Greenways Program Manager

JOB SUMMARY

The The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) seeks a Program Manager to lead all aspects of our Mystic Greenways program. This person will join a dynamic, collaborative team working on community-led designs of local park and shared-use path projects across the watershed.

ABOUT THE MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded in 1972. Our vision is a vibrant, healthy and resilient Mystic River Watershed for the benefit of all our community members. To achieve this, MyRWA is protecting water quality, restoring important habitats, building climate resilience, transforming parks and paths, and inspiring youth and community members.

Our Mystic Greenways program is a vision for 25 miles of connected parks and paths along the Mystic River and its tributaries. Our education program engages over 1,000 youth and families in STEAM education focused on nature close to home. Hundreds of volunteers help us document and improve water quality, river herring, and urban heat islands, as well as help reduce trash and remove invasive weeds. Finally, MyRWA founded and co-leads the Resilient Mystic Collaborative, a watershed-wide partnership among 20 cities and towns to protect people and places from climate change.

This is an exciting time to join MyRWA’s highly collaborative and dedicated team. MyRWA has a staff of 14, a committed Board of Directors, and an annual budget of more than $4 million. As an organization committed to incorporating racial equity and justice throughout our programs and operations, we are engaged in a two-year training and strategic plan update to ensure that we are fully living into these values.

MYSTIC GREENWAYS PROGRAM

The goal of the Mystic Greenways program is to connect and improve dozens of public parks along 25 miles of waterfront paths to benefit hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors. We are currently involved in seven greenways projects in six municipalities. One signature project is our effort to create a thriving neighborhood park around Charlestown’s Little Mystic Channel. Located in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind corner of Boston Harbor, the Little Mystic includes 15 acres of city-owned land surrounding a 20-acre protected inlet of Boston Harbor. We are working with both the City of Boston and nearby residents to design, fund, and construct a park that best serves neighborhood needs, including heat and stormwater mitigation.

WHAT YOU’LL GET TO DO

The Greenways Program Manager will steward our Mystic Greenways Vision. They will lead the participatory design process for existing park and mobility projects, build relationships with many stakeholders, engage the public through virtual and in-person meetings/events and contribute to the strategic direction and evolution of the greenways program.

This position allows for a tremendous amount of personal and professional growth and includes a diverse set of tasks. On any given day, the Greenways Program manager will be hosting meetings, conducting site visits, leading events such as walking/biking tours or open houses, reviewing consultant scopes of work and drafting grant proposals. The Greenways Program Manager will report to MyRWA’s Deputy Director of Projects and work closely with the Community Organizer and Engagement Manager. While there are opportunities for internal collaboration, this is an external facing role that involves substantial work with outside partners.

Job responsibilities include:

• Managing all aspects of the Greenways Program including participatory planning and design processes for urban park and shared-use path projects; landscape architecture and engineering consultants; relationships with state and federal agencies, municipal, and community partners; and project and program budgets.
• Leading community engagement efforts by organizing and facilitating community steering
• committees, organizing and planning events, creating materials to engage with and solicit
  feedback from local communities and building broad coalitions of support for projects.
• Identifying and scoping new project opportunities aligned with MyRWA’s strategic plan by centering environmental justice communities and residents in all aspects of the Greenways Program.
• Supporting Greenways Program fundraising efforts by identifying funding opportunities, preparing grant applications, managing grants/reporting requirements and developing collateral material for and participating in meetings with potential funders.
• Supporting Greenways Program ongoing communications by developing communication and engagement goals, creating content for and helping maintain website and social media accounts, keeping partners informed of progress and representing MyRWA in media as needed.
• Collaborating with other MyRWA staff as needed.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We know people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work and to the MyRWA team. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate competency in a majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below.

The ideal person for this position:

• Has strong project management skills and English fluency.
• Has experience working in the fields of design, urban planning and/or public engagement.
• Has an ability to establish trusting relationships with people from a wide range of cultural and economic backgrounds.
• Works well both independently and as part of a team. This position is collaborative and highly entrepreneurial.
• Has excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Is able to manage multiple tasks/projects and prioritize among competing opportunities.
• Has a passion and commitment to social, climate, and transportation justice.
• Is proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Suite.

Preferred but not required:

• College degree plus at least four years of work experience or graduate degree and two years of work experience. Non-degreed candidates with equivalent skills and five years of progressive work experience are encouraged to apply.
• Fluency in a second language important to our watershed (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese)
• Degree in urban/regional/environmental planning, landscape architecture, architecture, and/or civil/environmental engineering.
• Professional experience with park and active transportation planning.
• Graphic design and map-making skills are a plus (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, GIS, Canva, Publisher).

WHAT WE OFFER

This is a full-time position with the Mystic River Watershed Association with a salary range of $60,000 to $75,000 depending on experience and skills. Our paid time off policy includes 15 days paid vacation in your first year of employment and 20 days per year after that. Full time staff also get 12 paid holidays, and six paid sick days per year. MyRWA benefits include immediate health insurance coverage (MyRWA covers up to 80% of employee premiums), participation in a 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% employer match, and paid parental leave.

WORK EXPECTATIONS AT MyRWA

We are a hands-on team and seek employees who are passionate about our work and service to our community. MyRWA is committed to creating a flexible and safe working environment that responds to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We periodically update policies for work in the office related to COVID-19 and require all employees to be vaccinated. We strive to create a flexible and collaborative work environment that balances time in the office and the opportunity to work remotely. Currently employees work at least one day per week in the office.

Our office is located in the town center of Arlington, Massachusetts. Free street parking and bike parking is available next to our office, which is a one-minute walk from the 77 and 79 bus lines on Massachusetts Avenue. Local travel within the watershed area is anticipated, including opportunities to work at external events. This position is a total of 40 hours per week, with typical hours being Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Exceptions to this schedule are based on public meetings and community events with some night and weekend hours. This role may involve minor physical activity. We prefer staff to have a driver’s license for flexibility with events but most days a bicycle and public transit works fine.

HOW TO APPLY

Please click "Apply" below to email a resume and one page on why you’d be a good fit for the job, with the subject line Greenway Program Manager. No calls, please. Preference will be given to applications submitted by September 1. The position will be open until filled.

MyRWA seeks to be representative, at all job levels, of the people we serve in our watershed. We are an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQIA people, people living with disabilities, military veterans, re-entry citizens and other under represented populations.