Director of Natural Science Labs and Sustainability

Title: Director of Natural Science Labs & Sustainability

Location: Bothell United States

Full/Part Time

Full-Time

Regular/Temporary

Regular

Job Description:

About Us

Cascadia College is seeking highly motivated individuals who are interested in being part of a small yet dynamic community, with a faculty and staff that are dedicated to meeting the needs of our intersectional, diverse students. Cascadia College is committed to creating and supporting an equitable and inclusive faculty, staff, and student population centered on dismantling systemic oppression and historic marginalization. Individual differences are celebrated in a community of learners focused on social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Position Overview

Under general direction of the Dean for Student Learning Transfer and General Education, the Director of Natural Science Laboratories and Sustainable Practices collaborates with lab staff and faculty to ensure the function and daily operations of the Natural Science Lab activities and Sustainable Practices programs so that students have the optimal learning experiences in their STEM and sustainability education. This position independently provides leadership for Cascadia's BAS degree in Sustainable Practices and AAS-T degree in Environmental Technologies and Sustainable Practices while overseeing natural science laboratory operations.

This includes arranging for and recordkeeping of lab tech and faculty safety training; coordinating the safety audits of Cascadia Lab spaces; lab tech supervision and evaluation; lab equipment/supply monitoring; repair and replace ordering coordination; Undergraduate Research coordination, with an emphasis on the CUREs programming; operational lab budget management; advising students; tracking program data and budget; developing student research and community-based learning opportunities; leading efforts to improve sustainable practices on campus; program marketing and recruitment; and teaching up to 4 classes per year, as needed.

The Director collaborates closely with the Instructional and Classroom Support Technicians, the laboratory science faculty, sustainable practices faculty, and the Dean for Student Learning Transfer and General Education to ensure safety and EH&S/regulatory safety compliance, coordinate the development & implementation of robust undergraduate research experiences in science and sustainability; maintain the Repair and Replace schedule, purchasing and inventory; serve as primary budget manager for the science instruction and sustainable practices programs; provide information to prospective students; and lead campus sustainability initiatives. This position also will represent the department/college at meetings and workshops, serves as the direct budgetary contact for the science labs and sustainable practices programs, and serves as the primary administrator of the Cascadia Sustainability Committee.

As the Director of Natural Science Laboratories and Sustainable Practices, it is expected that the following qualities will be demonstrated daily: a high degree of understanding and empathy for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors, as well as the ability to encourage the inclusion of all voices in decision-making, promoting equity in all areas, and actively working against institutionalized norms of oppression against historically marginalized people.

Employee Type: Full Time Exempt, Permanent

Initial Salary: $110,916.00 (includes 5% King County Premium Pay) County Premium Pay (KCPP)

Supervising Position: Dean for Student Learning

Essential Duties

Natural Science Laboratory Operations

• Supervision of ICST staff, to include: interview, hire, and train; with lab team consultation, prioritize and assign work; course support schedules for the ICSTs; approve/deny leave requests; conduct annual performance evaluations; recommend corrective action; advise and codevelop with employees standard operating procedures for lab equipment and processes
• Track staff and faculty compliance safety training; support the Dean in administering primary oversight for faculty safety trainings; ensure proper communication about compliance with policies and procedures; and coordinate/collaborate with staff, faculty, and EH&S for training in safety procedures
• Directly manage the science laboratory budgets for Repair and Replace and the purchase of quarterly consumables; prepare budget forecasts, working with the Dean for Student Learning to prepare and present the yearly budget to the Board of Trustees; and serve as primary point of contact with Finance and Student Learning for science laboratory purchases
• Coordinate the development and implementation of undergraduate research experiences with the faculty and ICST staff, with emphasis on CUREs programming
• Work with facilities and scheduling to manage lab spaces within Cascadia College
• Coordinate the schedule of lab courses for both natural sciences and sustainable practices programs
• Provide technical support for lab courses in emergency situations

Campus Sustainability Leadership

• Oversee Environmental Health & Safety (including making current practices more sustainable), and campus gardens
• Serve as the primary administrator of the Cascadia Sustainability Committee
• Identify and implement campus and community sustainability projects, in collaboration with the Cascadia Sustainability Committee, that provide sustainable practice students with hands-on learning opportunities and establish Cascadia as a regional leader in campus sustainability and a national leader in community college campus sustainability
• Lead the collection and reporting of sustainability data across Cascadia's campus (via the STARS system or similar) and make this data available to the BASSP and ETSP students for use in class and/or capstone projects. Engage the ETSP and BASSP students and sustainability interns in the data collection and reporting process wherever feasible
• Identify and secure funding and resources for students and faculty to implement applied sustainability research and best practices on campus

Teaching

• Teach up to 5 credits a year in natural sciences special project classes, as needed
• May substitute for lab faculty on an emergency basis

Performs other related duties of a similar nature or level as assigned.

Education & Experience

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS and 18+ graduate credits in chemistry, biology, or similar fields
• One-year+ full-time lab technician experience or equivalent
• Experience managing and purchasing for lab inventory
• Experience teaching or training in secondary or post-secondary education
• Experience with managing science research projects
• Demonstrated experience with sustainable practices at the institutional level
• Demonstrated commitment to and interest in diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to support a multicultural workplace and educational environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supervising classified employees
• Project management
• Experience with EH&S
• Experience with ctcLink
• Ability to successfully communicate (written and orally) in a language in addition to English

Physical Work Environment

Semi-Sedentary Work: Involves staying in a stationary position to a significant degree. Jobs are sedentary if moving is required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

This position requires campus presence 4 days a week minimum with the option to work remotely for the remaining workday. During on-campus operations, this position will perform work in a standard office setting, use standard office equipment and physically attend meetings both on and off campus and requires the ability to communicate in person or through appropriate means. Employees will need to provide their own remote workspace and internet access, noting the College will provide technical equipment and support for online work needs.

Positions in this class typically require operating a computer, communicating, observing, minor lifting, and repetitive motions.

The position will work in an environment that has potential exposure to chemicals, high voltage (such as from a Van der Graaf generator), BSL-2 microorganisms, anatomical specimens, and outdoor work in campus gardens.

This position involves exerting between 10-50 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to transport, put, install, remove, or otherwise move objects, including the human body, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Occasional evening and weekend work may be required for special events, meetings, and program activities.

Condition of Employment

As an institution that upholds the value of diversity, equity and inclusion of every individual, Cascadia College expects its employees to embody and promote these values. Both current and prospective employees of the College are encouraged to seek deeper understanding in these areas as part of professional growth.

Cascadia College maintains a drug-free work and learning environment and prohibits smoking in all college buildings and state-owned vehicles.

Benefits

Cascadia College offers comprehensive Benefits packages to support you and your family in a variety of ways. All eligible employees, retirees, and their dependents are offered: medical, dental, and vision plan options; life insurance; long-term disability insurance; medical and dependent care reimbursement accounts; leave programs; employee assistance programs; tuition waiver; optional credit union participation; optional home/auto insurance, and retirement planning.