Coral Reef and Coastal Management Liaisons

I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG, http://www.imsg.com) is seeking to hire a Coral Reef and Coastal Zone Program Specialist to serve as Management Liaisons to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This position will be located in Saipan, CNMI. OCRM houses the headquarters of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP, www.coralreef.noaa.gov) and Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP, www.coastalmanagement.noaa.gov). The incumbents will serve as liaisons between these two national programs and the coral reef conservation and coastal zone management programs in Guam and CNMI. Lead liaison responsibilities for each jurisdiction will fall to the incumbent stationed in each jurisdiction. However, the two will assist each other and members of a small team in the Pacific to provide support to these jurisdictions. The incumbents will be responsible for supporting activities under both the CRCP and CZMP for each jurisdiction, and ensuring that projects funded by each national program are complimentary within each jurisdiction. In addition, the incumbents will be responsible for providing technical assistance in a relevant field, such as marine protected area design and/or management, watershed management, social science research and monitoring, or communications and outreach. Travel between Guam and the CNMI is required, and several trips annually to NOAA offices in Hawaii, Maryland, and elsewhere are expected.

• The contractors’ duties will include, but not be limited to:
• Serving as the primary liaison between the national CRCP and CZMP, and the territorial programs:
• Communicate national policies and guidance from NOAA to CNMI
• Communicate CNMI coral reef and coastal zone management program needs and priorities to NOAA headquarters and other program components
• Assist the CNMI programs with the CRCP’s ongoing management prioritization and capacity assessment processes
• Support the development, review, processing, and monitoring of Coral Reef Management and Coastal Zone Management grants for CNMI
• Support strategic planning efforts, including identifying priority topics and geographic areas, developing program and project performance measures, and evaluation of historic, current, and potential future CRCP and CZMP projects
• Advise senior CRCP and CZMP leadership on endeavors, projects, and partnerships that would be of benefit in the territories
• Assist with the implementation and integration of select Guam/CNMI coral reef and coastal zone management projects
• Build partnerships with governmental, non-governmental, academic, and community organizations toward shared conservation goals
• Providing CNMI, and potentially Hawaii and American Samoa, programs with technical assistance in various topical areas related to coral reef and coastal zone management such as:
• Marine protected area design or management
• Watershed management or land-based sources of pollution abatement
• Social science research or monitoring
• Communications and outreach
• Coral reef or coastal zone governance, law, or policy
• Project management
• Participating on behalf of the CRCP, CZMP, or OCRM on internal NOAA and external working groups, councils, and committees
• Supporting activities of the parent Coral Conservation Division, Coastal Programs Division, and Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

• Minimum Requirements:
• Master’s degree (highly preferred) or bachelor’s degree with equivalent additional experience in a relevant discipline such as marine science, biology, marine or environmental management or policy
• Two or more years post-graduate work experience in coral reef-related or integrated CZM management positions, with a strong coral reef management focus
• Two or more years of experience working on or with small island states, preferably in the Western Pacific region
• Demonstrated proficiency in one or more of the technical fields listed in the job responsibilities section of this announcement
• Understanding of coral reef ecosystems, their threats, strategies for their conservation, and coastal management issues
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively with a range of individuals that are geographically separated and that represent a range of different cultures
• Ability to work on several projects simultaneously and to shift priorities as needed
• Fluency in oral and written English, and strong communication skills
• Experience coordinating efforts and projects with multiple partners
• Technical proficiency with Microsoft Office programs
• Four or more years post-graduate work experience in coral reef-related scientific or management positions strongly desired
• Two to three years of program development and project planning experience strongly desired
• Experience working in a governmental work environment, matrix organization, and/or demonstrated ability working in team settings strongly desired
• Experience working on multi-lateral, regional, or international environmental initiatives strongly desired