Description
The Science Associate supports engagement teams with critical science outputs for place-based watershed projects on behalf of the Nature for Water Facility (‘N4W’). Housed within The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds Strategy, the Nature for Water Facility is a technical assistance outfit that provides hand-in-hand support to local champions seeking to develop watershed investment programs. N4W aims to support 40-60 place-based engagements globally over four years via a mixture of pro-bono and fee-for-service partnerships. For additional background on the program please see the About, Services, and Portfolio sections of the N4W website.
The Science Associate (‘Associate’) provides critical science inputs as part of broader N4W engagement teams that work with local organizations and agencies to build watershed investment programs that deliver water security and healthy ecosystem outcomes. The Associate’s work involves executing primary freshwater analyses, project coordination, information gathering and analysis from local, national, and global datasets, obtaining inputs from partner subject matter experts, incorporating feedback from local stakeholders, and ensuring the quality of finalized scientific outputs. This position provides technical execution support for projects promoting Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for water security, including aspects relating to hydrology, geographic information systems, prioritization & optimization algorithms, land use / land cover evaluation, and monitoring & evaluation program establishment. The position requires occasional domestic and/or international travel, including to remote field locations (anticipated travel burden of 20%).
The Science Associate will play a vital role in supporting the prioritization of Nature-based Solution (NbS) implementation options for watersheds, ensuring they effectively deliver targeted water security objectives. This role will apply spatial analytical tools, hydrological models, and tools for projecting land use and land cover scenarios. Additionally, the Science Associate will develop implementation management dashboards utilizing relational database visualization tools. This role will work closely with Science Leads, helping them coordinate scientific workstreams, and requires effective collaboration with partners from diverse backgrounds and geographies to incorporate their perspectives and contribute to the development of interdisciplinary science products. The Science Lead will also be responsible for providing technical information and metrics to update TNC Shared Conservation Agenda (SCA) HUB.
The contract is full-time and fully remote and can be based in any country where TNC is registered as a Non-government Organization and established employer in Africa (Angola, Gabon, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia).
We’re Looking for You:
Are you a results-oriented individual passionate about applying scientific solutions to real-world water security challenges? Do you possess a strong foundation in spatial analysis and hydrological modeling, and thrive in a collaborative environment working with diverse partners? If you’re eager to contribute to the prioritization of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for watersheds and develop innovative management tools, we want to hear from you! The N4W Facility seeks a talented Science Associate to join our team.
What You’ll Bring:
- Master’s Degree in water resources, ecology, hydrology, civil or environmental engineering, environmental science, geography, or a related field and 1 year of professional experience or equivalent combination
- Experience in geo-spatial analysis, hydrological modeling, and remote sensing /earth observation
- Experience synthesizing, interpreting, and communicating scientific information
- Experienced in project management planning and techniques, including elaborating clear workplans and managing deadlines
- Programming, statistical, and data science expertise such as Python, R, MATLAB
- Proficient in the English language, both written and spoken.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years of professional experience, preferably within water sector consultancies and/or water resource management
- Ecology expertise across a diversity of ecosystem environments
- Geo-spatial and remote sensing analysis expertise (Desktop and cloud-based), including ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth Engine
- Hydrological modeling expertise, such as SWAT, WEAP, HEC-HMS, InVEST, MODFLOW
- Visualization expertise, including Tableau, ArcGIS Online, Power BI
- Professional experience in NbS project design and implementation
- Record of peer-reviewed publications and/or grey literature (non-peer reviewed) specific to the field of water resource management and NbS
- Ability to communicate complex scientific concepts and outputs to non-technical audiences
- Stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and human-centered designed skills
- Experience providing capacity building and training to staff and officials from different backgrounds and professional levels on basic to advanced hydrological modeling, GIS, and remote sensing
- Experience in geospatial and remote sensing field data collection and processing
- Ability to work efficiently and effectively on multiple concurrent projects
- Multi-language skills (in particular, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Swahili).
Who We Are:
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that we can create a world in which people and nature thrive. We’re rooted in our Mission and guided by our Values, which includes a Commitment to Diversity and Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures. Whether it’s career development, flexible schedules, or a rewarding mission, there’s lots of reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want a better insight to TNC? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube or on Glassdoor.
Our goal is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that all our colleagues around the globe feel a sense of belonging, and that their unique contributions to our mission are valued. We know we’ll only achieve our Mission by hiring and engaging a diverse workforce that reflects the communities in which we work. In addition to the requirements in our postings, we recognize that people come with talent and experiences outside of a job. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of inclusion! Please apply – we’d love to hear from you. To quote myriad TNC staff members, “you’ll join for our mission, and you’ll stay for our people.”
What We Bring:
Since 1951, TNC has been doing work you can believe in. Through grassroots action, we have grown from a small non-profit into one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than 1 million members, over 400 scientists, and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and partners, we impact conservation around the world!
TNC offers competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our Benefits and Perks here.
We’re proud to offer a flexible work environment that supports the health and well-being of the people we employ.
The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.
The successful applicant must meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy’s background screening process.
TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to applyhelp@tnc.org with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.
