The Stream & Wetland Restoration Specialist will be part of a team working to improve water quality in the Susquehanna Watershed and Chesapeake Bay Basin through agricultural best management practices. The position will 1. Co-create a partner-based strategic plan for advancing stream and wetland restoration in agricultural landscapes; 2. Develop a pipeline of on-the-ground restoration; and 3. Work as part of a team to secure public and private funding and technical support for the continuance of the project. This position will add capacity to a growing team and be provided with numerous opportunities for professional development. This is a 2-year grant funded position, with the potential to extend.
At the end of your first year, success will mean developing a plan that showcases a collective conservation vision for improving water quality and enhancing wildlife habitats through climate-based restoration approaches while also identifying and advancing on-the-ground restoration projects. The plan will solidify working agreements and a strategic plan with 2-3 priority partners, prioritize restoration approaches, target key geographies, advance high-leverage communication strategies, and identify potential funding sources. Projects will leverage opportunities and funding with local landowners and communities to provide multiple benefits.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE
- Partnerships. Creates, builds, and maintains effective and dynamic collaborations with academic, conservation, agricultural, and agency partners to create a common conservation vision, streamline project implementation, and align funding to accelerate the scale and increase the impact of restoration efforts.
- Projects. Conducts outreach and coordinates with partners and landowners to implements high impact restoration activities that maximize water quality improvements while supporting a suite of co-benefits including improving wildlife habitat, flood risk reduction, and climate resiliency.
- Technical Support. Provides logistical and technical restoration support to partners including county planning agencies, conservation districts, WIP coordinators, consultants as well as landowners for high ROI restoration projects ensuring the implementation of best management, climate-based practices.
- Project Management. Performs project oversight, coordinates multiple projects, develops contracts, sets deadlines, manages to deliverables and project completion, writes reports, and effectively communicates project status, roles, and timelines with project partners
- Communication. Fosters cross-site learning among conservation communities and communicates results and recommendations from projects to funders, media outlets, and communication teams.
- May collect monitoring data and maintain equipment to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration.
- Performs tasks with minimal supervision and makes independent decisions based on analysis, experience and context.
- Ensures program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.
- May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, with some evening and weekend hours, and under physically demanding circumstances.