Research Specialist, Water & Climate Equity

🔥 3 hours ago

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Pacific Institute

WebsiteLinkedInAll Job Openings

11 - 50 employees

Founded 1987

🤝 Non-profit

🔬 Science

💼 Consulting

Non-profit • Science • Consulting

Pacific Institute is an Oakland-based nonprofit research and policy organization that advances water resilience and equity through science-based, open-source research, policy recommendations, stakeholder convening, and corporate engagement. The institute focuses on water equity, water efficiency and reuse, nature-based solutions, and corporate water stewardship — producing reports, tools, and guidance to inform public- and private-sector decisions on water and climate-related risks.

📋 Description

• Conduct rigorous applied research on water-climate-equity topics using mixed methods • Collect, analyze, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data from primary and secondary sources • Conduct literature reviews, landscape scans, and interviews to inform projects • Collaborate on multi-year research projects, including co-design, planning, and execution • Synthesize interdisciplinary research across social and natural sciences • Prepare high-quality project deliverables, including reports, briefs, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations tailored to technical and non-technical audiences • Translate technical findings into accessible materials for practitioners, policymakers, and community partners • Ensure project outputs meet high-quality standards of rigor, ethics, and relevance • Contribute to the development of decision-support tools, frameworks, and resources for practitioners and policymakers • Share project outputs with key internal and external partners and communities • Coordinate team meetings, project workflows, timelines, and deliverables • Document decisions, track progress, and communicate next steps • Support fundraising activities and funder relations, including researching funders and contributing to proposal development and grant reporting

🎯 Requirements

• Minimum 7+ years of experience in applied research related to water, climate, environmental science, environmental justice • Master’s degree with thesis in a relevant field (e.g., water resources, climate sciences, environmental sciences, sustainability, social sciences, natural resource management) • Minimum 4 years of continuous employment with a single organization, demonstrating long-term commitment and the ability to contribute to multi-year initiatives • Significant experience working in the United States on US water and climate issues working with US-based partners, agencies, or frontline communities (minimum 2 years) • Proficient subject matter expertise in water-climate-equity research, with demonstrated ability designing and significantly contributing to applied multi-year research projects • Strong interdisciplinary research skills across social and natural sciences • Expertise in using qualitative and quantitative methods • Expertise in managing and analyzing complex datasets • Track record of producing high quality research outputs, including at least two lead author peer-reviewed publications • Strong proficiency with Zotero or similar citation management tools • Excellent writing and editing skills for both technical and non-technical audiences; demonstrated ability to independently prepare high-quality deliverables • Strong oral communication and presentation skills • Intermediate experience with fundraising and resource development, including contributing to proposals and funder reports • Demonstrated ability to coordinate project teams and partners, manage project work plans, and deliver high-quality outputs on schedule • Demonstrated success navigating ambiguity, shifting priorities, and funding cycles.

🏖️ Benefits

• Health insurance • Dental insurance • Institute-matched retirement plan • Paid time off • Competitive salary commensurate with experience • Comprehensive wellness initiatives