Local Government Specialist

About the Alliance: The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Alliance) is a regional nonprofit organization whose vision is clean streams and rivers flowing through resilient landscapes, cared for by the people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and whose mission is to bring together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve our lands and waters. The Alliance was founded in 1971 and has offices in Annapolis, MD, Lancaster, PA, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, VA.

Job Description: The Local Government Specialist independently manages projects related to watershed planning, capacity building and technical assistance for local governments within the Chesapeake Bay watershed (initially, focusing on portions of the Delmarva peninsula). By building strong relationships with small, under-resourced local government officials and collecting and reviewing relevant plans and data, the Specialist identifies potential forests and green infrastructure projects and collaborates with peers at the Alliance to plan for implementation of watershed best management practices. The Specialist works under the direction of the Local Government Initiative Director.

Specific Duties of the Position:

• Collaborate closely with staff from partner municipal leagues and/or county associations
• Collect, manage, and prioritize local government watershed planning technical assistance requests
• Meet regularly with local government staff and officials, and maintain open communication with the goal of fostering long-term partnerships
• Create scope of work for watershed planning technical assistance for partner local governments
• Identify local government priorities, goals, needs and challenges related to water resources
• Review existing environmental planning documents, included but not limited to comprehensive plans, capital improvement plans, green infrastructure plans, park plans etc.
• Identify opportunities to meet goals and/or address challenges with the installation of best management practices on publicly owned lands
• Utilize GIS and other geospatial tools to assess possible BMP sites on public lands
• Create action plans that recommend next steps, including possible funding sources, and share results with local government staff and officials
• Collaborate with Alliance Program teams to identify high-priority projects to seek out implementation opportunities
• In collaboration with the Local Government Initiative Director, lead grant proposals (or other funding pursuits) to support the ongoing efforts of the Local Government Initiative
• Lead grant reporting, including tracking grant outputs and grant financials

Minimum Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental planning, natural resources, environmental science, or a relevant field. Candidates with alternative education, but with extensive relevant professional experience, will also be considered.
• 4+ years relevant professional experience (an advanced degree in a relevant field may substitute for one year of professional experience).
• Passionate about the organization’s mission, its programs, and individual projects.
• Excellent time management skills, including balancing needs and prioritizing tasks
• Experience successfully working with various stakeholders and cultivating partnerships.
• Understanding of local government operations and planning documents.
• Strong communication, facilitation and collaboration skills, internally as part of a team and also with external audiences.
• Experience with ArcGIS or similar mapping platform.
• Experience in project management and grant writing.

The Alliance aspires to be an inclusive multicultural organization that celebrates the rich dimensions of diversity such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious and political beliefs. We are committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion remain integral to our organizational structure, policies, board of directors, staff, strategic goals, grants, partnerships and program delivery.  If you meet more than 75% of the qualifications of this description, we encourage you to submit an application.

Supervision: The Local Government Specialist reports directly to the Local Government Initiative Director.

Hours and Location: The Local Government Specialist will be a predominately remote position with a strong preference for someone located on the Delmarva peninsula. This position requires travel throughout parts of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. Occasional travel to the Alliance’s office locations (Annapolis, MD, Lancaster, PA, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, VA) may be required. The position is full-time (40 hours per week).

Salary & Benefits: $60,000 – $70,000, commensurate with experience. Competitive benefits include: health, dental, and vision insurance, 403b retirement fund, life insurance, professional development opportunities, vacation, sick, and holiday and other leave, and more.