Position Description

 The Chesapeake Bay Trust seeks a qualified candidate to serve as a Program Officer in the Outreach and Education department of our Program team. The Program officer is responsible for leading three of the Trust’s outreach and education grant programs, supporting administration of new related grant programs as they are developed, and supporting implementation of the Trust’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work plan.  Duties will include assisting potential applicants with ideas and proposal generation; identifying new potential grant applicants and applications; soliciting, reviewing, and administering awards to nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, governments, schools, and other applicants that are committed to stewardship actions that restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers; and managing partnerships that advance the Trust’s portfolio of outreach and education programs. This person will be a key member of a 20+ person staff and will report to the Vice President of Outreach and Education.

 

About the Trust

 

The Chesapeake Bay Trust seeks to engage and empower diverse groups to take actions that enrich the natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Trust is a nonprofit grant-making organization established by state government in 1985. The Trust currently makes 400+ grants and other awards per year ranging from $100 to ~$400,000 for projects in the K-12 environmental education, on-the-ground restoration, science, capacity building, and community engagement realms. In the past 15 years, the Trust has increased its grant-making four-fold through various revenues streams under the purview of four Trust departments, with annual awards of approximately $12-20 million.

 

Specific Duties:

  • Serve as a lead for three of the Trust’s outreach and education grant programs focused on stewardship, resident engagement, education, capacity building, and associated projects in those realms.
  • Proactively, identify potential applicants to the grant programs, identify what help these applicants might need to apply and successfully complete a project, encourage them to apply, and provide help as they develop project ideas and grant proposals.
  • Reactively, respond to potential applicants who have expressed interest in the grant programs, and aid with the application process, including where relevant, management of contractors to provide technical assistance.
  • Lead the analysis and review of grant applications received by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
  • Lead the refinement and/or development of Requests for Proposals and other program materials for the outreach and education programs managed.
  • Prepare grant summary reports and analysis for Technical Review Committees, funding partners, and the Board of Trustees.
  • Administer awards in a wide size range ($1,000 to potentially as large as $75,000), including preparing grant agreements and contracts, assisting awardees with project issues, reviewing status and final reports, approving payments, reviewing revision requests, and more.
  • Develop a suite of professional development activities, which could include participating in (and presenting at conferences, at seminars, at symposia, and/or in publications.
  • Advance recommendations received from the Trust’s external diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice advisory committee and the Trust’s internal action team.

 

Qualifications

 

  • The successful candidate must have specific experience and a track record of success in engagement of communities in community health and natural resources issues.
  • Experience in engaging underserved and/or historically excluded communities.

 

Candidates must have the following skills, abilities, and/or qualifications:

  • Strategic thinking skills: ability to set priorities, balance short-term and long-term objectives.
  • Proficiency in managing budgets and contracts.
  • Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, especially spreadsheet programs.
  • Ability to conduct site visits to project locations submitted by grant applicants (personal vehicle and valid driver’s license required to facilitate site visit travel).
  • Ability to work independently as well as in group settings.
  • Exceptional project management and time-management skills, with the ability to manage and meet tight deadlines.

 

Position Salary and Benefits

$50,000-$60,000 with an excellent benefits package and opportunities for related professional development through workshops, training programs, and conferences.

 

Application Instructions and Deadline

Applications will be considered through August 5, 2022, though the position will remain open until filled. Please send a resume and cover letter via email to talent@cbtrust.org and place job title “Program Officer – Outreach and Education” in the subject line of the email.  In your cover letter, please address your ability, based on your skills and experience, to accomplish the specific duties of the position as outlined above. Please describe why you would be an excellent member of the Trust team and why you would be an excellent choice to lead outreach and education programs, work with applicants and funding partners, and advance the Trust’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work. Applicants that do not address these points in a cover letter but instead simply outline past experience are unlikely to be considered.

 

The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We encourage applications from people of color.