Natural Resources Restoration Supervisor

Become our next Natural Resources Restoration Supervisor serving as the coordinator for the interagency Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership

About Mojave Desert Land Trust

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to protect the Mojave and Colorado Desert ecosystems and their natural, scenic, and cultural resource values.  Our service area spans nearly 26 million acres.  Since 2006 we have secured permanent and lasting protection for over 110,000 acres and we are poised to protect more significant land in the next five years.

MDLT is at an important inflection point. We are striving to meet significant environmental challenges in the desert with bold action to protect and restore land for the wildlife and people who call it home.

Job Summary

The Natural Resources Restoration Supervisor will serve as the program coordinator for the interagency Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP).  Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have partnered to host the Natural Resources Restoration Supervisor position on behalf of the Desert Tortoise Recovery Partnership, a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Marines Corps, U.S. Army, Department of Defense, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the BLM.

As the coordinator of this unique program, the Natural Resources Restoration Supervisor will assist with formalizing and executing an effectiveness monitoring program with the BLM and NFWF, and help to plan, coordinate, and oversee grant-awarded projects for the stewardship of Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat areas within western Mojave Desert recovery focal units. This position will also coordinate grant partners and their projects to ensure efficient delivery of on-the-ground recovery projects and engage partnership meetings and submit status reports.

The Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) was established by the Department of Defense and Department of the Interior to develop species conservation and recovery initiatives. Specific to the RASP in the California Desert, the Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery Partnership is focused on marshalling resources in a coordinated manner to work to recover the species by protecting Mojave Desert tortoises from threats and restoring critical habitat. The program is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and focuses on conservation interventions in a single, coherent, framework across RASP focal areas for desert tortoise habitat.

This position will be a hybrid position. The incumbent must be located in southern California and able report to the Barstow BLM field office twice per week and to make field visits to remote portions of the Mojave Desert as needed. Travel throughout San Bernardino County is required.  A 4WD work truck will be supplied for business related travel.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with implementation of RASP objectives in the Mojave Desert.
• Coordinate regulatory compliance for recovery actions taken under the Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery Implementation Plan and assist in updating the Plan as needed.
• Prepare and submit grant applications, including scopes of work and budgets, to secure additional funding for tortoise habitat restoration in the RASP focal areas. Proposals for work on BLM lands will be prepared in close coordination with BLM staff.
• Oversee field restoration efforts and management actions in coordination with BLM.
• May participate in field work such as manual habitat restoration and species monitoring.
• Coordinate annual RASP partnership meetings, recovery project-design meetings, and RASP monitoring program meetings.
• Assist NFWF in the development of Requests for Proposals (RFP) and contractor selection, when applicable, for recovery actions.
• Perform and/or coordinate administrative functions, where needed, for various RASP funding mechanisms.
• Develop annual RASP reports and give presentations to the interagency Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group.
• Serve as the desert tortoise RASP program’s point of contact for all RASP partners, the Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).

Qualifications

Any combination of education and experience which would likely provide the necessary knowledge and abilities may be qualifying.  A typical way to obtain the required knowledge and abilities would include the following:

Experience: 

• A minimum of 4 years of field experience, including but not limited to wildlife and vegetation surveys or large-scale restoration projects. Preference will be given to candidates who have experience in desert ecology and restoration practices.
• 2+ years of project coordination and resource management experience involving land management and contractors. Preference will be given to candidates with experience and working knowledge of federal agency administration.

Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in natural resources management, environmental science, conservation, or a related field.
• Preference will be given to candidates with a master’s degree in a related field.

Certificates, Licenses, Registration:

• Must possess and maintain in good standing a valid California Class C Driver’s License.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Project management experience in ecological restoration and monitoring.
• Knowledge and experience in safely operating 4WD vehicles.
• Ability and desire to work with a diverse group of people including state, federal, and non-governmental resource professionals, and other community representatives and stakeholders.
• Speak, listen, and write in a clear, thorough, and timely manner using appropriate and effective communication tools and techniques.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Software products, Adobe Acrobat Reader, ArcGIS software, geospatial procedures, and GPS navigation.
• Set priorities, develop a work schedule, monitor progress towards goals, and track details/data/information/activities.
• Must be extremely detailed orientated.
• Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make recommendations and/or resolve the problem.
• Anticipate, understand, and respond to the needs of internal and external clients to meet or exceed their expectations within the organizational parameters.
• Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency, and risks.
• Make clear decisions which are timely and in the best interests of the organization.
• Determine strategies to move the organization forward, set goals, create, and implement action plans, and evaluate the process and results.
• Understand ethical behavior and business practices and ensure own behavior and the behavior of others are consistent with these standards and align with the values of the organization.
• Must have the ability to be discreet and properly handle confidential information.

We are a team of highly motivated and passionate people who care deeply about our mission and one another.  At MDLT, we believe in and support workplace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. It is our belief that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.  If you have the skills, the passion to make an impact, and enjoy an enthusiastic work environment where differences of opinion and diverse backgrounds are respected and welcomed, then we want to hear from you!

Why our employees love working at MDLT

MDLT is the type of organization where you can balance great work with great life.  Every day we go to work filled with passion to be excellent, to creatively problem solve and to innovate. 

Pay will be based on experience and qualifications, ranging from $70,0000.00 to $80,000.00.  We also offer an excellent benefit package including:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance Benefits
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with a generous company match
• Generous paid time off – extensive vacation, holidays, administrative time, personal time, and sick time – (additional paid holiday break between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day)
• Flexible work schedule
• Teleworking/Cell Phone Stipend
• Flexible Savings Account (FSA) Pre-tax savings for medical expenses not covered by insurance

Dependent Care Savings Account Pre-tax savings for childcare services