Associate Director, California Central Valley River Restoration

American Rivers•San Francisco Bay Area or Central Valley, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

American Rivers is a national conservation organization dedicated to making rivers clean and healthy for people and wildlife. The Associate Director, California Central Valley River Restoration, will play a key role in developing and implementing projects to protect and restore critical rivers and floodplains in California as part of the Central Valley Program. This program focuses on expanding floodways, restoring floodplains for native species habitat, increasing community resilience to climate change impacts like flooding and drought, and improving water quality and river access for local communities. The role involves managing on-the-ground restoration projects from conception to completion, including securing funding, managing contracts and budgets, conducting community outreach, and coordinating with various agencies, partners, and consultants. The Associate Director will focus project management efforts in the Sacramento, Stockton, and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta areas.

Requirements

Experience in project management, including overseeing consultant teams.
Experience leading watershed management or river/creek restoration or similar projects and/or programs.
Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice.
Demonstrated understanding of California water policy with a focus on flood management, hydrology/hydraulics, and/or river restoration preferred.
Excellent interpersonal skills, a good sense of humor, and an ability to work effectively with a diverse range of people.
Strong organizational skills and demonstrated experience meeting project deadlines.
Ability to manage budgets and project tasks in Excel spreadsheets.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and the ability to effectively communicate with partners and agency representatives.
Initiative, coupled with creative and strategic thinking.
Experience in community engagement, particularly with disadvantaged and underrepresented communities.
Willingness to travel as needed to Sacramento and/or other parts of the Central Valley and throughout California for project site visits, partner meetings, etc.
Experience with fundraising and/or grant writing.
Appropriate combination of education and/or at least 5 years of relevant experience or graduate degree in a relevant field and/or at least 2 years of relevant experience.
Personal commitment to American Rivers’ mission.
Applicant must be legally allowed to work as an employee in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Candidates located within or proximate to these geographies will be given preference.
Candidates who are unsure if they meet all minimum qualifications or who have transferrable skills and experience beyond the conservation sector are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Work with the Central Valley Program team to develop and implement multi-benefit strategies for restoring floodplains at scale, prioritizing areas that improve nature access and reduce flood impacts for vulnerable communities.
Manage funding, planning, and implementation of multi-benefit river restoration projects in California, including community outreach, partner engagement, environmental assessments, project design, monitoring, budgeting, contracting, permitting, invoice tracking, soliciting bids, and project construction oversight.
Manage and ensure compliance with grant agreements, contracts, and subcontracts, and develop and track contracts, scopes of work, deliverables, timelines, and reports.
Help develop solutions to technical, legal, and political challenges of planning and implementing restoration projects throughout California.
Conduct community outreach to solicit feedback and engage diverse partners to plan and implement river restoration projects and programs.
Participate and represent American Rivers in regional collaborative efforts.
Work with American Rivers’ Central Valley Program and national staff to support exchange of knowledge and experience on multi-benefit floodplain restoration across regions within American Rivers.
Identify sources and work with the Central Valley Program to develop fundraising proposals and grant applications for identified projects.
Draft comments and advocacy letters to shape river and water management projects, programs, and policies.
Represent American Rivers in public planning forums as appropriate.
Potentially apply expertise (fish or aquatic ecology, geomorphology, engineering, water quality, community organizing, etc.) for river restoration planning and monitoring in the field and in quantitative analysis.

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision, long-term and short-term disability, and life insurance.
3% employer contribution to retirement plan after one year of service (100% vested upon participation).
Four weeks of paid leave.
Eleven paid holidays.
Three floating holidays.
Sick leave.
Sabbatical leave (every seven years).
Paid parental leave (six weeks with one year of service).
Home office stipend.
Professional development opportunities.