Coral Project Specialist, US Virgin Islands

The Nature Conservancy

5d•$52,000 - $65,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Coral Project Specialist (CPS) manages coordination between the field team and aquaculture team at The Nature Conservancy’s Coral Innovation Hub located on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. This role focuses on inventory management with an emphasis on meeting project deliverables and due dates, serving on both teams as needed to meet grant deliverables, and liaising with permitters, partners, and funders. The CPS provides technical leadership and support for the USVI Coral Program’s restoration and conservation projects. Key responsibilities include managing farm and field nursery inventories in relation to project deliverables, supporting aquaculture team maintenance and propagation needs, assisting with field team nursery maintenance and outplanting, developing schedules to meet grant goals, and maintaining records. The CPS will also manage, collect, assemble, and analyze various types of data, maintaining a database of nursery stock to support timeliness with grant deliverables. This position works collaboratively with a large team, including field staff, coral husbandry staff, and education and outreach staff, and coordinates closely with other project and data managers, as well as field operations staff. Work will be conducted in a hybrid environment including office, virtual, and field settings (scientific scuba diving). The CPS may supervise one or more support staff and reports to the Coral Program Manager. This is a term-limited position with an anticipated end date of June 30, 2027, with potential for extension.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, marine science or related field, and 3 years’ experience in natural resource management or similar field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Organizational skills and inventory management experience.
Experience managing multiple priorities, with assignments sometimes coming from a number of sources, and working independently.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Experience managing and analyzing complex datasets.
Experience supervising and training staff, volunteers and/or teams to achieve stated goals/outcomes.
Experience completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s).
Knowledge of Caribbean coral reef ecology and management principles, including ability to identify Caribbean coral species.
Knowledge/understanding of current trends and practices in coral reef conservation and/or restoration, and experience working in either field or land-based coral nurseries and preferably both.
Relationship-building experience to work closely with a variety of partners, i.e., media, government officials, funders, internal scientists.
Experience managing tasks with accuracy and detail, including numerical tasks.
Experience planning, administering and recording results of work-team meetings and activities.
Experience using desktop and web-based applications such as Microsoft Suite, project management software, virtual meeting and cloud storage platforms, etc.
Must be SCUBA certified with scientific diving experience.
Must have valid driver’s license.
Compliance with TNC’s Auto Safety Program.
Ability to meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy's background screening process.
Must be currently eligible to work in the United States.
Must have a valid driver’s license and maintaining a good driving record.

Nice To Haves

Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
Advanced degree in marine science.
3-5 years’ experience in project management related to the natural sciences, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience leading interactive public presentations and preparing various types of reports for public and/or privately funded projects.
Familiarity with softwares used for coral reef monitoring (e.g., Metashape, Taglab, CPCe, ArcGIS) and inventory management (Tracks, etc.).
AAUS Scientific Diver or reciprocity

Responsibilities

Leads coordination between field and aquaculture teams.
Maintains inventory database for field nurseries and land-based lab, and tracks progress towards multiple project deliverables, as identified by project managers.
Oversees field and boating operations.
Tracks progress and makes regular status reports to supervisors.
May lead a project or portions of a project, depending on timing of new funding opportunities.
Leads or assists in preparing outplants for transportation from the lab to the field.
Creates innovative ways to safely transport corals from the lab to the field.
Performs tasks with minimal supervision and makes independent decisions based on analysis, experience and context.
Supervises professional staff, with responsibility for performance management, training and development.
Supports team in applying for and tracking permits from various agencies.
Performs field work on SCUBA or snorkel as part of the TNC dive team in support of all coral-related projects.
Serves as a member of the aquaculture team, supporting maintenance and fragmentation tasks, and helps coordinate support from field team as necessary.
Sets and leads any team meetings between field team and aquaculture team for project planning.
Conducts data analysis and leads the preparation of technical reports.
Manages inventory-related data in collaboration with data manager(s) and shares data with partners and global/regional databases as appropriate.
Shares project results with a variety of audiences via presentations, manuscripts, or other formats.
May assist outreach team as needed.
May participate in complex negotiations including difficult conversations and conflict resolution.
Ensures program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.
Follows team norms established and updated as a team.
May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.