CIRES Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation (CEEE) is encouraging applications for a Research Associate who will support, organize, and film a documentary with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is a 50%, 20 hours/week, position. The project is titled, Mountain glacier Contribution to Sea Level CE 1900-2100 (MAGIC). This position will be responsible for leading the NSF proposal, including project management, leading relationships with collaborators, and executing strategic project goals to completion. Additionally, this person will be leading production and filmmaking efforts, as well as collaborating with water, climate change and sustainability experts - emphasizing the need for the knowledge, connections with vested parties and technical skills to complete a feature length movie about Peruvian water security. This position will report to the Director of CEEE.

This project aims to storyboard, film, edit and pitch a 60-to-90-minute film for use in the informal learning context of web streaming and international film festivals. The goal is to engage critical thinking and the development of skills needed to adapt under future climate change scenarios near audiences of the film and regional patterns in water security. The film, “From Top To Bottom” will be iteratively produced and then used to communicate to science interested and sustainability charged adults, an understanding and leveraging of methods and tools for the completion of a multimedia film. A desired outcome of the film is to prompt audiences into transdisciplinary problem solving. The Research Associate will be required to work closely with the principal investigators on the MAGIC project, including ice core scientists, glaciologists, paleoclimatologists, geodesists, sociologists, and artificial intelligence experts. This successful candidate will also support trans-disciplinarity, collaboration and inclusiveness amongst the graduate students involved in the program. The film product is expected to contribute to the development of 1) the film, including pre-production, production, and post-production activities; 2) assuring appropriate formatting for pitching the film to streaming platforms like Amazon Prime; and 3) other tasks as required by the terms of the proposal such as project reports.

The position emphasizes skills and experience in storyboarding and film direction that will include a 4-month time commitment for each of two years. The position will also require expert editing skills and teamwork through iterations with those filmed during the field campaign and those invested in the success of the project. The individual will need to move between the roles of scientist, filmmaker, educator, and transdisciplinary expert effectively and efficiently.

At CIRES, more than 950 environmental science professionals work to understand the dynamic Earth system, including people’s relationship with the planet. CIRES has partnered with NOAA since 1967, and our areas of expertise include weather and climate, changes at Earth’s poles, air quality and atmospheric chemistry, water resources, solid Earth sciences, and more. Our vision is to be instrumental in ensuring a sustainable future environment by advancing scientific and societal understanding of the Earth system.

• Serve as the project lead for the NSF MAGIC grant and provide leadership of project tasks.
• Manage the day-to-day project activities and interface with the project’s leadership and principal investigators.
• Serve as producers of the film production, including development of a storyboard, handling of all filming, logistics, editing, and distribution of the final film.
• Collaborate with educational researchers and story tellers to increase the impact of final film outcome.
• Summarize results and provide required documents and deliverables.

• CIRES offers a generous compensation and benefits package. The salary for this 50%, 20 hours/week, position is $42,936 (which is equivalent to a full-time annual salary of $85,872).
• Salary is commensurate with education and experience and determined based on our CIRES internal career track classification.
• Boulder is a vibrant community with access to mountain parks, dog parks, miles of trails, rivers, lakes, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, theaters, museums, and sports venues. Boulder was recently ranked as one of the top places to live in the U.S. by U.S. News.
• As an employee at CU Boulder, you will have free access to the regional public transit system, an outstanding network of buses, and light rail systems that service Boulder and connect to Denver, the Denver airport, and surrounding communities.

• PhD in geoscience or related field.
• Demonstrated extensive experience in STEM-related film production.
• Field experience in the Peruvian Andes.
• A minimum of 1 streaming or broadcast production for which they were lead Producer or Director.
• A minimum of 1 film production highlighting a frontline of climate change.
• Evidence for close collaborations with social scientists within the field.
• Experience in all aspects of production of feature length broadcast television or films using documentary-style techniques, including storyboarding, cinematography, storytelling, and editing methodology.

• Expertise in Adobe premiere software.
• Proficiency in cross disciplinary collaboration.
• Proficiency in high altitude mountaineering.
• Ability to work as part of a transdisciplinary team.
• Ability to communicate effectively in Spanish.
• An understanding of current research and literature on Peruvian climate change and water security, with a particular focus agency of local communities to migrate.
• Relationships within streaming services as well as local PBS stations.
• Experience working within remote towns of Peru.
• Access to film gear.
• Proven ability to manage NSF proposals.
• Strong communication skills.

To apply, please submit the following materials:

• A current resume.
• A cover letter briefly describing your qualifications, professional goals, and specific interest in this position.
• A Letter of Recommendation will be requested for the finalist at a later time.

If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources department using an approved online vendor. If your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit a translated version as an optional attachment.

Please apply by June 21, 2024 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.