Whole Watershed Restoration Program Manager, Community Ecosystem Services Program

Summary:
Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates economic, social and environmental well-being. Among Ecotrust's many innovations are co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, and food and farms, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Over nearly 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $60 million in grants and investments into more than $300 million in capital for local communities.

Ecotrust has been working on whole watershed restoration efforts in the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade. In 2006, we launched the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) in partnership with state and federal agencies in an effort to direct public funding for restoration to watersheds with the highest conservation value. The goal of the WWRI is to restore the natural functions of whole watersheds in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and to amplify community-based partnerships focused on the strategic restoration of Pacific salmon and steelhead ecosystems.

Our planning and prioritization process takes a Protect the Best approach, by focusing restoration activities in a few important watersheds per basin. We identify the most needed work through watershed analyses. The goal of our restoration activities is to restore and protect the major ecological functions by removing risk factors and restoring damaged habitat-forming processes in the watershed, across all ownerships. Once work has been completed restoring the major ecological processes in the watershed, we move on to focus restoration efforts on the next priority watershed. We believe that by concentrating and coordinating restoration efforts where there is strong community support, collaboration, and high ecological value, we achieve measurable and sustainable recovery faster than when our efforts are spread randomly across the landscape.

The Whole Watershed Restoration Program Manager is an integral part of the Community Ecosystem Services (CES) team which takes an integrated approach to supporting conservation science, emerging ecosystem service markets, community access to (and rights in) natural resources, and transformative and entrepreneurial leadership.

Ecotrust works closely with numerous public, private, and tribal restoration focused organizations, including but not limited to the US Forest Service, NOAA's Community-based Restoration Center, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The Whole Watershed Program Manager will build and maintain strong working relations with all of these agencies.

The primary role of the Whole Watershed Restoration Program Manager is to increase the efficacy of the WWRI by expanding the partnership's re-granting fund and network of key supporters, leveraging other Ecotrust efforts within the Priority Basins, and communicating compelling whole watershed restoration stories to our constituents. The Watershed Restoration Program Manager will lead Ecotrust's watershed restoration efforts and will collaborate with colleagues across all program areas to implement program goals and objectives.

The position reports to the Director of Forests and Watersheds. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated watershed restoration experience, planning, fundraising, and project management skills, a strong ability to work collaboratively, superior communications skills, and an understanding of all phases of the watershed restoration process, which includes planning, design, funding, permitting, implementation, outreach, and monitoring.

Duties:

• Coordinate and manage all restoration program activities, including the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative and others
• Explore and develop new program opportunities and strategies with internal and external colleagues
• Develop and implement strategies and multi-year work plans to carry out a whole watershed program that:
  • Expands the impact watershed restoration has on ecosystems and human communities;
  • Measures this impact; and
  • Inspires an increase in watershed stewardship;
• Manage multiple public and private contracts, grants, and re-granting projects
• Write and submit grant reports, proposals, and program-related outreach material
• Develop new partner relationships, especially in Washington and Idaho
• Coordinate activities with other Ecotrust programs
• Travel within the Pacific Northwest approximately 30% time

Qualifications:

• Experience with watershed restoration project design, funding, implementation, monitoring, and outreach.
• Extremely good verbal and written communication skills and client relations.
• Experience working independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrated experience with and enthusiasm for collaborative work. Specifically, the ability to develop and maintain strong and constructive working relationships with other organizations (e.g., NGOs, government agencies, and other research entities).
• Graduate degree in related field (conservation or environmental science, forestry, ecology, or similar) and/or bachelor's degree with relevant experience.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects with numerous partner organizations.
• Successful experience with public and private grant writing, reporting, and managing.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow through.
• Experience in community economic development not required but an advantage.
• Computer proficiency, including use of personal computer, the internet, and Microsoft Office.
• Commitment to natural resources conservation and the mission of Ecotrust.

Salary competitive depending on experience and qualifications, excellent benefits package including retirement plan match, medical and dental insurance, flexible spending account; life insurance and disability coverage provided.