Job Type
Temporary
Description
ABOUT TROUT UNLIMITED
Trout Unlimited (TU) brings together diverse interests to care for and recover the rivers and streams on which we all depend. We are a national organization with 300,000 members and supporters organized into over 400 chapters and councils nationwide. Our dedicated grassroots volunteers are matched by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts, and scientists, who work out of more than 25 offices across the country.
POSITION SUMMARY
Trout Unlimited (TU) is seeking a highly motivated Fellow to support the growth of TU’s water stewardship partnerships and innovative conservation funding mechanisms nationwide. The Fellow will collaborate directly with project managers, conservation staff, and leadership to gather, track, and assess data, ensuring program efficiency and identifying growth opportunities.
Additionally, the Fellow will manage diverse short-term projects aimed at developing systems to improve innovative funding mechanisms. Projects may involve a host of topics ranging from corporate water stewardship and water replenishment to TU’s conservation metrics, revolving funds, mitigation payments, program-related investments, and other funding mechanisms.
The Fellow will report to the Vice President of the Rocky Mountain Region. The Fellow will also develop and maintain productive working relationships with the Vice President of Eastern Conservation, Vice President of the Pacific Region, Senior Scientist, Head of Corporate Development, and staff from the conservation, development, science, and other teams.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This fellowship will include a mix of short-term projects, including but not limited to:
Data analysis & water stewardship
- Team up with conservation staff to analyze the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) 2.0 method and apply the methodologies to TU’s pipeline of projects, including new and emerging VWBA project types.
- Track and analyze data related to existing water stewardship projects across the country. Analyze variables such as price per m3 for TU’s proposed water replenishment projects, field data supporting volumetric estimates and quantifications, water benefit allocations between corporate and other funders, and market rates for similar projects. Support the organization of this data to help with annual reporting processes.
Conservation Metrics & Impact Tracking
- Support the tracking and analysis of TU’s annual conservation metrics.
- Assist with developing new tracking approaches for water conservation, market-based water programs, nature-based solutions, and process-based restoration.
- Use data-driven insights to help tell the story of TU’s conservation impact.
Innovative Conservation Funding Mechanisms
- Research and assess potential partnerships related to revolving funds, mitigation payments, program-related investments, and other conservation finance tools.
- Explore ways TU’s conservation projects and long-term monitoring data can support these funding mechanisms.
General Support & Cross-Team Collaboration
- Work closely with conservation staff, leadership, and development teams to advance TU’s water stewardship and conservation finance initiatives.
- Assist with proposal development and reporting for key projects.
- Assist Rocky Mountain Vice President with other projects as time and capacity allow.
This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities.
Requirements
Required:
- Graduate student pursuing an advanced degree in a relevant field OR a recent graduate (within the past 12 months).
- Experience with qualitative and quantitative research, ideally in fields such as mathematics, statistics, economics, finance, or engineering.
- Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other data collection, tracking and analysis tools (e.g., Survey123 and others).
- Ability to work independently, set priorities, and meet deadlines.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- High energy and a passion for water, people and conservation.
Preferred:
- Passion for water conservation, sustainability, and environmental finance.
- Knowledge of market-based conservation programs.
- A love of rivers or fly fishing is a plus!
Salary and Benefits:
Staff and leadership at TU understand that life outside of work is important to personal health, and we strive to create a healthy and family-friendly atmosphere. This is a part-time fellowship. Compensation is $20/hour for up to 500 hours between April and December 2025. The fellowship will ideally include a schedule of at least 16 hours per week between June and August 2025 (with hours before April 2025 and after August 2025 being highly flexible). The exact schedule will be determined by the successful candidate and TU supervisor. TU will also support any necessary travel related to the role.
