HR Happenings

Nominations for Vetlesen, Penzance, Ryan C. Schrawder Awards
Nominations are currently being solicited for the 2012 Vetlesen, Penzance, and Ryan C. Schrawder awards. All of these awards symbolize the essence of WHOI's spirit: outstanding performance coupled with major contributions and dedication to the WHOI community. These awards are supported by a peer nomination process and will be presented at the Employee Recognition Celebration on Thursday, June 28. The deadline for nominations for the 2012 awards is Friday, May 18. Information on these awards and the nomination forms are located here, http://www.whoi.edu/HR/page.do?pid=22087.
Contact: Julie Fawkes, ext. 3730

One-on-One Meetings with Diversified in 2012
Diversified will be onsite at WHOI every month in 2012 beginning in March. Individual one-on-meetings are available in 25-minute time slots. You must schedule your appointment in advance by registering online using the Diversified Meeting Scheduler. Advance registration is allowed for up to 3 months and is available to you through the online registration site. If you feel you will need more than 25-minutes to meet with a Diversified representative, you may sign up for more than one session, or you may want to sign up for the last session of the day. Future sessions will be offered throughout the year.

403(b) Annual Contribution Limits for 2012
The IRS announced the 2012 contribution limits for Defined Contribution retirement plans. For 2012, the maximum annual amount an employee can contribute into a 403(b) plan is $17,000, or up to $22,500 for those who are age 50 or older by December 31, 2012. Additionally, the total annual maximum for employee and employer contributions is $50,000 in 2012.

Summary Annual Reports - WHOI Retirement Plans
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), WHOI is required to notify all covered participants of the annual filing of the Retirement Plans at WHOI. The 2010 summary annual report of WHOI's Post-Retirement Medical Plan and Defined Contribution Retirement Plan have been filed with the Department of Labor. Please note a summary annual report is no longer required to be distributed for the Defined Benefit Retirement Plan as the Annual Funding Notice has taken its place which is distributed by April 30th each year. It is, however, still available to you on the HR site from the link above.

Defined Benefit Retirement Plan (DB Plan) - Notice of Plan Changes
Effective December 31, 2010, service accrual under the Institution’s DB Plan will be frozen, with benefits for future service after that date being provided through the new Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DC Plan). On August 31, a special letter was mailed to the home addresses of all active employees who are participants in the DB Plan as of January 1, 2010. This letter serves as the official notice to Plan participants regarding the upcoming changes to the DB Plan. A copy of this notice has also been posted to the HR website.

Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DC Plan)-Frequently Asked Questions
The new Defined Contribution Retirement Plan officially went into effect on August 1, 2010. As of this date, employees could begin making contributions into their new 403(b) account through Diversified. The official transition for most employees did not take place until January 1, 2011 – this transition affects those employees who were participants in the Defined Benefit Plan as of January 1, 2010. For more information about the new Plan, please visit the Retirement Plan information located in the Benefits section of the official Human Resources site.

Recent Job Announcements

• Research Associate I/II-AOP&E
• Laboratory Assistant I-PO

Last updated: May 3, 2012

Career Opportunities

We appreciate your interest in employment opportunities at WHOI. To learn about the different opportunities please click on the links below.

Mak Saito's lab View current openings:
» Scientific & Postdoctoral
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» Current Employees

Employee Resources

Information for current and new employees including policies, career advancement resources, administrative tools, and much more.

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Our Mission
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society.

Total Rewards
To achieve its overall mission, an integral part of WHOI’s strategy is to attract, recruit, and retain a world-class staff, representing a diversity of people, backgrounds and ideas. To that end, we are driven to provide a total rewards package that supports these initiatives and complements WHOI’s culture and values.

What are total rewards?
Simply put, total rewards is the monetary and non-monetary return provided to employees of WHOI in exchange for their time, talents, efforts and results. It involves these key elements: compensation, benefits, work-life, performance and recognition, and development and career opportunities.