Stratford WildLife Guard Crew Leader

National Audubon Society•Stratford, CT

2d•$19

About The Position

In partnership with the Town of Stratford, the WildLife Guard Crew Leader will be responsible for the direct supervision, training, and execution of an Audubon Connecticut youth employment program. This position focuses on management efforts taking place at the Great Meadows Marsh and on Long Beach, both in Stratford, CT. Great Meadows is a unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and approximately 700-acres in size, making this Globally Important Bird Area one of the largest mostly un-ditched salt marsh in CT. Since fall 2021, there has been a massive restoration effort underway, which aims to control invasive plant species, improve tidal flow, and create habitat that is beneficial to a host of plants and animals. Long Beach is a priority mainland nesting area in the state for federally threatened Piping Plover, state threatened Least Tern, and state threatened American Oystercatcher. This local park is also popular with both anglers and residents. Crew Leaders (2) will supervise a team of eight local high school students, participating in the Wildlife Guards Program. The program trains, mentors, and employs local youth to monitor nesting shorebirds, restore habitat, and engage visitors, families, and friends about the project areas and their wildlife. This is a seasonal, part-time position working Tuesday through Saturday (20-30 hrs/week) starting May 12th and ending August 22nd. Note: Audubon staff will provide two weeks of paid training to Crew Leaders at the beginning of the WildLife Guards Program. The position is based in Stratford, CT. Compensation: $19.00 / hour

Requirements

Experience guiding and mentoring students while fostering positive learning environments.
Experience supervising high school aged students required (comparable/equivalent experience may be considered).
Experience and ability to communicate clearly via written, spoken and graphical means along with responding to communications in a prompt and timely manner.
Crew Leaders should be comfortable interacting with students, their families, the public, and project partners in a professional manner.
Good planning skills desired.
In the event of poor weather, Crew Leaders will need to coordinate with the Program Manager and have their teams work at a pre-determined “classroom setting” location when fieldwork is not possible.
Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point) and Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms) software required.
Interest in conservation and commitment to the mission of the National Audubon Society.

Nice To Haves

Coursework in the active pursuit of a degree in biology, wildlife management, or related field preferred.
Experience leading environmental education and public outreach programs highly desirable
Knowledge of waterbirds & native/invasive plant species found in CT is desirable.
Knowledge of coastal ecosystems is highly desirable.
Fluency in Spanish a plus.
Willingness to traverse in a variety of coastal terrain and able to maneuver with at least 30 lbs with or without accommodation.
Upon hire, Crew Leaders are required to successfully complete an Audubon provided Basic First Aid/CPR certification course.

Responsibilities

Mentoring, motivating, and inspiring the students to work as part of the employment program in a professional manner.
Facilitating team building and helping students work through challenging situations.
Developing and implementing public outreach programs (e.g., nature walks, seine netting, touch tank, scavenger hunt, arts and crafts, tabling).
Every week (or as is required) creating a schedule of activities (e.g., outreach programs, bird monitoring, and habitat restoration work) to be performed daily by students as well as educational enrichment. This shall also include testing for student program participants at the beginning and end of the field season.
Tracking program metrics (e.g., number of people engaged, materials distributed, pledges to protect birds signed and hours spent monitoring site.)
Provide content for applicable Audubon CT social media.
Collecting and entering data into online databases (e.g., Microsoft Excel & Google Sheets).
Writing weekly reports detailing management activities at each site.
Coordinating monitoring efforts with other Audubon CT staff and partners.
Organizing and leading volunteer events as needed.
Should be comfortable speaking and facilitating group discussion.
Additional duties may be assigned to support other aspects of the youth employment program.