Community Restoration Manager

Background and Purpose:

WSA envisions every community in Anne Arundel County actively engaged to ensure a healthy environment for all. This new position will serve as a key support for communities to identify project opportunities, seek and pursue funding, and manage the design, installation, and maintenance of stormwater restoration projects ranging from small conservation landscapes and bio-retentions to large community projects such as stormwater pond retrofits and stream restoration.

The Community Restoration Manager (CRM) will report directly to the WSA Director of Restoration and work collaboratively with the One Water Partnership (OWP) to engage Anne Arundel County congregations to identify, design and install stormwater restoration projects that reduce sediment and nutrients, and create a Maintenance Model for Congregations that integrates local resources with individual congregations’ capacity and maintenance goals. The CRM will be responsible for tracking all deliverables associated with the One Water Partnership program and all other restoration grants.

In addition, the CRM will support restoration and program staff to reach new audiences, with a focus on historically marginalized communities in northern and western areas of the County, to identify project opportunities, pursue funding, and manage the design, installation, and maintenance of these projects. The CRM will also design and deliver educational workshops focused on maintenance and support other watershed restoration projects as needed. This will include leading virtual and in person training classes and events.

WSA is deeply committed to engaging every community in Anne Arundel County. All WSA staff must share a commitment to engage a diverse range of constituents and advance environmental stewardship throughout all communities.

In addition to technical environmental restoration and project management, well qualified candidates will have excellent interpersonal, leadership, and organizational skills, and demonstrated success with grant writing and management. A strong work ethic, high attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects is also crucial for success.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Restoration Project Management (70%)

Restoration Project Identification, Design and Installation

• Project Identification and Implementation: Work with communities toidentify, design, and install stormwater restoration projectsthat reduce sediment and nutrients. This objective includes site visits, collaboration with key constituents and project management. Projects range from conservation landscapes and tree plantings to pond retrofits and stream restoration.
• Contract Management: Most projects will be designed and installed by professional contractors, so this objective also includes managing bids, contracts and approving work completed by restoration professionals, including contracts for project maintenance.
• Grant Writing and Reporting: This position is responsible for raising approximately $50,000 of grant funding for projects annually through grants. This objective includes identifying, writing, managing and supporting grants for restoration projects. WSA may be the fiscal agent for some grants, while community organizations, property owners or other non-profits may be the fiscal agent for others.
• Budget Management This position will manage all budgets related to the work of this position. This objective includes budget creation, reporting, and documenting income and expenses.

Restoration Project Maintenance

• Maintenance Model for Congregations: Develop a maintenance model that integrates local resources with individual congregations’ capacity and maintenance goals. This Maintenance Model will build off of past successes and incorporate unique challenges faced by Congregations. Some potential strategies and resources that may be included in the model are: connecting the WSA volunteers with congregations, incorporating training and instructional resources such short instructional videos, a congregational maintenance manual, guidance for identifying how and when to use volunteers, trained leaders and professional contractors to complete seasonal maintenance, and strategies for funding maintenance.
• Long-term Maintenance Capacity: Assist Anne Arundel County congregations to create and implement long-term maintenance. This includes training and mentoring for up to 5 congregations per year and customizing a maintenance manual for each congregation based on their current and future projects. Provide maintenance support and resources for projects at non-congregation property, including mentoring Watershed Stewards in maintenance management.
• Maintenance Training: Deliver virtual maintenance training courses for One Water Partnership Hub partners to share the Maintenance Model for Congregations, with additional virtual engagement opportunities to share successes and challenges in implementing the Maintenance Model for Congregations.

Volunteer Training and Programmatic Support (20%)

Volunteer Management

• Coordinate Watershed Steward restoration action groups, including recruitment, training and support.

Program Support

• Assist WSA Staff to plan and execute restoration efforts in flagship programs such as the Certification Course, RePlant Anne Arundel and Annapolis, RePollinate Anne Arundel, and certified Steward action. More information:
• Special projects: Participate in annual garden maintenance at Arlington Echo in WSA managed areas, invasive removal projects, help monitor tool inventory.
• Professional Liaison and Networking: Build and maintain relationships with partners (watershed organizations, county agencies, funders, tree nurseries).
• Annual Conference Support: Help coordinate the restoration sessions for the conference including speaker selection, outreach and promotion, and CEUs for restoration professionals and provide support for the event as needed.

Impact and Data Tracking (10%)

Data Tracking

• Assist WSA Staff to track projects via spreadsheet and GIS to ensure easy reporting of the restoration efforts throughout Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis. Manage all restoration related project submissions in WSA’s volunteer database and any other databases required by funders.

Skills/Abilities:

• Knowledge of native plant species including plant ID, right plant right place, and spacing requirements in rural, suburban, and urban locations.
• Demonstrated experience in design, installation and maintenance of residential scale watershed restoration projects including rain gardens, tree plantings, conservation landscapes and rain barrels. Some experience with larger restoration projects such as pond retrofits and stream restoration is helpful.
• Experience with developing and managing contracts for restoration services.
• Experience in grant writing and budgeting for medium-large scale projects.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work and communicate with diverse populations.
• Knowledge of the regulatory and programmatic drivers of watershed restoration in Maryland.
• Experience providing training to volunteers and the general public.
• Ability to exercise considerable patience, courtesy, tact, and judgment in working with fellow employees, volunteers, restoration professionals, students, teachers, and the general public.
• Demonstrated proficiency with office software (e.g. Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite -Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher) Ability to learn new software programs as necessary.
• Ability to work collaboratively to develop publications geared toward specific goals and audiences.
• Ability to navigate varied terrain including steep wooded trails and unpaved paths.
• Spanish fluency, preferred

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Science, Natural Resources Planning, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in the environmental restoration field OR an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities deemed sufficient to prepare the applicant to successfully perform the duties of the position.
• Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, preferred

Work location and schedule:

• Flexible work schedule to include approximately 40 hours per week. Some evenings and weekends are required, but daytime hours are flexible.
• This is a hybrid position. Primary work location is the WSA Office located at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center (975 Indian Landing Road, Millersville, Md), with telework on an agreed schedule, after orientation.
• A background check and fingerprinting (paid for by WSA) is required prior to employment.
• Qualified applicants must have the ability to travel to and from project sites using their own vehicle. Business mileage reimbursement is included.

Application and timeline:

• This position will remain open until filled