Watershed Planning Project Manager

POSITION TITLE: Watershed Planning Project Manager

STATUS: non-exempt, part-time, 50% time (20 hours a week)

REPORTS TO: Deputy Director

POSITIONS REPORTING TO THIS POSITION: none

LOCATION: Reno or Wellington, Nevada (hybrid) with frequent travel within the Walker Basin for meetings

EXPECTED PAY RANGE: $34-40/hr DOE

Description: Walker Basin Conservancy leads one of North America’s most ambitious restoration efforts: saving Walker Lake while supporting the communities, agriculture, and wildlife that depend on the Walker River. With roughly 30 full-time and 15 seasonal employees, the Conservancy manages water rights acquisitions, creates public access and provides environmental education, stewards and protects public lands, and operates a native‐plant nursery and seed farm.

The Watershed Planning Project Manager is responsible for managing a grant-funded project focused on developing a watershed group and watershed management plan for the Walker River Basin. The role will include coordination of project logistics, partner communications, meeting facilitation, and management plan development. The Walker River Basin encompasses the Walker River from its headwaters in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California to its terminus at Walker Lake in Nevada. The Basin supports critical ecosystems, agriculture, and tribal communities, and provides recreation opportunities and habitat for sensitive species. The Basin faces serious challenges, including over-appropriated water resources, ecological degradation, groundwater depletion, and climate-related stressors. The Watershed Planning Project Manager will play a key role in working towards solutions that balance multiple needs and objectives to address complex, landscape-scale issues in the Basin.

The ideal candidate will

• Enjoy meeting facilitation and communication with diverse stakeholders
• Have experience and knowledge of NV and CA water resources, policy, and watershed planning efforts
• Have political savvy and motivation to tackle challenging and complex issues

Expectations and Core Accountabilities

Project management

• Tracks project deliverables and timetables, working with the Deputy Director and Conservation Science Manager to ensure project successfully meets objectives
• Maintains organized file structure and project documentation.
• Manages grant reporting requirements and report submission.
• Works with Deputy Director to ensure budget adherence.

Facilitation and outreach

• Leads partner/stakeholder communication and planning efforts, including but not limited to, maintaining group participant contact list and list serv, scheduling recurring meetings and workshops, and disseminating important information and soliciting feedback as needed.
• Facilitates stakeholder meetings and leads participants in thoughtful discussion 
• Engages stakeholders in discussions around critical issues impacting the watershed and leads stakeholders in identifying potential solutions with the ability to navigate competing priorities

Technical writing

• Works with Deputy Director and Conservation Science Manager to draft an Integrated Watershed Management Plan for the Walker River Basin.
• Leads solicitation of feedback from stakeholders and partners on a draft watershed management plan and incorporates feedback and edits.
• Drafts watershed group communications and group development documents.

Qualifications

• Experience communicating with diverse stakeholders (ranchers, farmers, miners, state agencies, federal agencies)
• Excellent technical writing and editing skills
• Highly organized with strong project management skills
• Meeting facilitation experience
• Knowledge of NV & CA water resources, policies, regulations, and permitting
• Experience with watershed models and analytical tools is preferred
• Familiarity in developing watershed management plans and/or assessments is preferred

Benefits

• Generous vacation, personal leave, sick leave, and holidays
• 403(b) plan with 6% employer contribution after 6 months
• Employer paid professional development