Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed requires committed, diverse, passionate individuals and the Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) seeks such an individual for a three-year appointment to provide support to the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership’s Foster Chesapeake Stewardship Goal Implementation Team.

With 18 million people living in the Chesapeake watershed, broad public and organizational engagement in conservation and restoration are vital. The Fostering Chesapeake Stewardship Goal Implementation Team is charged with increasing citizen action, supporting environmental education, and advancing land conservation and expanded public access throughout the Chesapeake watershed. This aims to build long-term stewardship of Chesapeake resources by watershed residents and organizations. Specifically, the Goal Implementation Team helps achieve these Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement goals:

  • Increase the number and diversity of trained and mobilized citizen volunteers with the knowledge and skills needed to enhance the health of their local watersheds.
  • Enable students in the region to graduate with the knowledge and skills to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watershed.
  • By 2025, protect an additional two million acres of lands throughout the watershed—currently identified as high-conservation priorities at the federal, state or local level—including 225,000 acres of wetlands and 695,000 acres of forest land of highest value for maintaining water quality.
  • By 2025, add 300 new public access sites, with a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for boating, swimming and fishing, where feasible.

Environmental Management Staffer Responsibilities

The candidate selected for this position will be involved in a broad range of goal team activities associated with advancing the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement goals listed above. This will include: organization and support of a variety of meetings; coordinating communication with goal team and work group membership; tracking team action items; coordinating and/or working on specific projects; and carrying out research and synthesis activities, including reporting on performance indicators.

The candidate selected will be a key point of contact for communicating with multiple partnerships, and their memberships, engaged in carrying out the goal team’s agenda. The candidate selected will also support the goal team’s involvement in the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Strategy Review System process to track progress toward achieving Chesapeake Bay restoration goals and outcomes, including coordinating partnership reviews and consolidating feedback.

The selected candidate will work as a CRC employee at the U.S. EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office located in Annapolis, Maryland.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

The ideal candidate for the position would have the following background and qualifications:

  • A Bachelor’s degree in natural resources (biology, ecology, etc.) or environmental science, studies, management, education, or policy; land use/community planning; or other relevant area of study.
  • Experience with engaging state and/or federal agencies, watershed organizations, local governments, school systems, and/or land trusts and conservation organizations to interpret, educate about, and/or develop solutions for environmental issues.
  • Ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse partners and stakeholders as part of interdisciplinary teams representing a variety of interests in an environment meant to build consensus around large scale conservation needs and goals.
  • Experience in independently planning meetings, developing agendas, drafting concise meeting minutes, and tracking action items.
  • Ability to research various issues and develop summaries, findings and options for consideration.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to communicate with partners at all levels of program activities with diplomacy.
  • Experience in developing and delivering briefing, educational and/or outreach materials for government representatives, community leaders, and/or environmental educators.
  • Ability to write for the web and social marketing platforms, including appropriately tailoring text and graphics for optimal communication effectiveness.
  • Demonstrated ability to problem-solve.
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Ability to prioritize tasks under tight timelines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Ability to compile, track and assess environmental and natural resource data a plus.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Google docs, and PowerPoint is required.
  • Ability to manage and update content for group web pages using a variety of content management systems.
  • Familiarity with using remote meeting technologies such as video conferencing (Web-X, Adobe Connect, Zoom, etc.) and the confidence to troubleshoot in real time.
  • Interest in learning how a diverse, governmental-environmental-management partnership makes decisions effectively and sets and achieves goals through collaborative and regulatory processes.
  • A will to explore your career options, passion and enthusiasm for the work and program.

Salary and Benefits

The annual salary is $41,648 and a competitive vacation and benefits package is included for the three-year position. In addition to the experience gained through their work assignments, Staffers, through individually crafted professional development plans, also attend professional conferences and workshops, and receive training related to their position and identified future career interests. All staffers are reimbursed for work related and professional development fees and travel expenses.

Application Instructions

Applications (a detailed cover letter, resume, list of at least three references, transcript [unofficial accepted] and a short writing sample) should be sent electronically to Melissa Fagan, Environmental Management Career Development Program Coordinator, at faganm@chesapeake.org. Please include information concerning education and professional background as well as immediate and long-term career goals as part of your cover letter.

Application Due Date: August 14, 2019

Additional information about the CRC Environmental Career Development Program is available at www.chesapeake.org. Additional information about the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership is available at www.chesapeakebay.net.

Chesapeake Research Consortium is committed to a diverse workforce. CRC provides equal employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, veteran status or national origin. CRC maintains a drug-free workplace. All Environmental Management Staffers are required to successfully complete a federal background check upon hire.