Senior Project Manager

Senior Project Manager
Job Description
Position based in Walla Walla or Ellensburg, WA

Type: 1.0 FTE, fully benefitted
Salary Range: $87,000-$97,000 DOE

Application Review begins upon receipt through January 31, 2025

About Washington Water Trust
Washington Water Trust (WWT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leader in river and stream flow protection. Our mission is to protect and restore healthy rivers and streams across Washington so that fish, farms, and communities can thrive for generations. WWT is a leader in water rights and water law, stream flow restoration, multi- stakeholder engagement, implementation of instream flow projects, water banking and large-scale water conservation projects. We craft smart, collaborative, and durable solutions to our freshwater challenges. For more information, visit us at www.washingtonwatertrust.org or view our most recent annual report.

The Position
WWT seeks a team-oriented, self-motivated, and experienced Senior Project Manager (SPM) with a passion for rivers and streams. The SPM will lead Washington Water Trust’s project portfolio in the Walla Walla watershed in both Washington and Oregon State. The SPM will initiate and maintain a watershed-scale project portfolio to implement and fund innovative projects with lasting benefits to endangered fish, streams, and local economies. The SPM will have demonstrated professional experience developing strategic plans, leading regional initiatives, and working with a high level of independence and self-directed initiative.

This position will require high-level collaboration with water rights owners, conservation groups, and local, state and tribal governments; in particular, to maintain and nurture close working relationships with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Washington Department of Ecology, and the Oregon Water Resources Department via the Walla Walla 2050 and other regional conservation initiatives. We are seeking an SPM with a strong technical and social skill set to deliver high quality outcomes with an interest and enthusiasm for working in rural communities.

WWT values a collaborative team environment, built on respect for each other and the people, partners and communities with whom we work

This is a full-time exempt position, located in either Walla Walla or Ellensburg, Washington, and supervised by a Program Director. Applicants who do not meet the minimum criteria for the Senior Project Manager position will not be considered for this position but may be graded as an advanced Project Manager position.

WWT is committed to professional development and career advancement opportunities for our employees. WWT supports professional development by providing a training budget for staff and offering position and salary advancement as staff gain skills, experience, and expertise to meet our mission.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Project Management: Oversee a regional portfolio of projects, working with assigned team members to coordinate completion of contracted and mission-driven work, with attention to time management, grant/contract requirements, project deliverable schedules, budgets, project metrics and team communication.
• Project Team Management: Coordinate and oversee activities of Project Managers and other staff who are assigned to projects and programs that the Senior Project Manager leads. Supervise 1-3 Project team members and/or interns.
• Project Development: With support of the Program Director, oversee and complete research of water rights and ecological needs to identify, prioritize and implement streamflow restoration projects.
• Coalition/Team building: Develop effective working relationships with water rights holders, public agencies, tribes, local governments, conservation districts, irrigation districts and salmon recovery funders in WWT’s targeted basins. Collaborate with stakeholders to achieve mutual goals.
• Outreach: Develop and implement outreach strategies based on instream flow needs to reach project partners and/or water right holders by phone, email, mail, media, events and in person to meet flow restoration and project goals. Help expand our work with new programs.
• Communications: Create and provide effective written and oral communications to diverse audiences, from highly technical to the public.
• Negotiation: Negotiate with water rights holders, subcontractors, agencies and funders to secure contracts, agreements, and water transactions.
• Fundraising: Work with WWT fundraising staff to identify, pursue, and secure new funding for Walla Walla projects/programs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills and Attributes

•Knowledge of and/or ability to learn the following:
oWestern water rights laws
oConservation markets and or easements
oMicrosoft Suite
oProject management software (WWT uses Smartsheet)
•Strong working knowledge of the Walla Walla watershed, streamflow restoration, and regional salmon recovery objectives.
•Strong communication skillset including written, verbal, interpersonal
•Relationship building, resilience, perseverance
•Creative problem-solving
•Self-directed and a critical thinker
•Familiarity with one or more of the following: fisheries science, watershed science, western water management, watershed-based flow restoration techniques, agricultural practices, or other relevant fields
•Experience with geographic information software a plus (WWT uses ArcGIS Pro)
•Demonstrated experience managing projects; experience managing multi-year projects a plus
•Desired skills and/or ability to learn:
oData analytics including time-series management and visualization
oHands-on experience with water budgets

Experience and Education
•Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience is required, with a strong preference for a graduate degree or equivalent experience in natural resources or a related field.
•10 or more years’ work experience in a natural resource management or related field, or
equivalent combination of graduate school and professional experience.

Working Conditions
This position relies on cultivating good working relationships in the watersheds where we work. We conduct our work, accomplish our mission, and fulfill our passions for restoring rivers and streams through developing relationships with Tribes, agency personnel, landowners, farmers and irrigators, water rights analysis, regional basin planning, developing drought responses, and negotiating water rights transactions. As much as 85% or more of our work week is comprised of the daily use of computers, phones, and virtual meeting platforms at a desk, with some meetings with partners in the basins comprising the balance of the work.

WWT believes in work life balance with a 40-hour work week. Employees may be asked to work occasional non-standard hours, including evenings and weekends. Staff must be willing and able to travel throughout Washington and possess a valid driver’s license.
Under our flexible work policy, WWT offices are open to those who have been fully vaccinated, and staff may also operate from a home office. There will be in-person weekly office days required for team coordination. For remote work, employees must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work during scheduled work hours.

We are a completely COVID-19 vaccinated staff team and require proof of vaccination for any new hire, to protect the health of our WWT Team, our families and communities.

Salary and Benefits
WWT offers competitive compensation commensurate with qualifications and experience.
The annualized salary range for this position is $87,000-$97,000. We also offer a generous benefits package which includes:

100% paid health, vision, and dental insurance; 12 paid holidays; 3 weeks paid vacation (4 weeks after two years employment), paid sick leave, WA Paid Family Medical Leave, and a contribution to 403(b) retirement program of up to 4% of annualized salary.