PEER Outreach Director Position

The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) is a multi-institutional center involving 9 Core Institutions and various Education Affiliates, with UC Berkeley as the lead institution. PEER's mission is to develop and disseminate technology for design and construction of buildings and infrastructure to meet the seismic performance needs of owners and society. To accomplish its mission, PEER has organized a program built around research, education, technology transfer, and outreach. Typical annual funding is around $6M.

The Outreach Director, who reports to the Director, has lead responsibility for creating and implementing the PEER Communication, Education, and Technology Transfer Program through a variety of mechanisms. The incumbent researches, develops, and transmits information about PEER activities and opportunities via the Internet and in-person activities to diverse internal and external audiences; acts as liaison among the faculty, students, and industry partners participating in PEER activities; and organizes and promotes PEER education and technology transfer programs, including seminars, technology transfer workshops, and student programs.

The Outreach Director has three primary responsibilities:

  1. Research, develop, and transmit information about PEER activities and opportunities: Information will be developed by reviewing PEER activities including research outputs, working with PEER participants, and attending PEER staff meetings, external meetings, and conferences. Work with technical staff to conceive, design, and implement a comprehensive web presence for PEER. Working with the PEER web master, upload information on the PEER web site, working with PEER computer support staff as needed to hyperlink databases and other resources. Attend professional meetings to display PEER products and news in display booths. Exercise significant editorial judgment daily in determining presentation of news and information on the web site, electronic newsletter, and press releases. Coordinate information exchange and collaboration between PEER and the UCB Public Affairs and Government Relations offices.
  2. Liaison among PEER faculty, students, and industry and government partners: Maintain regular communications with these groups and create venues for communication among them.
  3. PEER education and technology transfer programs: Work with PEER faculty, students, and industry and government partners to develop and implement effective education and technology transfer programs, including: PEER's technical report series (for which this position oversees production with support staff); seminars and other presentations at PEER universities and at professional meetings; technology transfer workshops and conferences to convey PEER findings to interested parties; and student programs such as seminars, internships, and educational materials.

Requirements and Qualifications:

Substantial work experience in communications, technology transfer, or education in relation to a technologically oriented program. A sophisticated understanding of the challenges of delivering news and information using multi-media. Demonstrated ability to identify communication needs, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Sound technical knowledge of the Web and the ability to use Web publishing tools, a solid understanding of electronic media, and a keen sense of trends in multi-media communications. Knowledge of HTML and experience posting text and images on the Web. Experience working with a dynamic, content-driven Web site. Ability to work collaboratively with diverse constituents as well as independently. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills. Ability to prepare grant requests and proposals for programmatic enhancement. Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously without loss of productivity or accuracy. Ability to travel, sometimes with overnight stays required. Applicants should provide samples of their work, including URLs of sites they have created or for which they have written.

Preferred qualifications:

  • - Expertise in a range of publishing software (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver)
  • - General understanding of engineering and earthquake-related issues, or a technical background that would facilitate rapid assimilation of this understanding.

To apply for this position go to the UC Berkeley job posting website at http://jobs.berkeley.edu . Click on 'external applicants' then 'View job posting/Apply for job'. In the job # box under the heading 'Job#/Keywords in Job Description', type '7476' and then click 'search'. Note: The official UCB payroll title for this position is Senior Public Information Representative.