Assistant Coordinator, East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture

Title: Assistant Coordinator, East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture
Supervisor: Vice-President for Conservation Science
Location: Greater Washington, DC/Northern Virginia area
Date of Posting: November 13, 2009
Deadline for Application: November 25, 2009

Introduction:

This is a full-time position with American Bird Conservancy (ABC); however, you may see this position announced simultaneously through another employer. We encourage all interested applicants to apply through both avenues. The East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture (EGCPJV) Assistant Coordinator works for the EGCPJV partnership, which consists of private, state, and federal conservation agencies and organizations that have assumed responsibility for the implementation of national and international bird conservation plans within the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture. The Assistant Coordinator functions as part of the EGCPJV Office and will report directly to the EGCPJV Coordinator. The incumbent’s major responsibility is developing and guiding the partnership’s conservation delivery infrastructure. Additionally, the incumbent has responsibility for coordinating and facilitating the development and refinement of a strong biological foundation. Fulfilling these broad functional responsibilities ensures that the partnership's conservation actions are based on sound science and are targeted to effectively contribute to the long-term sustainability of priority bird populations and the ecological systems on which they depend.

This position requires a good understanding of ABC’s and EGCPJV’s mission, and a basic knowledge of Joint Venture structure and function. There is a great deal of contact with others within and outside the organization and partnership, in person, by telephone, and through e-mail and other correspondence. The work requires initiative, flexibility, and attention to detail. It is essential that the staff member in this position is able to prioritize tasks and work in a team environment. The position reports to the EGCPJV Coordinator and ABC’s Vice-President for Conservation Science.

Primary Duties:

• The Assistant Coordinator sustains an effective and thriving partnership environment for accomplishing EGCPJV technical activities. This includes building of an active technical infrastructure to develop and progressively refine the EGCPJV's scientific foundation, and to assist in translating this science in support of meaningful conservation action.

• Biological Planning and Conservation Design: In collaboration with partners, the incumbent coordinates the development of transparent, replicable, science-based procedures for establishing goals and objectives that reflect measurable biological outcomes linked across multiple spatial scales. Activities may include integration of biological goals and objectives for multiple bird species groups (e.g. waterfowl, landbirds, shorebirds), linking bird population goals and objectives across spatial scales, supporting development of decision support tools, and integrating goals and objectives across agencies, organizations and programs.

• Conservation Delivery: The incumbent develops processes to apply and interpret decision support tools to facilitate site-scale conservation decisions and guide conservation delivery activities of EGCPJV partners. The incumbent engages partners to effectively align and coordinate delivery programs, provides technical guidance, and assists in the identification and development of federal, state, and private grant proposals supporting the habitat conservation goals and objectives of the EGCPJV.

• Decision-based Monitoring and Evaluation: Working with appropriate regional and national committees and networks, the incumbent assists in developing goals, objectives, protocols, and procedures for monitoring habitat change and population response at multiple spatial scales. The incumbent coordinates the development and use of conservation tracking and monitoring systems that support evaluation activities and feed into biological planning and conservation design efforts.

• Assumption-driven Research: The incumbent works with the technical and scientific community to identify and address information needs related to key assumptions in EGCPJV decision processes, and coordinates activities to refine the EGCPJV's scientific foundation.

• National and International Coordination: Responsibilities extend to national and international forums. The incumbent develops briefing papers on policy and technical issues associated with the implementation of national and international migratory bird conservation initiatives, and represents the EGCPJV and the Service at national and international meetings and in the broader science arena with respect to national and international bird conservation initiatives.

Position Requirements:

• College degree and at least three years work/research experience in a related position. Demonstrated knowledge of the theories and principles of landscape ecology, population ecology, and ecosystem management.

• Demonstrated abilities in written and oral communication with academia, habitat managers, conservation administrators, and the general public.

• Skill in using statistical software and programming languages to develop algorithms and scripts to support complex analyses of tabular and spatial data.

• Demonstrated ability in organizing and conducting research projects and studies that lead to peer-reviewed results and publications.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with conservation professionals and professionals from other disciplines.

• Skill in developing grant proposals to support biological research and assessment.

• Willingness to travel frequently throughout the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture and U.S., and occasionally internationally.
  

Application Instructions:

Please send a cover letter and resume to Merrie Morrison, Vice President of Operations by November 25, 2009; P.O. Box 249, The Plains, VA 20198 or by email