Great Lakes ROTA Center Manager

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Employment Type:

Job Profile:

Job Summary:

The Great Lakes ROTA Center Manager is responsible for performing day-to-day management of a multi-state cooperative extension technical assistance project to support prevention, treatment and recovery for those with opioid addiction and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in rural areas. The Great Lakes ROTA Center Manager will be responsible for contributing to the planning and designing of implementation projects, managing the budget, education, communication, events, and evaluation. They will play a critical role in project management, financial planning, problem-resolution, and reporting while collaborating with other leaders and extension colleagues throughout Wisconsin and other states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio).

This position will organize the development and delivery of outreach programming while striving to expand and ensure access to programs, facilities, and educational services to diverse audiences.

Statewide Location

Division of Extension headquarters are located within Madison, WI but the position location is flexible and will be determined based on programmatic needs, successful candidate’s preferences, and availability of suitable space.

Partial Remote

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. Remote work requires an approved remote work agreement (RWA). A RWA requires successful candidates to possess their own high-speed internet and phone to perform the work on a university provided computer. Per University policy, transportation between home and assigned work location is not payable/reimbursable and will be at the expense of the employee.

This position has the possibility of working up to 3 days remote per week.

Evening/Weekend Work

This position may be required to work occasional nights and weekends to meet the program needs and priorities of the communities served.

Travel Expectations

It is expected that employees will make individual arrangements for transportation adequate to meet position responsibilities and essential job functions. Read more about UW-Madison Driver Authorization.

Applicants are required to: Have a valid drivers license and a reliable source of independent transportation for periodic in-state work travel, and/or comply with requirements for UW-Madison vehicle use authorization.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift 30 pounds with assistance

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Creates a project plan, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, and identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues

• Prepares regular reports to communicate the status of the project within and beyond the project team

• Assists with the development and auditing of project-specific budgets

• Serves as a subject matter expert and unit liaison. Provides updates on project components and timelines to stakeholders as needed

• Facilitates the estimation of project costs, resources, and time required to complete the assigned phase of a project and monitors activities, negotiates for resources, and assigns tasks to ensure these targets are met. Follows established change control processes if targets can no longer be met

• Manages the activities of outside contractors to ensure they are integrated into the project and that the organization receives satisfactory standards of service

• Sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones

Department:

Division of Extension, Health & Well-Being Institute, Behavioral Health Program, is hiring for a Great Lakes ROTA Center Manager.

About Extension

Extension embodies the Wisconsin Idea by developing and connecting the research and educational resources of UW–Madison with residents and communities to address local, statewide, and national issues. We teach, learn, lead and serve, transforming lives and communities.

About the Institute

The Health & Well-Being Institute supports healthier lives by working with and for the people, communities and Tribal nations of Wisconsin to build relationships, facilitate learning and pursue data informed and culturally based strategies. (https://health.extension.wisc.edu/)

In living our values, the Health & Well-Being Institute:

• Builds and maintains positive, trust-based, inclusive relationships
• Centers community voices, experiences, strengths, and diverse perspectives
• Takes purposeful, strategic action to build capacity in addressing identified needs
• Engages in lifelong learning with the people and communities we serve
• Collaborates to achieve shared goals by integrating diverse perspectives
• Supports opportunities for everyone to achieve optimal health

Additional Department Details

The Great Lakes Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center (ROTA-RC) is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide training and technical assistance to the rural communities of Health and Human Services Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Collaboratively, they develop and strengthen community capacity to prevent, treat, and support recovery for opioid use disorder and other mental health and substance use disorders, using a whole family/whole community approach to provide appropriate educational opportunities. More information about the ROTA-RC can be found here: https://greatlakesrota.extension.wisc.edu/about-us/

Compensation:

The minimum annual (12 months) starting salary for the position is $67,412 but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. Please review the summary of benefits for more information. 

Required Qualifications:

• Two (2) or more years of experience in project management or managing programs or initiatives as part of other job duties
• Detail-oriented with highly effective time management skills
• Experience managing multiple tasks, timelines, and schedules while maintaining high-quality work
• Strong written and oral (including formal presentation) communication skills
• Ability to work cooperatively with other agencies, community-based services, or organizations to address mental health
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build and maintain a professional work environment
• Experience with education and presentations using Zoom or another virtual platform
• Familiarity with Cooperative Extension
• Work or lived experience with Rural audiences
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Adobe Products
• Experience with newsletter distribution programs such as Eloqua
• Experience with websites using WordPress
• Experience with Qualtrics
• Experience with Mental Health or Substance Use Disorder Education
• Understanding of UW Purchasing Policies
  

Education:

Required Education

Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to the programmatic responsibilities of the position, such as community health education, public health, community psychology, family and consumer sciences, health policy, and social work

How to Apply:

We are eager to learn more about how your experience and passion may align with this position. To begin the application process, click the "apply now" button. You will be prompted to upload the following documents:

• Resume
• Letter of Qualifications (cover letter)
  

Please note when applying, there will be only one attachment field. You must upload all your documents in the attachment field. Please submit a cover letter referring to your work experience and a resume detailing your educational and professional background as it relates to this position. Your cover letter should communicate your interest in the position and how your skillset aligns with the role. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine who may advance to preliminary interviews. Failure to upload all required materials may result in your application not being considered.

For additional guidance and resources on how to tailor your application materials to the job posting, please click https://extension.wisc.edu/careers/.

This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations.  The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW–Madison cannot employ F-1 STEM OPT Extension participants, because UW–Madison does not meet the E-Verify employer requirement.

​Application Deadline is October 11, 2026 at 11:59pm (CDT).

Contact Information:

Sara Dawson

sara.dawson@wisc.edu

608-890-2629

Jennifer Park-Mroch

jennifer.parkmroch@wisc.edu

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. 

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.