Climate Adaptation Scientist for Human Health

~ Battelle is guided by a founding mission. We invest our knowledge, talents and resources, helping our customers achieve their most important goals. We apply scientific rigor and creativity, succeeding where others may fail and we invest in our communities, making the world better for generations to come. All of us share a common purpose: to solve the greatest challenges of today and tomorrow. ~ 

Our 22,000 employees work at the forefront of scientific innovation to tackle critical challenges in security, human health, manufacturing, energy and environmental management. Battelle's work is grounded in the belief that science, technology and a passion for excellence can make industries more competitive and the world a better place. 

Position Overview

Battelle's Health and Consumer Solutions business unit is seeking candidates for a Senior Research Scientist to help shape future growth and to support existing technical work in the area of climate change and its impacts on human health. The Climate Adaptation Specialist position can be located in Arlington, VA; Columbus, OH, Atlanta, GA; Seattle, WA; Charlottsville, VA.

He/she will support such relevant applications as climate change modelling projections, vulnerability and impacts analysis, and resilience-building for government and commercial clients. Examples of Battelle's recent climate change work include U.S. and international focused work on urban heat wave vulnerability, climate change training to inform international development, and identification of priority datasets for climate change impacts to health and related sectors such as energy and natural resources.

The successful candidate will build on and expand this work through working with climate model outputs, assessing vulnerability, and identifying human health adaptation strategies. Our clients in the climate area include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USAID and other public and private clients. Candidates with background or interest in research at the air quality-energy-urban nexus are also of strong interest.

The candidate should be poised to support and lead state-of-the-art applied research in the application of Earth observation data and climate models to boost the capacity of the government and private sector for climate resilient decision-making.

He/she will have access to a host of experts in public health, environmental impacts, transportation, statistics, data analytics, and information system design, plus access to in-house laboratory facilities and connections to Battelle's world renowned Laboratory Operations group. The position will provide the successful candidate with an opportunity to further shape Battelle's climate change focus area, with support from many experts across multiple scientific disciplines. 

Battelle offers several exciting benefits to ambitious technical staff, including: 

• Battelle encourages staff to author peer-reviewed scientific journal publications and present technical work at relevant professional conferences.
• Battelle also encourages staff to participate in professional organizations in an effort to maintain and increase their network.
• Battelle offers several unique opportunities to participate in original research.
• The candidate will have the ability to propose small research projects through internally-funded opportunities.
• Other opportunities include "Shark Tank"-like events where staff ‘pitch' ideas to market managers and technical leaders. 

Responsibilities  

Specifically, the successful candidate will: 

• Possess strong contract research skills in verbal and written communication, critical thinking, and data analysis.
• Provide leadership in business development activities, identifying and vetting opportunities and leading technical contributions to proposal efforts related to climate change modelling applications, vulnerability and resilience, while helping to strengthen organizational capability in these areas.
• Provide technical leadership and support to projects focused on climate change modelling applications, impacts and vulnerability analysis, and resilience building. Support involves general research activities such as literature review and assessment; data collection and analysis; study design, implementation, and monitoring; and report writing and presentations.
• Lead tasks as part of a multidisciplinary project team with accountability for high quality, on-time deliverables. 
• Act independently to identify and resolve problems associated with the development and implementation of research activities.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with, and provide exemplary service to, task leaders and clients.
• Occasional travel will be required to meet business development and project needs. - less than 10% but could include international travel - Spanish speaking is a plus; French speaking is a plus; need to be able to communicate in groups, training, conferences, etc. 

Qualifications 

The following requiremetns must be met to be considered for this position: 

• Master's Degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, Public Health, International Relations, Geography or related technical field, with a minimum of 8 years of experience with an emphasis on environment and/or climate change.
• Current knowledge and expertise related to government and commercial climate change programs, initiatives, and strategies.
• Experience in performing business development efforts, developing strategic marketing plans, and delivering strong proposals, preferably in a contract research environment.
• Experience as a project leader, managing multiple research activities and teams concurrently.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to work well in teams.
• Must be a US citizen or be a permenant resident to be considered for the role. 

The following is desired but not required for this position: 

• Current or past work or internships on federal/state/local government contracts, grants, or programs having a climate change focus.
• Experience conducting climate modelling or downscaling, and/or public health modelling.
• Professional expertise in assessing the impacts of climate change on human health and developing suitable adaptation strategies.
• Experience with data management and Arc GIS mapping techniques, and expertise in GIS software.
• Author of journal articles or other technical documents related to climate change and health. 

Benefits 

Battelle's competitive benefits program includes comprehensive medical and dental care, matching 401K, paid time off, flexible spending accounts, disability coverage, and other benefits that help provide financial protection for you and your family. 

~ Battelle provides employment and opportunities for advancement, compensation, training, and growth according to individual merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, or disability. Our goal is for each staff member to have the opportunity to grow to the limits of their abilities and to achieve personal and organizational objectives. We will support positive programs for equal treatment of all staff and full utilization of all qualified employees at all levels within Battelle. ~