Eel River Community Vision Project Coordinator

CalWild (Formerly the California Wilderness Coalition)

Eel River Community Vision Project Coordinator

The proposed removal of the Scott and Van Arsdale dams on the Eel River, once California’s third-largest fishery, presents a unique opportunity to build community consensus around ecological, economic, cultural and recreational goals for the areas of the watershed to be revealed and transformed by the dam removals. As a solution-oriented and established institution with a good reputation with many stakeholders in the region, CalWild is uniquely positioned to play a convening and coordinating role in a formal community engagement process building consensus and achieving a vision for the watershed’s future.

Although many Lake County residents and officials have historically stood firmly against dam removal, PG&E’s decommissioning proposal and the failure of any other entity to take custody of the facilities may make the removals inevitable.

CalWild will therefore craft an acceptable “Plan B” that could be implemented if the dams are removed. This plan, developed through multi-stakeholder collaboration, will offer a vision for enhancing the 20% of the Mendocino National Forest above the dams in the Eel River watershed with fire resilience, economic, recreational, and habitat restoration enhancements. These proposed improvements can help make Lake County whole as it struggles to replace revenues lost as a result of dam removal.

The Project Coordinator will facilitate and manage the Eel River Community Vision Project, including overseeing consultants (particularly the process facilitator).

The Project Coordinator must be an excellent communicator and comfortable managing multiple tasks, a team player able to work in a high-speed environment with a problem-solving approach, and highly organized. They will manage scheduling meetings for the facilitator and the negotiating group and will file written reports on the status of the project for use by staff in overseeing the project and in creating grant reports to funders.

Position: Contractor

Reports to: Senior Policy Director

Responsibilities

• Coordinate internal resources and third parties/consultants for the flawless execution of the project
• Manage scheduling of interviews and negotiating meetings, including securing venues and coordinating with invited participants
• Ensure that project deliverables are delivered on-time, within scope and within budget
• Develop project scopes and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility
• With the contract facilitator, develop a detailed project plan to track progress
• Use appropriate verification techniques to manage changes in project scope, schedule and costs
• Measure project performance using appropriate systems, tools and techniques
• Report and escalate to management as needed
• Manage the relationship with contractors and all stakeholders
• Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation
• Help CalWild staff write the final report with recommendations for future projects and work

Requirements and skills

• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and ability to juggle multiple responsibilities
• Ability to manage others effectively
• Excellent public-facing and internal communication skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel
• A Lake County resident or someone with ties to the region is preferred

Compensation

As contractor, commensurate with experience.