The Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA), a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization, is seeking to fill a Biological Monitoring Program Administrator position at our Riverside, California location. The Biological Monitoring Program is responsible for monitoring 146 Covered Species and associated habitats as outlined in the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The overall goals of the Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) are to collect data on the 146 Covered Species and associated vegetation communities over a 500,000-acre Conservation Area to assess the MSHCP’s effectiveness at meeting conservation objectives and to provide useful information to Reserve Managers in an adaptive management context. Visit the Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) website at www.wrc-rca.org for links to MSHCP and Biological Monitoring Program documents, Covered Species, and reserves and reserve design.The Biological Monitoring Program Administrator for the BMP oversees and provides support for all staff including Biologist Supervisor, (1) Taxa Leads (4), Data Manager (1), GIS Analyst (1), Taxa Leads (4), and Field Biologists (7).   The position requires excellent writing, verbal communication, presentation, organizational, and adaptive management skills. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated supervisory experience and ability to manage teams, along with experience in preparing technical reports and proposals, managing budgets, and overseeing work scope items.

Key Responsibilities:

The Biological Monitoring Program Administrator:

• Coordinates with the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) on behalf of the BMP.
• Coordinates with multiple federal, state, and local agencies to implement a long-term monitoring program to track distributions and population trends of 146 Covered Species and associated habitats in a 500,000-acre reserve area.
• Develops annual work plans and manages an approximately $2.2M annual budget, including all personnel and project equipment needs.
• Is responsible for all operations of the BMP to follow OSHA safety regulations and SAWA safety policies.
• Develops, supports, inspires, and guides the talented BMP team.
• Reviews and edits multiple survey and summary reports for the RCA on an annual basis.
• Provides monthly and quarterly status reports to the RCA.
• Identifies contract needs, writes scopes of work, manages contracts.
• Facilitates monthly reserve management/monitoring coordination meetings.
• Attends and presents information at monthly RCA team meetings, SAWA team meetings and other agency meetings.
• Gives requested presentations to RCA Board and other agencies.
• Coordinates with Wildlife Agencies (California Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) on survey methodology and monitoring activities.
• Oversees annual distribution of BMP data and survey reports and works with the Data Manager to distribute other requested data as appropriate.
• Provide support for Program staff in the development of survey protocols, training programs, and obtaining land access agreements.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a Master of Science or Ph.D. at an accredited college or university that included a major field of study in ecology, biology, botany, conservation biology, wildlife management, or other closely related fields.
• Five years of experience with increasing supervisory responsibilities (e.g., managing staff, interviewing and hiring personnel, facilitating staff development).
• Five years of experience using sampling and monitoring techniques for a wide variety of rare and sensitive species (including threatened and endangered species across plant, vertebrate, and invertebrate taxa).
• Proven technical writing, editing and project management skills.
• Experience and proficiency with Microsoft Professional Suite, Adobe Pro, and ArcGIS Pro

Desired Skills

• Strong leadership and supervisory background and abilities. Ability to lead, direct and provide oversight of talented staff.
• Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to communicate effectively, develop and maintain partnerships with agencies, landowners, and community members including people with a wide range of backgrounds and communication styles.
• Self-directed, organized and detail oriented with the ability to prioritize and coordinate workload
• Highest level of professionalism when communicating (written or verbal) with both external and internal customers.
• Familiarity with both simple and complex data analyses using a variety of statistical programs (e.g., R, Distance, Mark, Presence) is preferred.
• Knowledge of the flora and fauna of Southern California.
• Ability to work long days, occasional evening and over-night shifts, and under harsh environmental conditions (e.g., rough, uneven terrain, seasonally harsh weather conditions) is preferred, although field work is not a significant component of this position.

Education

Master’s degree or Ph.D in wildlife biology, ecology, or a related field.