Environmental Management Staffer – Healthy Landscapes Goal Team

The Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) is seeking an individual for a three-year Environmental Management Staffer position within its Environmental Management Career Development Program. All CRC Staffers in the Environmental Management Career Development Program support the work of the Chesapeake Bay Program. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is a regional partnership that guides that restoration and protection of the nation’s largest estuary and the waterways that flow into it. The CBP brings together leaders from state, federal and local government, as well as non-governmental organizations, academia and the watershed’s many communities, to collaborate on creating the best strategies to restore habitat health for living resources and promote stewardship for an environmentally and economically sustainable Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program is fueled by science and driven by partnership.

The Environmental Management Staffer in this position will support the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Healthy Landscapes Goal Team. The Healthy Landscapes Goal Team works to enhance Chesapeake Bay landscapes by working to protect and conserve land for forests, wetlands, and other greenspaces. The Goal Team provides technical assistance, data sharing, and connection across partnerships, to implement adaptation solutions and enhance land use. The Chesapeake Bay Program is adapting its structure to support the revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. This Staffer position is evolving to focus on three of the Goal Team’s four workgroups (Forestry, Land Use, and Protected Lands) in addition to supporting the Goal Team itself. The Forestry Workgroup seeks to conserve, manage and restore forests and tree cover across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Land Use Workgroup seeks to develop and disseminate land use information to communities and organizations involved in local and regional land use planning. The Protected Lands Workgroup seeks to protect critical landscapes within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from wetlands, riparian forests, and natural areas that support streams to tribal homelands, agricultural lands, and urban community greenspace.

Environmental Management Staffer Role and Opportunities

As the Environmental Management Staffer in this position, you will work closely with the Healthy Landscapes Goal Team and workgroup chairs and coordinators to support day-to-day activities, coordinate goal team and workgroup meetings, communicate with group members and Chesapeake Bay Program staff, and track collaborative team actions. While these vital coordination and administrative support functions can comprise a large portion of each Staffer’s experience (40-60%), they are balanced with developmental work, including projects and assignments that provide opportunities to build skills and leadership experience. As part of the Environmental Management Career Development Program, you will also spend time on activities to support your own professional growth and development like participating in workshops and conferences, taking a course to develop or enhance a skill, networking with professionals in informational interviews, and more.

As an Environmental Management Staffer in this program, you would have a unique opportunity to develop up to three years of professional experience through your day-to-day work activities while having dedicated time and support focused on your individual professional growth. This position offers an opportunity to work with a broad team of partners from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed representing a vast network of government (federal, state, and local) and non-government entities. The skills and network gained from this position will be valuable to someone seeking further education and/or career development in the environmental policy and science field with a focus on water quality, watershed restoration and conservation, and natural resources management.

Environmental Management Staffers work a hybrid schedule, dividing time each week between in-office work and telework. The candidate selected for this position will work as a CRC employee at the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office located in Annapolis, Maryland.

Summary of Responsibilities

The following provides some specific responsibilities that are likely to be assigned to the person accepting this position. This list is not exhaustive, and not all activities are concurrent. Staffers are considered a critical part of the team, working daily with networks of dedicated and passionate professionals, and can share in guiding and shaping important aspects of the work.

• Participate as an engaged contributor to the Healthy Landscapes Goal Team as well as the goal team’s workgroups.
• Provide meeting support by scheduling meetings and developing meeting agendas, setting up hybrid meeting technologies such as video conferencing and collaborative tools (training provided), drafting concise meeting minutes, and tracking and following up on action items with various staff and partners.
• Manage and update content, contacts, and calendar items on goal team and workgroup webpages on the Chesapeake Bay Program website (content management system training provided). Maintain internal workgroup email distribution lists.
• Assist with coordination, implementation, and tracking of actions specified in the Healthy Landscapes Management Strategy.
• Update, track, and consolidate feedback on documents or resources as necessary from workgroup members, leadership, and other experts.
• Other duties assigned may include drafting reports and communication pieces, performing analyses, consolidating data, producing maps and Storymaps, reporting on performance indicators and other tasks as needs or as desired for professional growth.

Other duties assigned may include drafting reports and communication pieces, performing analyses, consolidating data, producing maps and Storymaps, reporting on performance indicators and other tasks as needs or as desired for professional growth.

Desired Skills and Interests

The ideal candidate for the position would have the following background and interests. However, if you meet more than 75% of the qualifications of this description, we encourage you to apply. We welcome inclusion of nontraditional or nonformal education and experiences, volunteer, and lived experience that contributes to your fit for the position.

• A bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, environmental management/policy/planning, geography, or relevant field of study. Familiarity with land use/urban/conservation planning, forestry, landscape ecology, and watershed processes preferred.
• Ability to perform background research, analysis, and synthesis on policy and science related topics.
• Skills in data analysis and visualization using R, Python, and GIS (experience with ESRI ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, and/or college level GIS courses preferred).
• Ability to provide support by independently planning meetings, developing agendas, drafting concise meeting minutes, and tracking action items.
• Familiarity with using hybrid meeting technologies such as video conferencing (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meets, etc.).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required and experience with Google Suite, Adobe Acrobat Professional, and scheduling apps such as Doodle or When to Meet is beneficial.
• Experience with or interest in collaborating with a range of partners and stakeholders as part of interdisciplinary teams representing a variety of interests, in an environment meant to build consensus.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong time management and organizational skills that support the ability to manage, prioritize, and meet deadlines for multiple tasks with attention to detail.
• Creative and collaborative problem-solving skills.
• Able to adapt in a dynamic working environment. Taking initiative to complete tasks independently and fulfill shared responsibilities as part of a team.
• Interest in learning how a multi-stakeholder, regional governmental-environmental-management partnership sets and achieves goals through collaboration, adaptive management and science-based decision making.
• A willingness to explore career options and interest in engaging in professional development activities.

All Environmental Management Staffers are required to successfully complete a federal background check upon hire.

Chesapeake Research Consortium is committed to a diverse workforce and encourages people from all backgrounds to apply. CRC recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Anticipated Start Date

We are looking to start a new Staffer in this role in the late November/early December timeframe. An exact start date will be determined collaboratively with the selected candidate.