Summer Special Project Research Coordinator- PFPC

Chatham University • Pittsburgh, PA

4d • $18

About The Position

We value our students! If you see an open position that is right for you, we encourage you to apply! The Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation (CRAFT) seeks a Special Project Research Coordinator to support a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture-funded project with the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council. This project will work to collect, collate, and analyze data to lift up agriculture as the highest and best use of land in Allegheny county. At CRAFT, we center community in our pursuit of transformative regional food systems that value the people who live and work within them. We envision a food system that is equitable, fostering fairness and transparency across the value chain. This is a 10hr/week position for a total of 150 hrs for the summer 2026 semester. Pay is $18/hour. There is potential to expand this position into fall 2026 and beyond. Chatham University strives to promote a campus environment that understands and embraces multiculturalism while increasing individuals' intercultural competence. We actively work to build and sustain a diverse and culturally vibrant campus, which promotes employee and student success and retention. Chatham University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Chatham University does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, age, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, marital or family status, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that’s unique about our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to success, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it’s our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hardworking, curious, trustworthy, humble and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in our area.

Requirements

• Ability to self-manage time, self-start, and work independently on a time-sensitive project
• Comfort in data gathering, academic research, literature reviews, thematic analysis and report generation
• Organization and attention to detail

Nice To Haves

• An understanding of urban agriculture, food systems policy, and/or community economic development particularly in the Pittsburgh region.
• Food systems, non-profit, or similar work
• Canva, Google Workspace, or other design and collaboration platforms.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a comprehensive literature review of published scholarly and governmental literature on multifunctional urban agricultural spaces in order to define and contextualize the effect of agriculture in urban and peri-urban spaces as the “highest and best use” of land.
• Assist in conducting thematic analysis to establish common desirable functions and themes contributing to “highest and best use”
• Assist in the creation of reporting and/or visualizations to support policy documents, provide information to working groups, and democratize results.
• Attend relevant project meetings
• Complete foundational research and review all project specific methodologies.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees