CIRES​/NIDIS Regional Drought Information Coordinator

Job Summary

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) are seeking a full-time Regional Drought Information Coordinator to work as part of an interdisciplinary team as the coordinator for selected regional NIDIS Drought Early Warning Systems (DEWS). NIDIS is a federal interagency and interstate effort to establish a national drought early warning information system in the U.S.

The successful applicant will advance drought science and preparedness through coordination and integration of drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at national, tribal, state, and local levels.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

CIRES is an internationally recognized leader in innovative environmental science and research and is located at the University of Colorado Boulder. At CIRES, more than 900 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.

National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) was first authorized by Congress in 2006 (Public Law 109–430) and reauthorized in 2014 and 2019 to coordinate drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at federal, tribal, state, and local levels across the country.

NIDIS does this work through:

• Developing partnerships to ensure successful implementation of an integrated national drought monitoring and forecasting system at federal, state, and local levels.
• Collecting and integrating information on the key indicators of drought to make usable, reliable, and timely drought forecasts and assessments.
• Fostering and supporting a research environment that focuses on risk assessment, forecasting, and management.
• Providing accurate, timely, and integrated information on drought conditions and associated risks to facilitate proactive decision making.

• Serve as a regional source of authoritative information for federal agency partners, Tribal Nations, states, municipalities, academic institutions and other organizations on drought early warning, including drought monitoring, prediction and forecasting, planning and preparedness, communication, and interdisciplinary research.
• Develop, sustain, and expand partnerships with partners across the region including public and/or private partners at Federal, Tribal, state, and local levels. Use these partnerships to effectively coordinate resources and activities.
• Identify gaps and needs for advancing drought early warning, and develop partnerships, projects, research studies, and other activities to address those needs.
• Identify strategic opportunities to integrate and apply drought research and information into the regional DEWS to help inform decision-making, leading to more effective drought response and planning.
• Coordinate, organize, and write regional DEWS strategic plans based on team member consultation, and work with partners to implement activities within the strategic plans. Help identify and track appropriate metrics for measuring success.
• Provide technical support for regional, state, or local drought planning, such as selecting drought indicators and triggers or supporting drought scenario exercises.

• Communicate drought early warning information in coordination with the NIDIS Communications Team through…