California Watersheds Program Officer

Resources Legacy Fund•Sacramento, CA

9d•$127,000 - $157,000•Remote

About The Position

RLF’s California team delivers programmatic and public policy outcomes for our planet and its people across the state. The team engages in fundraising, grantmaking, coalition-building, policy development, advocacy, and capacity-building. The California watersheds program officer is a seasoned professional who, under the guidance of a senior program officer and the California director, leads RLF’s California freshwater-related programs including on-the-ground programmatic work, policy development, and advocacy and campaigns. The program officer uses grantmaking, contracting, direct engagement, and other tools to advance program outcomes. This position focuses on advancing the health and restoration of California’s watersheds and waterways. They will have a portfolio that includes management and restoration of riparian systems, improving water quality, and barrier and dam removal. This is a remote position with preference for a home base in or near Sacramento. The Program Officer will be required to travel regularly to Sacramento with occasional additional domestic travel as needed to fulfill duties. This full-time position is exempt and reports to the Senior Program Officer.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience in leading programs and/or policy/advocacy campaigns.
Working knowledge of California policy, processes, and politics or a commitment to learning them.
California freshwater expertise preferred, particularly in water quality, riparian restoration, watershed management, and/or dam and barrier removal work.
Comfortable and eager to work within a complex policy, stakeholder, and political space, and familiar with environmental challenges and opportunities.
Experience building relationships with stakeholders and diverse constituencies such as governmental decisionmakers, Tribes/Tribal communities, and non-profit partners.
Experience building, supporting, and managing diverse coalitions and effective campaigns for administrative and legislative policy and funding outcomes.
Commitment to working creatively and in collaboration with diverse partners across sectors to advance impactful California water policies and funding.
Excellent composition, editing, and spoken communication skills. Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into lucid, cohesive, and compelling written products.
Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to build trust-based relationships.
Experience supervising direct reports.
Experience developing and executing program strategies.

Nice To Haves

Previous fundraising and/or grantmaking experience a plus, including grant writing and reporting and donor engagement.
Experience developing and tracking outcomes and metrics to understand program effectiveness is desirable.

Responsibilities

Deliver significant outcomes on California freshwater priorities by designing and executing programs and advocacy campaigns.
Ensure alignment and coordination of water policy strategy and implementation across RLF’s California programs.
Build relationships with government officials, advocacy organizations, experts, Tribes, and researchers to identify shared priorities and determine where additional resources and expertise are needed, enabling more effective collaboration on California freshwater initiatives.
Develop and guide California freshwater policy coalitions and other collaborative efforts aligned with water quality and riparian management, dam and barrier removal, freshwater policy, and related RLF priorities.
Work with partners to develop new public policy solutions, provide policy analysis, and draft related collateral (public comments, bill language, etc.).
Structure and oversee grants and contracts necessary for the successful implementation of freshwater programs and campaigns in California. Work with program staff to track, measure, and evaluate the program’s progress and results, making improvements to impact over time.
Assist with program fundraising.
Directly supervise a program manager.
Represent RLF and its California freshwater work to external audiences.
Perform research and analysis and prepare documents as requested.
Create and edit appropriate materials for communication with the board, funders, and partners.
Undertake special projects as assigned.