Anticipated Start Date: May – June of 2026 

Work location: Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516 

Occupational Summary: 

This two-year endowed Fellowship was created to enhance opportunities for authentic community engagement among the Nicholas School of the Environment and local conservation and education organizations. Because the Nicholas School of the Environment supports two campuses, one in Durham and the Marine Lab in coastal NC, there will be fellows (at Durham and at Duke Marine lab). The Durham and Beaufort fellows will work together will report to Dr. DeMattia (DUML). NOTE: CE fellows are funded for a two-year cycle, and Fellows are expected to complete the full two years. Also, the CE Fellow at the Duke Marine Lab is an in-person job, and the Fellow must reside in Carteret County to work with community partners – this job is not eligible for remote work.

The NSOE Community Engagement Fellow at DUML will support organizations in rural, coastal NC with education and conservation missions that deal with the socio-economic realities of climate change on the coast. Realities such as increased storms, collapsing fisheries, sunny-day flooding, shoreline erosion, changing economies, habitat degradation, and sea level rise. Coastal NC is home to the Community Science Initiative at the Duke University Marine Lab, which collaborates with conservation and education community partners: Carteret County Public Schools, the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastal Plain, NC Coastal Federation, Wildlife Resource Commission (WRC), Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Rachel Carson Ecological Research Reserve, the National Park, Service, and the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center. The CE Fellow at the Duke Marine Lab will work with collaborators to provide support for a variety of current conservation and education projects and help connect these projects conceptually and organizationally to ensure their sum is greater than their parts in support of coastal community resilience. Support for these organizations may include activities such as: conducting research, developing curriculum, designing new programs, recording and analyzing data, evaluating programs, creating online/social media content, writing and designing manuals/policy briefs, updating websites, designing software, and more. CE Fellows will recognize the complex nature of how sea level rise and global climate change affects NC’s coastal communities, learn about the unique set of issues that rural non-profits face, and help those non-profits on a variety of projects. 

Work Performed: Project Management (75%) The CE Fellow’s main duties will be ensuring all the tasks and deliverables are completed for a variety of ongoing community projects. Some projects include: 

 • A NC Sea Grant and Community Engaged Scholarship funded resilience education project disseminating school-based nature and resiliency curriculum for middle and high school students that introduces students to personal, ecological, and community resiliency concepts, facilitates community climate investigations, and supports student-led community engagement events.

• An art and resilience project: This project originated as part of a Bass Connections class where DUML students and faculty analyzed resilience connections across social, ecological, and educational disciplines and creating a template for community-based coastal restoration projects that increase coastal resiliency and restore biodiversity while attending to personal resilience related to environmental traumas. 

• A variety of Community Engagement Projects with local organizations: These CE projects are varied and are based on the needs of local conservation and education partners. The CE Fellow will work with collaborators and DUML Faculty to develop and manage projects for different DUML students (Master Student projects, Undergraduate research projects, and DukeEngage projects).

• DUML CSI’s outreach and volunteer programs: The CEF helps create opportunities for DUML students to connect to the local community through outreach programs including marine debris programs, water quality programs, resilience programs, and STEM summer camps. 

Evaluation Support (25%) The CE Fellow will also assist in evaluation of programs (with substantial support from supervising faculty at NSOE, DUML and NC State). This may include collecting and organizing survey data, completing and transcribing interviews and focus groups, or other evaluation-related tasks. In addition, the CE Fellow at the Duke Marine Lab will also work with the CE Fellow at NSOE in Durham to analyze and understand similarities and differences of doing CE work with rural and urban partners. Opportunities for publication of findings is likely. 

Education/Training 

• Science related master’s degree or terminal degree (e.g. MEM, CEM, Sc.D., M.S., M.A). 

Skills & Experience 

• The Community Engagement Fellowship at the Duke Marine Lab will have extensive knowledge of Duke’s NSOE Masters of Environmental Management program as well as experience working with the conservation and education non-profits in Carteret County and coastal NC. 

• Additional Preferred Skills include project management experience, community engagement experience, non-profit work, and an ability to communicate complex topics in accessible language are key skills for this position. Experience in environmental education, teaching, research and evaluation, and project management are highly desirable. Skills in quantitative and qualitative research methods; experience using Adobe Creative Cloud software, including Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop; experience with Microsoft Office and Google suite of programs. 

Additional Information: The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description. Duke University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status. Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values. Essential Physical Job Functions Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.