Habitat Restoration Project Manager

The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) is a council of governments serving communities in the Columbia-Pacific region of Oregon and Washington. CREST is seeking an individual to fill the role of Habitat Restoration Project Manager.

Position Overview

The Habitat Restoration Project Manager role is position is responsible for the development and implementation of habitat restoration projects that focus on recovering juvenile salmon rearing habitat through reconnection of historic tidal floodplain to the Columbia River Estuary. Project types may include culvert removals, dike breaches, tidegate retrofits, wetland restoration, and levee setbacks.

This position operates under the supervision of the CREST Habitat Restoration Program Manager and collaborates with other CREST project managers to investigate, develop, and implement restoration projects at specific sites.

Key responsibilities include restoration project management actions, including construction oversight, project development, landowner outreach, funding acquisition, permitting, subcontracting, data management and reporting, as well as communications with partner organizations and agencies.

This position is required to be based out of Astoria, Oregon, with responsibility for managing multiple restoration projects located in the very lowest reaches of the river. CREST staff are currently engaged in hybrid work arrangements, allowing the Project Manager the flexibility to operate from their home office and the CREST office. The position requires frequent field work and variable work hours to supervise project implementation, as well as occasional evening meetings with project partners in the lower Columbia River Estuary. Summer 2024 is expected to be a busy field season with multiple restoration projects being implemented, the new Project Manager will dedicate a substantial amount of their time directly overseeing these projects.

Position Responsibilities

The Project Manager position is part of the CREST Habitat Restoration Department and is directly supervised by the Restoration Program Manager. This position requires a person with strong attention to timelines, schedules, and details. Most tasks will be completed independently and require a motivated and task-driven person to complete successfully. Additional responsibilities include:

• Collaborating with local jurisdictions, watershed councils, state and federal agencies, and landowners to identify habitat restoration opportunities and develop restoration concepts.
• Writing grants and engaging with funders to develop grant agreements, scopes of work, deliverables, timelines, and budgets for potential projects.
• Managing multiple grant budgets and fulfilling contract requirements.
• Facilitating and overseeing technical engineering design and construction professionals through all phases of restoration projects.
• Working with regulatory staff to ensure projects are compliant with local, state, and federal regulations and all permits are obtained for projects. This includes addressing both pre- project and post-project permit reporting requirements.
• Engaging with project funders to demonstrate restoration opportunities and restoration monitoring data.

Qualifications

Desired Experience:

• This position requires a broad range of skills relating to designing, permitting, and implementing habitat restoration projects. Desired areas of experience include:
  • Implementation of restoration projects.
  • Technical writing.
  • Partnership and relationship building, creating positive working relationships with landowners and other stakeholders.
  • Wetland, estuarine, fluvial ecology, botany, and/or fisheries biology.

While it is highly desirable that candidates have experience and/or training in all four areas, you should apply if have experience in only two areas. In your application materials, please tell us how you either already have the necessary desired expertise or what experience you have that will help you reach the necessary aptitudes.

More specifically, we are hoping for candidates that have:

• Experience developing and implementing on-the-ground habitat restoration projects or similar construction projects.
• Familiarity with applying for and receiving grant funding.
• Familiarity with applying for and receiving regulatory permits from local, state, and federal regulatory agencies.

Additional Experience:

In addition to the desired experience listed above, CREST is looking for a candidate with some combination of the following:

• Experience coordinating with project designers, contractors, and partners.
• Broad experience in natural resource management issues and land management practices in the Pacific Northwest, including salmon recovery efforts.
• Knowledge of how to read and interpret design plan sets and specifications.
• Solid professional skills.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills and ability to work with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Flexibility and responsiveness to unforeseen project demands.
• Comfort with managing multiple projects concurrently while meeting deadlines.
• Public speaking skills, or willingness to learn.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to work in a broad range of environmental conditions, including rugged terrain and adverse weather.
• Proficiency in computer office software (Word, Excel, Power point, Outlook, etc.) and familiarity and use of GIS/GPS technology.

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree required. Areas of interest include ecology, fisheries, coastal sciences, botany, riparian environmental planning, and wetland restoration.
• Master’s Degree or advanced training is preferred. If you have taken coursework or attended relevant conferences or trainings, please let us know in your application materials.

Position Details

This is a full-time position (40 hours per week), classified as salaried/exempt, and requires the ability to communicate clearly in technical writing and public speaking to diverse audiences. The role necessitates effective project management skills to handle multiple projects within specified deadlines. The position requires travel throughout the lower Columbia River and estuary region for regional coordination meetings and field work conducted in all weather conditions. It requires occasionally working long days (greater than 8 hours) and evenings.

Compensation

• CREST offers a competitive salary ($65,000 – $80,000) depending on qualifications and an excellent benefit package (medical, dental, vision, deferred compensation).

To Apply

Please click "Apply" below to access the required application. 

All applicants must submit the following materials to be considered:

• A CREST Job Application form available on our website, click here; 
• A cover letter detailing why you want the position and how your background and experience meet the skills and qualification requirements in this job announcement; and
• Resume to Paula Gerttula at pgerttula@columbiaestuary.org.

CREST will begin reviewing applications on June 3, 2024.