacity Building Fellow

This position is part of the NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellowship Program, supporting the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) projects. The fellow will support the project: ʻĀina Restoration Through Community Governance to Advance Climate Resilience in the Hawaiian Islands.

Host Organization: University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program
Location of Position: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Duration of Position: Two years (June 2025-June 2027)
Annual Salary: $54,890 
Benefits: Medical insurance, 11 paid fedral holidays per year, 15 paid personal days per year, professional development training, travel funding, relocation allowance

Work Environment:
The fellow will be expected to work full-time in the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant office. The team has in-person meetings with project partners that are best conducted face-to-face at project sites. Working in the office will also help facilitate growth of the fellow’s professional network, opportunities for shadowing Hawaiʻi Sea Grant researchers and extension faculty, and site visits to project sites.

Fellowship Position Description:
The fellow will focus on supporting programming, administration, and technical advising for Hawaiʻi Sea Grantʻs Community Resilience Grants Program. The fellow will work closely with the leadership team at Hawaiʻi Sea Grant on the “ʻĀina restoration through community governance to advance climate resilience in the Hawaiian Islands” project. In addition to supporting the development and delivery of the Community Resilience Grants Program, the fellow will also support programming to strategically increase local capacity in support of coastal community resilience. The fellow will conduct focus groups and interviews with project subawardees, grant awardees, KUPU interns, and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant moku coordinators to better understand professional development needs and work with the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s assistant director for research and fellowships to deliver a series of professional development workshops.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Community Resilience Grants Program
   1. With Hawaiʻi Sea Grant leadership and moku coordinators, develop and maintain strong relationships with nonprofit organizations, community groups, educational institutions, and government agencies committed to building climate resilience in Hawaiʻi who could be prospective applicants for the grants program
   2. Support background research on peer reviewers for proposals
   3. Support the creation of educational materials for prospective applicants that streamline the application process
   4. Support the convening of technical panels, including collating and organizing scores from panelists, combining and organizing reviewer comments, and communicating expectations and deadlines to panelists
   5. Participate in planning meetings with Hawaiʻi Sea Grant leadership to gather input and provide updates on the progress of the Community Resilience Grants Program
   6. Support the planning of a coastal resilience grant awardee symposium
2. Capacity-Building and Professional Development Workshops
   1. Facilitate knowledge sharing, professional development, capacity building, and technical assistance for grant awardees and grant program applicants
   2. Organize focus groups and interviews with key partners to understand areas that they would like to receive professional development (e.g., project evaluation and tracking, building peer-to-peer learning networks)
   3. Support the creation of a professional development workshop series based on feedback from the focus groups
3. Project Management
   1. Support the development and management of grants competition timelines and reporting from grant awardees
   2. Monitor and evaluate project progress, preparing regular reports and updates for Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and NOAA.
   3. Facilitate communication and collaboration among grant awardees.
4. Long-Term Grants Competition Infrastructure
   1. Document the policies and practices that support grants competitions in supporting Indigenous stewardship, community governance, resilience, and sustainability
   2. Contribute to the development of a list of recommendations to inform future grants competitions

Proposed Timeline:

Year 1

• Support background research, peer reviewers, and preparation for technical panel convenings
• Conduct focus groups with project partners about professional development needs

Year 2

• Support the planning and execution of a grant awardee symposium
• Deliver professional development workshops

Anticipated Travel:

The fellow will complete the following travel in support of their fellowship:

• Travel to NOAA’s peer-to-peer sharing event in 2027
• Travel to focal mokus on the islands of Kauai, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Hawaiʻi to meet with project partners and moku coordinators and to lead and complete focus groups which will inform the creation of a professional development workshop series 
• Travel to Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s annual all-staff meeting which rotates to sites on neighbor islands. This will be an opportunity to learn from Hawaiʻi Sea Grant extension faculty and to visit place-based restoration projects.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant area such as environmental science, natural resource management, community development, nonprofit management, business, geography, biology, environmental policy, or a related field
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders
• Demonstrated project management skills, including event or workshop planning
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with strong organizational and problem-solving abilities
• Experience working with Indigenous communities
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, and the empowerment of historically marginalized communities
• Experience in community-engaged research, professional development programming, competitive research program support, climate change adaptation, and community outreach, extension, or related work
• Understanding of Native Hawaiian histories, cultures, and stewardship practices
• Experience building partnerships with place-based organizations and community leaders who focus on climate resilience activities
• Knowledge of Hawaiian language and cultural practices

Fellow Mentoring:

The primary mentor for the fellow will be the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s assistant director for research and fellowships, Maya Walton. Maya will serve as the day-to-day supervisor and mentor, conduct regular check-ins, and facilitate connection to other relevant Hawaiʻi Sea Grant staff and faculty. Maya has nine years of experience at Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and has successfully led the Sea Grant’s fellowship programming, including recruitment and administration for the Knauss Fellowship, Grau Fellowship (two-year postgraduate fellowship based in Honolulu), Rappa Fellowship (eight-week sustainability-focused summer fellowship), NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Fisheries Fellowship (three-year PhD fellowship), and the Sea Grant’s Community Engaged Internship. Maya is a coinvestigator in the overall grant project, and she will lead the development and delivery of the Community Resilience Grants Program.

To apply, please upload the following materials in one PDF file:

• Resume (two-page limit)
• Statement of interest, where the candidate describes what they hope to gain from the fellowship experience and what they can contribute. Candidates should also highlight any connections to or special interests in the region, including Indigenous or local knowledge and relevant life experiences (500-word limit)
• Unofficial academic transcripts to show coursework (or joint services transcript for veterans)
• Two professional or academic references (names and contact information)

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