Lead, Community Building & Engagement (52261)

The Community Building and Engagement Lead is a full-time, term-limited position funded through a one-year grant award. Employment is expected to continue for up to twelve (12) months from the date of hire and is contingent upon the availability of grant funding. While there may be opportunities for extension should additional funding become available, continuation of employment beyond the initial term is not guaranteed.

WHY JOIN AGU
Our employees are our most valuable assets! You will feel welcomed and supported from the moment you join our team, and you will take part in strengthening and evolving our workplace culture.
We offer work-life balance and innovative benefits.

- Work-life balance: remote-first organization, flexible work hours, unlimited PTO, Flexible Fridays, paid holidays, military leave, parental leave.

- Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, wellness, tuition reimbursement, 403(b) retirement plan, FSA, HSA, theft protection, personal and professional development, and much more.

WHO WE ARE
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) supports a global community of more than half a million professionals and advocates in the Earth and space sciences.
Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerates knowledge and creates solutions that are ethical, unbiased, and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events, and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net-zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C., and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

This is an exciting time to work at AGU. Every day we approach our work with a sense of purpose, and we look for others who share that passion and desire for a career with impact.

WHO YOU ARE

As the Lead for Engagement and Community Building you are a core member of the SAI staff team and the organizational lead for all engagement, participant development, and community-building functions of the Initiative. This position is responsible for the full lifecycle of volunteer and stakeholder engagement-from identifying and recruiting the scientific experts who build USSAIs assessment products, to sustaining the relationships that keep them engaged over time, to developing the broader community infrastructure that connects authors, reviewers, stakeholders, and organizational partners across the SAI network.

SAIs model depends entirely on the willingness of experts- scientists, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers- to contribute their time and knowledge to a shared mission. The Engagement Lead is the organizational steward of that human capital. The success of this role is not measured in events held or newsletters sent; it is measured in whether the right people show up, stay engaged, and want to come back.

This is a relationship-intensive, strategically demanding position that requires equal comfort with high-level community architecture and hands-on operational execution. In the early stages of the organization, the Engagement Lead will build foundational systems and infrastructure largely from scratch. As SAI grows, this role will shift progressively toward managing and improving those systems and the communities they support.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

- Lead recruitment and selection of volunteer participants across SAI programs, ensuring diverse, qualified, and mission-aligned participation.

- Develop and manage a comprehensive volunteer talent pipeline and database, maintaining candidate pools, recruitment systems, outreach strategies, onboarding processes, and participation metrics to support current and future assessment needs.

- Build, engage, and retain SAIs contributor community, including authors, alumni, early-career scientists, and stakeholders, by creating meaningful engagement opportunities, recognition programs, and pathways for ongoing participation.

- Coordinate stakeholder engagement throughout the assessment lifecycle, including planning and facilitating input sessions, public comment activities, stakeholder convenings, and advisory council support, while ensuring stakeholder feedback is effectively documented and shared with assessment teams.

- Support assessment leadership and author recruitment efforts by partnering with Lead Report Editors to identify candidates, coordinate outreach, and assemble expert author teams aligned with assessment objectives.

- Lead external engagement and communications activities, including newsletters, volunteer communications, conference participation, public speaking opportunities, partnerships, interviews, podcasts, and other initiatives that strengthen SAIs visibility and relationships.

- Develop and continuously improve engagement systems, processes, and reporting, including standardized tools, templates, performance metrics, and technology platforms that enhance recruitment, community-building, stakeholder engagement, and organizational effectiveness.

- Perform other duties as required or assigned, which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification.

WHAT YOU WILL BRING

Education

- Masters degree required in a relevant field, including but not limited to: environmental science, climate science, science communication, public policy, nonprofit management, organizational communications, or a closely related discipline.

- Doctoral degree in a relevant scientific or policy field is an asset but is not required.

Experience

- Demonstrated experience in community engagement, volunteer management, scientific outreach, or a closely related function, preferably within a scientific, academic, nonprofit, or policy-adjacent organizational context.

- Experience working with scientific communities, including demonstrated ability to communicate credibly with researchers, academics, and subject matter experts across disciplines.

- Experience designing and managing stakeholder engagement processes, including convening events, facilitated input sessions, or public comment processes.

- Experience building or managing volunteer or participant programs, including recruitment pipelines, onboarding systems, and retention strategies.

- Experience developing and managing community communications, including newsletters, email lists, social media, and similar channels.

- Experience with CRM, database, or contact management systems used to organize and track participant and stakeholder relationships.

- Experience working in a startup, early-stage nonprofit, or similarly resource-constrained organizational environment is strongly preferred.

Skills and Competencies

- Interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage effectively with scientists, policymakers, community organizations, and other stakeholder groups across professional and cultural contexts.

- Professional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft professional correspondence, community communications, and stakeholder-facing materials at a high level of quality.

- Demonstrated organizational and project management ability, with the capacity to manage multiple concurrent workstreams, track complex pipelines, and meet deadlines consistently.

- Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to build functional systems in the absence of established infrastructure — this role requires both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

- Collaborative working style, with the ability to function effectively as part of a small, highly interdependent team while also working independently on self-directed tasks.

- Genuine interest in and commitment to SAIs mission, with sufficient familiarity with climate science and the science-policy interface to engage credibly with the scientific community.

- Proficiency with standard productivity and collaboration tools (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, project management platforms). Experience with database or CRM platforms is specifically required.

- Familiarity with scientific conference culture, particularly within the Earth and climate sciences community is a significant asset.

- Experience with science communication or public engagement in a scientific context is an asset.

- Proven ability to manage time to ensure all tasks are completed by deadline.

- Demonstrated attention to detail.

- Ability to communicate effectively and appropriately, responding in a timely manner; speak and write clearly, concisely and with impact.

- Capability to exercise discretion on confidential matters.

AGU ESSENTIAL VALUES

- Accountability: Own it.

- Excellence: Give your all.

- Member & Customer Service: Members & Customers first.

- Teamwork: Together everyone achieves more.

- Respect-Earn it and give it.

- Integrity- Do the right thing.

HIRING SPECIFICS

- We understand that it is unrealistic for candidates to fulfill 100% of the criteria listed in a job posting. However, we encourage you to apply if you meet many of the requirements because we know that skills evolve. If you are willing to learn and evolve alongside us, join our team!

- Full-Time, Term limited, Exempt position. This remote role is open to candidates living in many U.S. states (excluding WA, OR, and CA at this time).

- The salary range for this position is Min. $75K, Mid. $100K, Max.125K. We typically prefer to hire around the lower-mid of our range.

- Work Authorization: We will not sponsor applicants for work visas in the U.S.

- We care deeply about fairness, so you can be assured that your application will never be judged based on religious beliefs, age, race, creed, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnic origin, or disability.

- AGU will make reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

- We are committed to providing inclusive interview experience. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

- Veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

- AGU follows an employment at will policy. As an at-will employee, either you or AGU may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause.