The Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) is seeking an individual for a three-year Environmental Management Staffer position within its Environmental Management Career Development Program. All CRC Staffers in the Environmental Management Career Development Program support the work of the Chesapeake Bay Program. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) brings together leaders from state, federal and local government, as well as academia and the watershed’s many communities, to collaborate on creating the best strategies and tools for cleaning up the Bay and the rivers and streams that flow into it and engaging with diverse communities to restore habitat health for living resources and promote stewardship for an environmentally and economically sustainable Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program is fueled by science and driven by partnership.
The Environmental Management Staffer in this position will support the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Healthy Watersheds Goal Implementation Team (HWGIT). The HWGIT works to keep local watersheds healthy across a range of landscapes, bringing attention to the challenge of protecting streams and watersheds that are healthy today and restoring waters if they become degraded. The HWGIT serves as a forum for shared learning and collaboration among Chesapeake Bay Program partners to promote the identification, assessment, vulnerability evaluation, and protection of waters and watersheds that have high ecological value throughout the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed. This Staffer position will also provide support to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Forestry Workgroup, Land Use Workgroup, and the Land Data Team. The Forestry Workgroup coordinates, develops, and implements plans and projects that focus on the contributions of forest lands in restoring the health and productivity of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and in retaining their economic potential. The Land Use Workgroup, through the direct involvement of local stakeholders, oversees the development and review of high-resolution land use/land cover data to inform current and future assessment tools that support the program’s work towards meeting its goals and outcomes. The Land Data Team focuses on developing assessment tools and offering geospatial support and analysis of the land use/land cover and hyper-resolution hydrography data to teams and workgroups throughout the partnership.
Please note, with the ongoing revision of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the structure and organization of many of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Goal Teams and Workgroups may change in function and structure, including the groups you would support as a Staffer in this role. We anticipate that this position could evolve to focus more heavily on supporting efforts to inform land use decisions.
As an Environmental Management Staffer in this program, you would have a unique opportunity to develop up to 3-years of professional experience through your day-to-day work activities while having dedicated time and support focused on your individual professional growth. This position offers an opportunity to work with a broad team of partners from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed representing a vast network of government (federal, state, and local) and nongovernment entities. The skills and network gained from this position will be valuable to someone seeking further education and/or career development in the environmental policy and science field with a focus on water quality, watershed restoration and conservation, and natural resources management.
Environmental Management Staffers work a hybrid work schedule, dividing time each week between in-office work and telework. The selected candidate for this position will work as a CRC employee at the U.S. EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office located in Annapolis, Maryland.
- Provide meeting support by scheduling meetings and developing meeting agendas, setting up hybrid meeting technologies such as video conferencing and collaborative tools (training provided), drafting concise meeting minutes, and tracking and following-up on action items with various staff and partners.
- Manage and update content, contacts, and calendar items on goal team and workgroup webpages on the Chesapeake Bay Program website (content management system training provided). Maintain internal workgroup email distribution lists.
- Participate in the Strategy Review System (SRS) process for Healthy Watersheds, Land Use Methods and Metrics, Land Use Options Evaluation, Forest Buffers and Tree Canopy outcomes (and/or new and updated outcomes resulting from the Beyond 2025 visioning process), including the review, development, and presentation of management materials, action plans, presentations and associated materials.
- Update, track, and consolidate feedback on documents or resources as necessary from workgroup members, leadership, and other experts.
- Participate as needed to write reports and communication pieces, perform analysis, consolidate data, produce maps and Storymaps, report on performance indicators and other tasks as assigned, or as desired for professional growth.
- A bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, environmental management/policy/planning, or relevant field of study. Familiarity with land use/urban/conservation planning, forestry, landscape ecology, and watershed processes preferred.
- Ability to perform background research, analysis, and synthesis on policy and science related topics.
- Skills in data visualization using GIS (experience with ESRI ArcPro, ArcGIS Online software and/or college level GIS courses preferred).
- Ability to write for the web and social marketing platforms, including working within a content management system and appropriately tailoring text and graphics for optimal communication effectiveness.
- Ability to provide support by independently planning meetings, developing agendas, drafting concise meeting minutes, and tracking action items.
- Familiarity with using hybrid meeting technologies such as video conferencing ( Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom, etc.).
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is required.
- Experience with or interest in collaborating with a range of partners and stakeholders as part of interdisciplinary teams representing a variety of interests, in an environment meant to build consensus.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritize tasks under tight timelines in a fast-paced environment and remain flexible with shifting demands.
- Ability to take initiative and work collaboratively with a team.
- Interest in learning how a multi-stakeholder, regional governmental-environmental-management partnership sets and achieves goals through collaboration, adaptive management, and science-based decision making.
- A willingness to explore career options and interest in engaging in professional development activities.
All Environmental Management Staffers are required to successfully complete a federal background check upon hire.
Chesapeake Research Consortium recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
