Water Quality Specialist

BACKGROUND

Located in beautiful coastal San Mateo County, the San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) seeks a Water Quality Specialist to protect and improve water quality at creeks and beaches in San Mateo County. You will work with municipalities, public and private landowners and land managers, local communities, water resources industry leaders, non-profits, academic researchers, and public agencies to find, prevent, and remediate water pollution– and help others do the same. 

In coastal San Mateo County, the land and sea are inexorably linked. In a place like this, even small actions can make a big difference. Because water pollution sources are many and complex and present different threats to public health and wildlife, there is no one solution. Using an array of tools, the RCD works with numerous partners to protect and improve the region’s water quality. 

RCDs across California serve as local hubs for conservation, connecting people with the technical, financial, and educational assistance they need to conserve and manage natural resources.  A defining characteristic of RCDs is that we provide non-regulatory, confidential, and free assistance.

POSITION

San Mateo RCD has five program areas: climate mitigation, water resources, forest health and fire resiliency, habitat enhancement, and sustainable agriculture. This position serves the water resources team. You will work with partner organizations and individuals to identify sources of water pollution, identify priority actions, and design and implement solutions to protect and enhance water quality. These activities are often designed to incorporate various natural resource management considerations and produce multi-beneficial outcomes. Typical work includes overseeing data collection, assessment and reporting; supporting partners in accessing funding programs; capital projects to reduce point source contamination in local creeks; helping organizations comply with regulatory requirements such as Total Maximum Daily Load programs; and hosting workshops, presentations and educational programming.

You will support marinas, farms, ranches, parks, equestrian facilities, residential landowners, municipalities and other jurisdictions, utilities, parks, and more. You will work closely with RCD staff, partner organizations, and stakeholders with high levels of engagement and personal interactions. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week and is funded by grants and contracts.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Water Quality Monitoring 
• Program Support 
• Outreach and Technical Assistance 
• Project Development

APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS

Successful applicants will “wear many hats” at the RCD. They will benefit from previous experience in stakeholder engagement, identifying emerging opportunities, responding to timely requests, utilizing new and streamlined scientific principles, and high levels of collaboration. They will work across many disciplines and therefore must have technical, administrative, communication, and interpersonal skills. 

For more information about the position, please visit the job listing on our website:

San Mateo RCD Job Opportunity: Water Quality Specialist