On-Call Scientific Outreach Support Specialist

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

SciLine, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is accepting applications for a fully remote, On-call Scientific Outreach Support Specialist —a part-time opportunity to contribute to the organization’s mission of connecting journalists to scientific expertise on deadline. This individual will fill in capacity gaps in rapidly researching, identifying, vetting, and recruiting scientific experts to participate in SciLine’s flagship Expert Matching service on same-day deadlines. A competitive candidate will have a concrete understanding of the principles, methods, and culture of science; familiarity with current research trends; excellent research, data analysis, and time management skills; and the ability to communicate effectively and quickly with busy peers in the science community—all within the context of a bustling, deadline-driven, newsroom-like shop.

This is an on-call, part-time position for up to 17 hours per week, ideally primarily on Tuesdays and Wednesdays—our busiest days for the Expert Matching service—with the opportunity to negotiate exact hours. The position may be especially attractive to freelancers and individuals with a Master’s or PhD degree in a field of science who are considering or have experience in science communication, journalism, public relations, or other non-academic career options.

Help us ignite the next era of science.

What You’ll Do

During on-call hours, begin work on the following tasks within 30 minutes of getting a request from SciLine:

• Identify scientific experts from SciLine’s internal database or other sources, and vet their scientific expertise and communication skills for possible referral to journalists;
• Reach out to scientific experts to recruit them to participate in interviews with same-day deadlines; and
• Add to SciLine’s database of experts.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a scientific discipline;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; fluency in Spanish a plus
• Excellent research skills and commitment to scientific rigor;
• Ability to build trusting relationships with scientists, research institutions, and scientific organizations;
• Ability to read, digest, and quickly extract meaning from scientific and technical papers across a wide range of scientific domains;
• Ability to identify and assess scientific communications skills using a diverse range of potential resources;
• Ability to work quickly on short deadlines;
• Ability to work independently, but appreciative of collaborative inputs;
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion across the scientific and journalistic enterprises—themes central to SciLine’s mission and success;
• Sensitivity to social and ethical issues relevant to science, science communication, and journalism;
• Appreciation for SciLine’s overarching mission of enhancing journalism with scientific expertise and context and leveraging journalism in support of evidence-based decision-making.