Overview
Would you like to free our region’s rivers by removing derelict dams and perched culverts, install green infrastructure, and contribute to community and ecological resilience by restoring shoreline habitat? Are you an experienced project manager passionate about the well-being of our natural ecosystems? If so, you may be the ideal candidate to join our region’s pre- eminent environmental non-profit and expand our ecological restoration work in Westchester County, New York City, and Long Island. Join us! Save the Sound is seeking an entrepreneurial ecological restoration practitioner to join the Ecological Restoration team in our New York office.
Who We Are
Save the Sound leads environmental action in your region. We fight climate change and build resilient communities, save endangered lands, protect the Sound, and restore its rivers. We do this in many ways, from legislative advocacy and legal action to engineering, environmental monitoring, and hands- on volunteer efforts. For more than 40 years we’ve been ensuring people can enjoy the healthy, clean, and thriving environment they deserve—today and for generations to come.
The Ecological Restoration team is a growing group of nine individuals who share a deep love and respect for the natural world and find joy in working with community members to identify and implement projects that restore the conditions for thriving ecosystems and diverse communities. With a wide array of lived experience and unique skills, the team is an open and curious group of professionals who support one another and are the staff members most likely to show up in the office covered in mud. The team is excited to welcome its second New York-based member.
Impact
The New York Ecological Restoration Project Manager will manage the implementation of on-the-ground nature-based resilience and restoration projects in Westchester County, New York City, and Long Island. In this role, you will build upon the impressive results of the Ecological Restoration team in the area, as well as the depth and breadth of experience in both our CT and NY offices.
Our ecological restoration work is all about providing tangible, lasting benefit to ecological systems and communities. This includes reopening dammed rivers to migrating fish, assessing road-stream crossings and other potential stream barriers, installing innovative green infrastructure to stop polluted stormwater from reaching the Sound, and developing nature-based solutions to prevent inland flooding and help our shores absorb the impact of stronger storms. In addition, our cleanups and plantings give people a way to positively impact the world around them, and our policy advocacy sets the stage for pioneering approaches to climate resiliency.
The Position
The New York Ecological Restoration Project Manager will work closely with the New York Ecological Restoration Program Manager to expand the team’s restoration and resilience work in Westchester County and throughout the New York Long Island Sound region, building on the organization’s existing relationships, reputation, and track record of completed projects. The candidate will have the opportunity to manage a diverse portfolio of projects including river restoration through dam removal and culverts sized to enhance aquatic organism passage, coastal marsh restoration and living shoreline implementation, green infrastructure design and construction, and watershed planning. This individual will be supervised by the New York Ecological Restoration Program Manager, with direct project support and oversight provided as needed from the Regional Director of Ecological Restoration, and will be part of a strong, supportive, interdisciplinary group of restoration practitioners.
Save the Sound acts most often as a project administrator, handling project scoping, partnership-building, fundraising, contracting for design and construction, stakeholder relationship management, public communication and engagement, construction observation, and ecological monitoring. Within that context, responsibilities for this position will include all elements of project management including project identification, planning, design, permitting, construction oversight, and field monitoring, grant writing and reporting, engaging with residents, municipal officials, engineers, and other design professionals, and collaborating with communication staff to tell the stories of our work.
The New York Ecological Restoration Project Manager will also be expected to periodically assist the Vice President of Programs and Long Island Soundkeeper as a technical expert for policy and advocacy efforts. Finally, this position will support the execution of the annual development plan to support meeting the organizational and program fundraising goals by drafting content for grants and other funding proposals in concert with the development team.
Must-have Requirements:
- Experience managing ecological restoration projects;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly about complex issues to a broad variety of stakeholders;
- Highly organized and self-motivated, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team atmosphere;
- Willingness to be honest about boundaries and limitations, to strive for a balance between work and life that cultivates well-being, and to support the same for others; and
- A strong background in one or more of the following areas of restoration practice:
- Assessment of aquatic organism passage at culverts;
- Fish passage design, fisheries;
- Ecological and/or water resource engineering;
- Riverine, coastal and/or habitat restoration;
- Fluvial geomorphology, hydrology;
- Ecological restoration design
- Coastal and/or riverine resilience planning, design and implementation
Desired Qualifications and Characteristics:
- Demonstrated interest, knowledge, and experience in ecological restoration and protection, (New York experience preferred);
- BS or MS and/or equivalent work experience in environmental science, engineering, fluvial geomorphology, ecology, biology, or natural resources;
- Strong demonstrated background in aquatic connectivity restoration (e.g. certified or willing to receive certification in both tidal and non-tidal road-stream crossing assessments through the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative);
- Experience working with underserved communities that have been disproportionately affected by planning and development decisions adversely affecting public health, access to nature and quality of life;
- Comfort working in a grant-driven environment—developing and tracking project deliverables, contributing to grant applications and reporting, and managing budgets;
- Preference for an agile team in a dynamic work environment, with a willingness to be flexible and supportive of other team members as needed and permitted by your own capacity;
- Experience managing projects with multiple, diverse stakeholders that require significant logistical coordination and organization, including private, public agencies, non-profit organizations and municipalities (New York experience preferred);
- Demonstrated knowledge of, and experience conducting restoration planning and site identification through desktop, field survey, wetland and habitat assessments and other technical survey techniques;
- Familiarity with the management of design consultants and construction contractors (review of scope, contracts, design plans, specifications, budgets, schedules, and field inspections);
- Working knowledge of environmental permitting at local, state, and federal levels (New York experience preferred);
- Familiarity with relevant computer programs beyond basic Office suite, such as Arc GIS or AutoCAD;
- Ability to travel statewide and to participate in site visits and meetings;
- Spanish language skills a plus.
Terms and Compensation:
This is a grant-driven, at-will position with a salary range of $60,000 – $70,000, commensurate with experience. Comprehensive benefits package includes health insurance, 403b with company match after 1 year, life and long-term disability insurance, paid holidays, vacations and opportunities for professional development.
Additional Details Common to All Positions
Save the Sound’s Commitment to Equity and Diversity
Save the Sound is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination based on age, color, disability, marital or parental status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other legally protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
Our organizational leadership and staff are working to deepen Save the Sound’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. We seek to attract a more diverse applicant pool, and to add and retain more outstanding Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to all levels of our team. We work in diverse communities and landscapes, and are actively working to increase our focus on driving environmental justice and equitable outcomes through our work.
Shared Organizational Job Responsibilities
- Maintaining positive and productive working relationships with all Save the Sound staff members, including providing and receiving constructive feedback;
- Participating in building productive relationships with Save the Sound’s members, external partners, policy makers, and the general public;
- Completing all administrative work on time, such as timesheets, purchase orders, project reports, and planning documents.
COVID-19 Considerations:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Save the Sound is moving to a permanent hybrid in-office/remote arrangement. This position is expected to be in the office at least 1-2 days/week unless current organizational COVID-19 protocols indicate otherwise. Office opening/closing and health policies are regularly updated based on the current state of the pandemic. All office use and field work must follow Save the Sound’s most up-to-date safety protocols. Save the Sound requires that all new hires submit proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for the safety of all staff and the communities where we work.