Policy & Science Director

Policy & Science Director (full-time/remote, US only)

The Beaver Institute (BI) envisions a future of ecological balance with beavers. BI works at the intersection of beaver coexistence and ecological restoration, training beaver coexistence professionals, providing technical and financial assistance to public and private landowners to mitigate and navigate human-beaver conflicts, supporting scientific research, and increasing public awareness and appreciation of the beaver’s critical role in creating climate resilient ecosystems. As the only national beaver non-profit, we work locally across North America through our programs, empowering individuals and organizations to succeed in nonlethal beaver management, communication, education, and scientific research.

Since our founding in 2017, we’ve experienced rapid growth. We seek to hire a full-time Policy & Science Director to bridge beaver management and best available science to sound permitting and policy. This position will administer the science of coexistence, bridging best beaver management practices toward accessible, intelligible permitting processes that practitioners and agencies can nimbly navigate. The role will collaborate with the Executive Director, and external partners, to develop, launch, and orchestrate a North American Beaver Network. Critically, this position will take the results and actions from state-by-state review of beaver coexistence permitting to ensure our BeaverCorps members are able to work on the landscape.  

Pay & Benefits

Policy & Science Director starts at $78-82k annually, at 40 hours a week; 9 paid holidays and 15 paid personal days; health stipend of $500/month after 3 months; 3% annual retirement contribution at 2 years; 4 week paid sabbatical at 3 years; ongoing education supported.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience working in policy and science in related fields of environment, conservation, and climate.
• Masters or PhD (preferred) in policy or wildlife/ecology.
• Experience in policy and science analysis, research, and communication.
• Experience working with diverse, and divergent, stakeholders.

Skills

• Strategic thinking: developing and implementing comprehensive strategies for policy development and implementation.
• Project Management: Managing multiple projects and deadlines, often with tight timelines.
• Research and analysis: gathering, analyzing and interpreting data to inform policy.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), ability to translate scientific and policy-related concepts to the general public.
• Expediency; the ability to abbreviate and prioritize.
• Adaptability; able to pivot as circumstances change.
• Tolerance and openness, especially to views opposing yours.
• Willingness to embrace traditional ecological knowledge in building relationships and frameworks.
• Curious, creative, and shrewd.
• Self-directed and results oriented.
• Technologically savvy.

Responsibilities

• Co-develop, launch, and co-orchestrate the North American Beaver Network, an inclusive and accessible beaver network sharing resources, knowledge, experience, and activating projects and programming in beaver science & research, beaver management and policy, and beaver education and advocacy. (40%)
• Utilizing best available science, working with members and partners, to advance beaver permitting and policy on the state, tribal, and federal level. (20%)
• Addressing gaps between science, management and policy, conducting research and securing publication for qualitative analysis surrounding policy and traditional quantitative research like cost-benefit analysis and/or data-informed research. (15%)
• Co-develop, alongside BeaverCorps Program Director, a Beaver BioBank to make the economic and policy-driven case for beavers on the landscape. (10%)
• Support the development of future BeaverCorps education tracks; ensuring tracks stay relevant and up-to-date with best available science and policy. (5%)
• Support the programming and production of the biennial global gathering for beaver, BeaverCON, to be held next in Minneapolis, MN in Fall 2026. (5%)
• Collaborate with Grants Manager to research and apply for project-related funding. (3%)
• Manage Beaver Institute’s ever-growing public and free Beaver Library. (2%)