NC Wetland Restoration Practitioner

The Nature Conservancy • Wilmington, NC

9d • $57,000 - $63,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The NC Wetland Restoration Practitioner will help conceptualize, plan, and manage implementation of our wetland and aquatic restoration projects in the lower piedmont, sandhills, and coastal plain of southeastern North Carolina. This includes the restoration and monitoring of peatlands, Carolina bays, floodplains, and instream habitats. TNC’s wetland restoration goals are to increase the resilience and connectivity of floodplains and wetlands, conserve and increase the quality of habitat critical to biodiversity, combine co-benefits of carbon storage, and to increase resilience of downstream human communities to climate change impacts, including reduced flooding, improved water quality, and reduced wildfire risk. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with federal, state, non-profit, and tribal partners. The NC Wetland Restoration Practitioner will report to the NC Applied Watershed Scientist and the Coastal Wetlands Restoration Manager, with strong mentorship from the Southeast Coastal Plain Program Director. They will be responsible for working with partners to evaluate and prioritize potential projects in selected NC watersheds and implementing restoration projects from conceptual design through completion. The NC Wetland Restoration Practitioner should be able to review restoration designs, oversee construction work, ensure permitting requirements are met, and have a strong knowledge of wetland/aquatic restoration approaches, hydrology concepts, basic hydrologic monitoring techniques, and aquatic ecology. The NC Wetland Restoration Practitioner will coordinate with partners and the local community to increase support for wetland/aquatic restoration and identify a pipeline of future projects. They will assist staff in grant proposal writing, administration, and reporting. They may work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and 3 years’ experience in natural resource management or similar field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Relationship building experience to work closely with a variety of partners, i.e., media, government officials, internal scientists.
• Experience completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s).
• Experience with communication via written, spoken and graphical means in English and other relevant languages.
• Experience using common software applications such as Word, Excel, web browsers, etc.
• Must have valid driver's license.

Nice To Haves

• Educational and professional experiences resulting in specialized knowledge of the ecology of freshwater and wetland ecosystems found within the southeastern Coastal Plain, especially within North Carolina.
• Knowledge of current trends and practices in conservation, land management, and natural resource preservation.
• Demonstrated leadership in conducting field work and implementing restoration projects.
• Experience contributing to watershed plans and project prioritization.
• Knowledge of federal and North Carolina state laws and regulations as they pertain to instream and wetland restoration work.
• Knowledge of techniques used to monitor restoration efficacy and ability to reliably collect and manage data.
• Experience reviewing engineering design plans for freshwater and wetland restoration projects.
• Experience with ArcGIS software for mapping and basic spatial analysis.
• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
• This position requires a valid driver's license and compliance with TNC’s Auto Safety Program. Employees may not drive Conservancy-owned/leased vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on behalf of the Conservancy if considered "high risk drivers."

Responsibilities

• Work with partners to evaluate and prioritize potential projects in selected NC watersheds
• Implement restoration projects from conceptual design through completion
• Review restoration designs
• Oversee construction work
• Ensure permitting requirements are met
• Coordinate with partners and the local community to increase support for wetland/aquatic restoration and identify a pipeline of future projects
• Assist staff in grant proposal writing, administration, and reporting

Benefits

• TNC offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with an 8% employer match, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, other life and work well-being benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level