Coral Project Specialist

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Coral Project Specialist (CPS) manages all aspects of grant-funded or other assigned projects at The Nature Conservancy’s Coral Innovation Hub located on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, including tracking deliverables and due dates, coordinating required field activities, reporting, budgets and expenditures, and liaison with clients and funders. The CPS provides technical leadership and support for the USVI Coral Program’s restoration and conservation projects. They will typically lead one project, and/or coordinate specific aspects of projects, by managing project teams, work streams and budgets; planning, scheduling, coordinating, and participating in required field activities (e.g., coral outplanting and monitoring); setting deadlines and tracking project timelines and progress, working closely with the aquaculture team to ensure coral propagation schedules are in line with project schedules; submitting grant progress reports; and maintaining project records. The CPS manages (collects, assembles and analyzes) various types of data, and prepares technical reports or assigns and oversees the development of report sections. The CPS also liaises with the clients and funders, typically alongside the Coral Program Director or grant PI. This position works collaboratively with a large team consisting of field staff, coral husbandry staff, and education and outreach staff, and coordinates closely with other project and data managers, as well as field operations staff.

Work will be conducted in a hybrid environment including office, virtual and field settings (scientific scuba diving). The CPS may supervise one or more support staff. The position reports to the Coral Restoration Manager.

Responsibilities of the position include:

• Develops overall project schedules, due dates, and assignments and makes these accessible to the wider team via project management software or similar.
• Tracks project progress and makes regular status reports to supervisors.
• Performs tasks with minimal supervision and makes independent decisions based on analysis, experience and context.
• Supervises professional staff, with responsibility for performance management, training and development.
• Schedules, plans, coordinates, and executes field operations required to meet project deliverables.
• Performs field work on SCUBA or snorkel as part of the TNC dive team in support of all coral-related projects.
• Sets and leads any necessary team meetings for project planning.
• Conducts data analysis and leads the preparation of technical reports.
• Manages project data in collaboration with data manager(s) and shares data with partners and global/regional databases as appropriate.
• Shares project results with a variety of audiences via presentations, manuscripts, or other formats.
• May assists aquaculture and outreach teams as needed.
• May participate in complex negotiations including difficult conversations and conflict resolution.
• Ensures program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.
• Follows team norms established and updated as a team
• May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.

We’re Looking for You:

Are you looking for work you can believe in? At TNC we strive to embody a philosophy of Work that You Can Believe in where you can feel like you are making a difference every day.

By joining our Caribbean Division’s USVI team, you will become part of a group that is a force to be reckoned with, a force for nature, a force for people, and a force for our planet.  Our team consists of a dedicated group of people who are leading the conservation effort on multiple fronts and who expertly bring strategy and action together. 

The ideal candidate should have project management skills, knowledge of coral reef ecology and conservation, and be a certified in SCUBA with scientific diving experience. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the ongoing mission of conservation by supporting and shaping the work of our Coral Innovation Hub! 

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, marine science or related field, and 3 years’ experience in natural resource management or similar field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Organizational skills and project management experience.
• Experience managing multiple priorities, with assignments sometimes coming from a number of sources, and work independently.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience managing and analyzing complex datasets.
• Experience supervising and training staff, volunteers and/or teams to achieve stated goals/outcomes.
• Experience completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s).
• Knowledge of Caribbean coral reef ecology and management principles.
• Relationship-building experience to work closely with a variety of partners, i.e., media, government officials, funders, internal scientists.
• Experience managing tasks with accuracy and detail, including numerical tasks.
• Experience planning, administering and recording results of work-team meetings and activities.
• Experience using desktop and web-based applications such as Microsoft Suite, project management software, virtual meeting and cloud storage platforms, etc.
• Must be SCUBA certified with scientific diving experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
• Advanced degree in marine science.
• 3-5 years’ experience in project management related to the natural sciences, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading interactive public presentations and preparing various types of reports for public and/or privately funded projects.
• Knowledge/understanding of current trends and practices in coral reef conservation and/or restoration.
• Ability to identify Caribbean coral species.
• Familiarity with softwares used for coral reef monitoring (e.g., Metashape, Taglab, CPCe, ArcGIS).
• AAUS Scientific Diver or reciprocity

Additional Information

• This is a term-limited position, with an anticipated end-date June 30, 2027. Depending on funding, there may be the possibility of an extension.
• Only applicants who are currently eligible to work in the United States will be considered.  Unfortunately, The Nature Conservancy is unable to provide support for a work permit for this position.