Chesapeake Geospatial Project Manager

CHESAPEAKE GEOSPATIAL PROJECT MANAGER

Job Type: Full-time, exempt

Reports To: Deputy Director of the Conservation Innovation Center

Direct Reports: Geospatial Technical Lead, Senior Geospatial Analyst

Work Location: Annapolis, Maryland. The Chesapeake Conservancy office operates under a hybrid remote/in-person environment with one day in the office per week required.

Anticipated Start Date: March 2025

 

ABOUT CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY

Chesapeake Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Annapolis, Maryland. We are a team of conservation entrepreneurs. We believe that the Chesapeake is a national treasure that should be accessible for everyone and a place where wildlife can thrive. We use technology to enhance the pace and quality of conservation, and we help build parks, trails and public access sites.

Within the Conservancy, the Conservation Innovation Center (CIC) has become a globally recognized leader in producing data, analyses and web applications to advance precision conservation and restoration. Through collaborative partnerships, the CIC develops innovative custom approaches to leverage high-resolution geospatial data to support informed decision making at a variety of scales, from individual parcels to the watershed-wide/regional scale. The CIC works with leading technical organizations like ESRI and Microsoft to deliver more precise data and bring cutting edge technology and techniques to our work. More information is available on our website at https://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/conservation-innovation-center/

 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY

Chesapeake Conservancy is looking for an experienced geospatial project manager for its Conservation Innovation Center (CIC) to lead the execution and management of a 5-year geospatial land characterization project between the CIC, EPA and Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) geospatial data and science team in a hybrid work environment. Through close professional and organizational contacts, the Chesapeake geospatial project manager ensures cooperation and collaboration among the CIC, partners and service providers to meet active grant requirements and financial obligations. In addition, the project manager will work to improve the CIC’s visibility within the CBP and assess geospatial needs across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Chesapeake Geospatial Project Management

• Serve as the project manager for current and future bay-wide projects, leading a team of geospatial analysts
• Provide guidance, technical support and performance evaluation for direct reports
• Manage the completion of the full life cycle of assigned portfolio of grants/contracts including but not limited to developing work plans, official EPA Action Plans, workgroups, research, budget adherence, reporting and related strategies
• Write and develop Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP), Quality Management Plans (QMP) and Data Management Plans (DMP)
• Monitor project progress, track milestones and ensure adherence to timelines and quality assurance plans
• Manage project timelines and staff schedules, and ensure cost-effective resource utilization
• Ensure the CIC and Chesapeake Conservancy complies with federal grant reporting requirements, including submitting complete reports (QAPPs, QMPs and others) on time
• Work with the operations manager to balance and monitor team workflows across active projects and identify and manage risks to projected timelines
• Work with grant administrators and the director to execute client contracts for future and current bay-wide grants
• In close collaboration with the deputy director, serve as the key CIC staff representative to bay-wide data projects and partners

Administration

• Maintain organized records of subaward or contractor agreements, invoices and progress reports. Work with grants administrators to collect information and documentation needed for federal audit records.
• Support CIC management team by performing monthly review of personnel time allocations, making adjustments to project plans as needed
• Assist with the preparation of budgets and narratives for new proposals and grants
• Lead project reporting as required by EPA, CBP and stakeholders. Update internal grant deliverable tracking system and fulfill reporting requirements.

Partnership Development

• Assist the deputy director in strategically aligning the Conservancy and CIC with the CBP partnership’s geospatial and data science needs
• Articulate highly technical concepts and analysis to technical and non-technical audiences
• Engage with partners and the public through presentations and networking events
• Maintain, develop and expand excellent and active working relationships with CBP, working groups and Goal Implementation Teams (GITs), and other appropriate partners and service providers
• Identify and recommend CBP funding opportunities and strategies to sustain the CBP-focused staff and administrative needs beyond core EPA grant funding
• Coordinate CIC presentations of CBP-related projects to partners

Other Duties as Assigned

 

REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES

• A Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, geography, project management or a related field
• A minimum of five years of relevant and progressively responsible professional project management experience, beyond graduate or undergraduate work
• The ability to balance the demands of complex projects and partnerships
• Candidates must be familiar with methods and procedures for geospatial data analysis using GIS and data science tools. Experience using ArcGIS Pro or QGIS is required.
• A desire to advance the mission and goals of Chesapeake Conservancy
• The ability to foster a culture of success by anticipating and understanding the needs of team members, partners and stakeholders and providing resources to overcome barriers
• An ability to think strategically and creatively to advance the goals of the Conservancy and the CBP and to clearly and compellingly articulate a vision and strategies to partners
• Ability to communicate and present complex technical concepts and analysis to technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to forge relationships across a spectrum of professionals and stakeholders
• Organizational skills and proficiencies with Microsoft and Google Documents; experience using various platforms for remote meetings

 

PREFERRED SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Familiarity with the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program goals, committees and partnership structure and community
• Knowledge of and experience working to advance conservation, environmental health and social justice in the Chesapeake Bay region
• Project management certification or education experience
• Experience implementing Agile project management using scrums, sprints or similar frameworks
• Experience scripting with open-source packages and python libraries such as GeoPandas, GDAL and Rasterio

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $75,000 – $90,000 depending on relevant experience. The Conservancy offers a competitive employee benefits package that includes:

• 3 medical plans, plus dental and vision insurance plans. The Conservancy pays 70-75% of the premium for medical and dental.
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options
• Life and AD&D insurance and long-term disability insurance. The Conservancy pays 100% of the premium for these ancillary benefits.
• 15 days paid vacation leave accrued annually, increased to 20 days after 5 years of service
• 4 weeks paid sick and family leave accrued annually
• 13 paid holidays
• 403(b) retirement plan with up to 5% employer match
• Alternate Work Week and flexible work hours available
• Hybrid work arrangement
• Opportunities for advancement and professional development

 

CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, refusal to submit to a genetic test or to make available genetic test results, or any other legally protected characteristic.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability during any part of the recruitment process, please contact HR Manager Helen Sieracki at hsieracki@chesapeakeconservancy.org or (443) 261-2376.