Chesapeake Bay Program's Climate Resiliency Workgroup Staffer

The Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) is seeking an individual for a two-year Environmental Management Staffer position within its Environmental Management Career Development Program. This position may be extended for a third year pending the availability of additional funding. All CRC Staffers in the Environmental Management Career Development Program support the work of the Chesapeake Bay Program. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) brings together leaders from state, federal and local government, as well as academia and the watershed’s many communities, to collaborate on creating the best strategies and tools for cleaning up the Bay and the rivers and streams that flow into it and engaging with diverse communities 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 CBP Scientific, Technical Assessment, and Reporting (STAR) Team’s Climate Resiliency Workgroup. Changing precipitation, temperatures, and sea level conditions are altering the Bay ecosystem and land use, requiring adjustment to policies, programs, and projects to successfully achieve restoration and protection goals for the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. This challenge requires careful monitoring and assessment of these impacts and application of this knowledge to policies, programs, and projects. The Climate Resiliency Workgroup (CRWG) coordinates science efforts to increase climate resiliency – the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and to withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions – for the Chesapeake Bay Program as outlined in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. This includes supporting climate monitoring and assessment to track changes in sea level, precipitation, water temperature, and the resulting ecosystem response and pursuing, designing, and implementing climate adaptation activities that enhance resilience of the Chesapeake Bay.

Environmental Management Staffer Role and Opportunities

As the Environmental Management Staffer in this position, you will work closely with the CRWG coordinator and chair, and will assist them with the coordination, implementation, communication, and tracking of collaborative team actions. The activities of all CRC Environmental Management Staffers generally fall into three categories: coordination and administrative support; projects and substantive assignments employing technical, creative, and/or leadership skills; and professional development. As Staffer for the CRWG, you would support approximately eight workgroup meetings per year focused on achieving workplan actions and improved coordination of climate change-related requests across the various CBP Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) and workgroups, including, but not limited to, fisheries, habitat, water quality, and strategic engagement teams. The CRWG leadership envisions that you would assist with the organization and documentation of workgroup meetings, coordination of  funding and workshop efforts for climate change-related projects, and tasks associated with cross-GIT/workgroup activities involving the assessment of climate vulnerabilities and climate adaptation strategies for natural resources and communities. While these vital coordination and administrative support functions can comprise a large portion of each Staffers experience (40-60%), they are balanced with consistent access to more substantive work. Examples of such work includes:

• assisting in developing and updating climate change indicators,
• exploring collaborative opportunities to integrate climate science in existing decision support tools for climate adaptation,
• supporting efforts to quantify the effectiveness of nature-based solutions (e.g., forest buffers, wetlands, living shorelines, oyster restoration, submerged aquatic vegetation) to build resilience for habitat (e.g., coastal wetlands) and ecosystem services (e.g., fisheries, shoreline protection) under changing climate conditions,
• collaborating with the CBP communications and strategic engagement teams to facilitate and connect climate change science with stakeholder needs.

Additionally, you will be engaged in the Chesapeake Bay Program’s innovative Strategy Review System process, which is an adaptive management process that tracks progress towards the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership’s restoration goals by learning from past actions. As part of the Environmental Management Career Development Program, you will also spend time on activities to support your own professional growth and development by engaging in activities such as attending training sessions, participating in workshops and conferences, taking courses to develop and enhance a particular skill, volunteering, and more.

As an Environmental Management Staffer in this program, you would have a unique opportunity to develop up to 2-years of professional experience with the potential for a third year 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 natural resources, environmental policy and scientific field with a focus on climate change, resilience, and adaptation.

Environmental Management Staffers work a hybrid work schedule, dividing time each week between in-office work and telework. The selected candidate will work as a CRC employee at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay 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 at hand.

• 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.
• Provide cross-GIT/workgroup support on collaborative climate-related activities.
• Assist with grant funding processes and management responsibilities and project oversight. This requires identifying project ideas and setting priorities with the CRWG, drafting project statements of work, and working with technical leads to track project status.
• Participate as needed to write reports and communication pieces, perform analyses, consolidate data, report on performance indicators and other tasks as assigned, or as desired for professional growth.
• Participate in the Strategy Review System process for the Climate Monitoring and Assessment and Climate Adaptation outcomes, including the review and development of management materials, assess progress on current workplan actions, development of new action plans, presentations, and associated materials.
• Manage and update content, contacts, and calendar items on workgroup webpage on the Chesapeake Bay Program website (content management system training provided). Maintain internal workgroup email distribution lists.
• Update, track, and consolidate feedback on documents or resources as necessary from workgroup members, leadership, and other experts.

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 non-formal education and experiences, volunteer, and lived experience that contributes to your fit for the position.

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in natural/environmental resources science and/or management, climate science and/or policy, or a related area of study.
• Technical knowledge and skills such as aptitude with Geographic Information Systems and/or statistical analysis. Proficiency in writing scripts in R or similar statistical software a plus.
• Ability to perform background research, analysis, synthesis on policy and science related topics.
• 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 (Google Meets, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, etc.).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is required.
• 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.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize tasks under tight timelines in a fast-paced environment, to multi-task and remain flexible with shifting demands.
• Ability to take initiative and work collaboratively with 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 encourage 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.

Salary and Benefits

The annual salary for all Environmental Management Staffer positions is $49,905. Our competitive benefits package includes paid vacation, sick, and personal leave; affordable health, dental, and vision insurance options; paid holidays; and access to retirement saving options with an employer contribution. In addition to the experience gained through your work assignments, CRC can support your attendance at professional conferences, workshops, and trainings related to your position, identified future career interests and individual professional development plan.

Anticipated Start Date

We are looking to start a new Staffer in this role in early to mid-December 2024. An exact start date will be determined collaboratively with the selected candidate.

Application Instructions

Applications (cover letter, resume, list of three references, transcript [unofficial accepted] and a short [1-5 pages, excerpt from larger works accepted] writing sample) should be sent electronically to Melissa Fagan, Environmental Management Career Development Program Coordinator, at faganm@chesapeake.org. Please include information about your immediate and long-term career goals as part of your cover letter. Please reference the Climate Workgroup Environmental Management Staffer position in your email’s subject line.