Stroud Water Research Center is seeking a Watershed Restoration Coordinator and two paid Watershed Restoration Interns:
Watershed Restoration Coordinator
Stroud Water Research Center seeks a motivated individual with significant experience in managing and overseeing landowner relationships and communications for watershed restoration projects. Experience with the outreach, coordination, organizing, and execution of riparian forest buffers and other agricultural best management practices is key.
This position will assist senior leadership in the coordination of partnerships, commitments, agreements, and contracts associated with the Stroud Center’s Robin L. Vannote Watershed Restoration Program.
Responsibilities
The watershed restoration coordinator will oversee, coordinate, and manage landowner relations and the implementation of agricultural and watershed restoration project work. The coordinator will work with multiple partners and agencies to strategically deploy state, federal, and private funding to implement the most efficient and effective conservation practices on candidate properties. Additionally, the coordinator will:
- Work with landowners and partners to secure signed landowner contracts for implementing watershed conservation priorities and fulfilling grant deliverables.
- Manage project planning and implementation logistics and details with landowners and other project partners.
- Assist in developing, writing, and submitting grant applications for resources to support the work of the Watershed Restoration Program.
- Monitor and oversee individual grant deliverables (in collaboration with the director of watershed restoration).
- Assist in training conservation professionals and, to a lesser degree, conservation group members and private landowners in forested buffer restoration and management, as well as the planning and implementation of agricultural best management practices.
- Work with other team members to manage and adapt the Stroud Center’s Watershed Restoration Program strategies, guidance, and implementation.
- Coordinate with the Stroud Center’s research scientists and their staff to identify needs and opportunities to use restoration projects as an opportunity to study technical and ecological outcomes and provide insights on enhancing future restoration approaches.
- Conduct and lead outreach and communications to reach restoration goals and commitments.
- Report to the Stroud Center’s director of watershed restoration.
Qualifications
To be considered for the position, candidates should possess a Master of Science or higher degree in environmental or agricultural sciences and greater than three years of experience overseeing and managing programs related to agricultural and watershed restoration. Alternatively, candidates should possess a Bachelor of Science and greater than five years of experience.
Applicants must demonstrate a proven record of accomplishment in working with landowners to secure project opportunities and in working with partners to ensure seamless integration of conservation programs.
This position will be supported by external grants and contracts. Therefore, preference will be given to applicants that have a robust track record of successful relationships with agricultural and conservation funders.
Salary and Employment
Salary will be commensurate with education and experience. This is a full-time position that includes a comprehensive employee benefit plan. The position is dependent on external funding and is currently funded for three years with the expectation of continuous funding.
Application Procedures
Applications will be reviewed immediately. To apply, use the form below to submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae or resume, and the names and contact details for three professional references, preferably as a single attachment. The name of the attached file should start with the applicant’s last name in the file name (e.g., LASTNAME_RESUME.PDF).
Link to application and more info: https://stroudcenter.org/jobs/watershed-restoration-coordinator-2023/
Watershed Restoration Internships
The Robin L. Vannote Watershed Restoration Program is hiring up to two paid interns for seasonal/summer assistance. Interns will be trained and provided experiences in many aspects of watershed restoration, with emphasis on the installation and maintenance of riparian forest buffers on private properties in southeastern Pennsylvania. This position will report to our watershed restoration coordinator and will work in the field (mostly on private properties in Chester, Lancaster, and Berks counties) and at Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Pennsylvania.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties of the position include the following:
- Installing and/or establishing forested buffers in person and/or coordinating with other Stroud Center staff and/or volunteers to do so, which includes:
- Staging of materials (shelters, stakes, plants) and flagging at sites.
- Installation of buffers and removal of all leftover materials.
- Conducting post-planting establishment (PPE) measures such as:
- Shelter maintenance, including re-staking and straightening.
- Weeding inside shelters.
- Mowing (not typically, but possibly).
- Installation of gravel mulch.
- Managing invasive plants.
- Removal of shelters and stakes containing dead seedlings.
- Conducting status checks on existing buffers to collect information on tree survivorship and growth and damage to shelters, stakes, and fences that would require follow-up maintenance to assure buffer success.
- Assisting with research projects that assess or develop new methods and data collection.
- Assisting with volunteer-based buffer planting and PPE activities.
Other possible tasks, as time allows, include:
- Assisting other Stroud Center projects and researchers, which may include assistance with electrofishing surveys, landscape surveying, macroinvertebrate sampling, field monitoring related to soil health, etc.
- Helping with special events (educational, outreach, volunteer, etc.).
- Maintaining and organizing Stroud Center storage areas and equipment.
- Various other tasks as needed.
Qualifications
Required qualifications include:
- Valid driver’s license and transportation for off-site work.
- Cell phone.
- Ability to perform demanding physical activity outdoors in a variety of challenging conditions (weather, invasive plants, mud, etc.).
- Ability to repeatedly lift 50-pound items such as bundles of wooden stakes and flats of trees.
- Ability to work with others (including landowners) and communicate regarding buffer and other work details.
- Ability to work on your own with limited supervision, requiring personal initiative and a sense of responsibility for assuring satisfactory outcomes.
Additional helpful skills include:
- Knowledge of native plants, particularly ID of woody species.
- Enthusiasm for forested buffer restoration and the hard work entailed.
- Attention to detail for the many logistics involved.
Start date and term of employment: Starting date is negotiable, but ideally by the end of May 2023. Employment will extend to mid-August, with the possibility of further extension depending on performance.
Salary: Approximately $600-700/week, depending on experience and qualifications. This is an hourly position that does not provide health or retirement benefits.
Application period: Beginning April 24, 2023, and rolling until positions are filled.
How to apply: Interested candidates should use the form below to upload a maximum one-page cover letter, a maximum two-page resume detailing any previous experience, and the names and contact information of three references.
Link to application and more info: https://stroudcenter.org/jobs/watershed-restoration-internships/