Watershed Outreach Manager – Roger Williams University

Roger Williams University

Location: Providence, RI Category: Professional and Clerical Posted On: Tue Apr 23 2024 Job Description:

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP), the Watershed Outreach Manager creates and communicates the work of partnerships and cultivating projects that help restore and protect water quality, wildlife, and quality of life in the region. The Watershed Outreach Manager leads the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program’s efforts to address some of southeast New England’s most complex and challenging environmental issues.

The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) is one of 28 place-based National Estuary Programs, first established in 1987 by an amendment to the federal Clean Water Act, overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NBEP uses a voluntary, community-driven approach to enhance water quality, wildlife, and quality of life across our study area, which includes Narragansett Bay, Little Narragansett Bay, the Rhode Island Coastal Ponds, and their watersheds in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. A catalyst for scientific inquiry and collective action, NBEP offers consensus-building, scientific analysis and communications, and grant-making services to help restore and sustain the region’s natural resources in the face of legacy challenges and accelerating change. With a full-time staff of four and guided by a diverse 30+ member partnership, NBEP is hosted by the Community Partnerships Center at Roger Williams University, leveraging our shared interest in creating collaborative paths to a better future for ecosystems, economies, and communities. Learn more about NBEP at www.nbep.org.

Essential Functions/Characteristics

Community Engagement (40%)
Connect with the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program’s existing partners and foster new partnerships across traditional geographic, institutional, and cultural boundaries. Special emphasis will be placed on patient and strategic one-one-one and group cultivation of mutually beneficial partnerships with stakeholders, communities, and people that the program has historically not deeply engaged, with emphasis on municipalities, small businesses, and under-served communities.

Communications (25%)
Craft meeting notes, fact sheets, white papers, reports, presentations, website and social media content, and other technical and creative writing that raises awareness of NBEP’s and partners’ work and highlights the region’s challenges and opportunities. Collaborate with other staff to ensure clear and consistent messaging, copy-editing, and designs to produce high-quality written materials. Manage NBEP’s online presence, including websites and social media.

Project Cultivation and Management (20%)
Leverage partnership-building activities to cultivate and manage internal and external outreach projects, including ongoing efforts and new projects that arise from the incumbent’s work. Define project feasibility, purpose, scopes of work and budgets, manage grants and agreements, and otherwise assure timely performance of tasks and delivery of results.

Facilitation (15%)
Organize, design, facilitate, and handle logistics for convening diverse external interests through meetings and workshops that seek to build consensus solutions to pressing and complex natural and social science topics. Gatherings will take place both in-person and virtually, with appropriate deployment of group processes, tools, and other creative tactics to seek consensus and maintain interest and active engagement by participants.

Job Requirements:

• A Master’s degree in environmental studies, natural or social science, resource management, biology, ecology, chemistry, planning, or a related field. Other non-scientific degrees will be considered when combined with work experience in the above-mentioned scientific fields.
• A minimum of five years of experience, of which at least three years must be in a professional capacity.
• Outstanding communication and writing skills, with the proven ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely. Must be able to comfortably connect with a variety of audiences through interpersonal interactions and communications products.
• Track-record of establishing meaningful relationships with new and diverse people via community outreach, education, organization, and/or advocacy
• Training and practice in facilitation, consensus-building, and/or managing partnerships, both in-person and virtually.
• Strong emotional intelligence with the ability to listen, empathize, find common-ground, defuse conflict, and establish trust.
• Have a welcoming and patient demeanor, especially when translating complex or delicate topics to new or lay audiences.
• Strong background in science and resource management, especially in the areas of water quality and quantity, freshwater and estuarine habitats, watershed management, climate resilience, sustainability, and economic, social, and cultural dynamics of nature.
• Understanding of issues related to watershed management, including assessment, planning, conservation practice implementation, monitoring, and adaptive management.
• Awareness of environmental issues facing the Narragansett Bay region or similar coastal areas.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, resulted-oriented work products.
• Capability to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice and taking actions that help others.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a small team.

At the University’s discretion, the education and experience requirements may be excepted where the candidate can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the University, an equivalent combination of qualifications specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Additional Information:

Roger Williams University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workforce. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable state and federal law. For information on our Non-discrimination policy, visit here.

RWU prohibits all forms of discrimination on the basis of sex in its education programs and activities and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing regulations not to discriminate in such a manner. Complaints of Title IX sexual harassment should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator at the contact information listed below. Details regarding the formal complaint process can be found here: Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and responded to promptly. TITLE IX COORDINATOR: Dr. Jen Stanley, 1 Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809 / Phone Number: (401) 254-3123 /Email Address: jstanley@rwu.edu

Salaries for new hires at Roger Williams University usually fall within the following range for this position:

$60,974-$75,000

Apply Here

PI239956818