About Trout Unlimited

Today, Trout Unlimited is a national organization with more than 155,000 volunteers organized into about 400 chapters nationwide. This dedicated grassroots army is matched by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts and scientists, who work out of more than 30 offices. Our mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds.

Position Summary

Montana is a state of iconic rivers, yet one river is especially treasured by residents and non-residents alike–the Smith. Located in central Montana, the Smith River runs through scenic ranchlands west of the town of White Sulphur Springs into a series of limestone canyons. Bounded by stands of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine, the river is a blue-ribbon trout fishery for brown and rainbow trout as it carves its way north.

We are seeking a staff member to coordinate our efforts to protect the Smith River, and in the process, the strong sporting heritage it sustains. To this end, the Smith River Field Coordinator will educate, organize and mobilize sportsmen and women, with a particular focus on anglers, to achieve the organization's conservation objectives for the Smith River. In part, this includes mitigating a potential threat from a proposed copper mine on a tributary of the Smith.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Grassroots organizing with local and state hunters/anglers, organizations, local businesses, TU Montana council volunteers, and community leaders.
• Working with local elected officials, legislative officials, and state and federal land management agencies.
• Building and managing relationships with the broader conservation community.
• Leading a team-oriented, collaborative effort to protect the Smith River's integrity.
• Identifying potential funders and assisting with cultivation.
• Participate in efforts to pass several important bills in the Montana State Legislature in Helena, as needed.
• Educate sportsmen and women (and other Montanans) on the threats of ground and surface water depletion and acid-runoff threats from major mining activities, organize these Montanans to support state legislative efforts and to get involved in public review during the mine permitting process.
• The organizer will travel the state talking to sportsmen and women, outfitters and guides, county authorities, state legislators, local communities, agriculture interests and others, working closely with TU's 4,000 members in Montana, as well as staff attorneys and scientists.
• Face-to-face communications with river users and others.
• The organizer will spend a great deal of time in the capitol city of Helena and other corners of the state, raising public awareness to the threats of the Black Butte Mine, and ultimately the threats of soft Montana mining law and policy throughout the state.
• Maintain public support, especially among sportsmen groups to protect the Smith River's headwaters from damaging mining activity.
• Build a coalition of sportsmen, community members, businesses and others who recognize the value of the Smith's sustainable natural economic engine.
• Work very closely with Montana TU staff and volunteers from Missoula to enhance communication about the impacts of mining on trout fisheries.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required.
• Education, background or the aptitude to quickly learn and explain in lay fashion technical matters related to mining, water quality and fisheries.
• Ability and willingness to travel often within Montana and occasionally outside of the state.
• Understanding of the sportsmen's community in general and recreational angling community in particular, including how to inspire and engage these communities in effective advocacy.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Deep ties to the Smith River and surrounding communities, preferable.
• Ability to work independently and be a self-starter.
• Positive attitude with energy and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.
• Flexibility, adaptability.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Very strong inter-personal skills.
• Avid angler/hunter.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with great attention to detail.

How to Apply

Please send a cover letter, writing sample, resume and three professional references to Tom Reed, treed@tu.org by February 15, 2015. No phone calls please.

The above list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive.

Please fill out this voluntary form and submit it as an attachment to this email address.

TU is an Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act & Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistant Act.

TU is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes a diverse pool of candidates in this search. TU hires staff without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.