Utah Watershed Restoration & Partnerships Manager
About The Position
The Utah Watershed Restoration & Partnerships Manager advances watershed restoration, partnerships, and resilience projects across Utah, initially emphasizing the Jordan River watershed and its forested source watersheds. The position develops a pipeline of restoration projects from planning through implementation by coordinating partners, advancing policy priorities, supporting funding acquisition, and helping deliver restoration outcomes at scale. Working with the Utah Watershed Resilience Manager, Research & Project Development Manager, Cities4Forests senior leadership, and local partners, the Manager builds relationships with municipalities, water providers, conservation districts, state and federal agencies, community organizations, and other stakeholders. The role identifies restoration opportunities, addresses implementation barriers, navigates policy and permitting processes, secures project funding, and supports successful project delivery. The position is remote and must be based in Utah's Greater Salt Lake region.
Requirements
- Master's degree in natural resources, environmental policy, water resources, forestry, planning, public administration, or a related field; relevant work experience may substitute for a degree.
- At least 7 years of relevant professional experience.
- Demonstrated experience implementing natural resource, watershed, water, forestry, wildfire, or environmental restoration projects.
- Experience working with local governments, utilities, conservation organizations, state agencies, federal agencies, or watershed partnerships.
- Experience navigating public processes, permitting, grants, policy development, or interagency coordination.
- Established professional network within Utah, particularly along the Wasatch Front and Greater Salt Lake region.
- Experience working in or with the Jordan River watershed, Great Salt Lake Basin, or adjacent source watersheds.
- Familiarity with Utah water policy, watershed planning, forest management, wildfire mitigation, or environmental permitting processes.
- Existing relationships with Utah municipalities, utilities, conservation districts, state agencies, federal agencies, or watershed organizations.
- Experience with watershed restoration, forest management, wildfire resilience, and water resource issues in Utah.
- Strong project management and organizational skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Willingness to travel frequently throughout Utah.
Nice To Haves
- Experience administering federal, state, or local grants.
- Experience coordinating multi-partner restoration initiatives.
- Experience working with elected officials, local government leadership, or executive-level stakeholders.
- Spanish language skills.
Responsibilities
- Lead planning, implementation, and scaling of watershed restoration and resilience projects across priority watersheds, initially focusing on the Jordan River watershed and Greater Salt Lake Basin.
- Partner with utilities, local governments, agencies, NGOs, and land managers to identify, prioritize, and advance projects that improve watershed health, water security, and wildfire resilience.
- Help utilities consider financing approaches for integrated grey and green infrastructure strategies.
- Support project development, permitting, funding, stakeholder coordination, and delivery across public and private lands.
- Support near- and long-term restoration strategies informed by watershed science, wildfire risk, partner priorities, and implementation readiness.
- Track project performance, budgets, and outcomes, and support monitoring and evaluation.
- Build relationships with utilities, local governments, conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, community groups, and other partners.
- Lead watershed collaboratives, technical committees, and partner working groups to align priorities and accelerate restoration outcomes.
- Monitor and participate in water, forestry, wildfire, and watershed policy discussions relevant to WRI's work and restoration goals.
- Identify ways to align restoration priorities with local, state, and federal programs and funding sources.
- Develop recommendations and strategies to remove implementation barriers and increase investment in watershed resilience.
- Draft grant proposals and funding applications to support work in Utah.
- Develop and steward opportunities and relationships with current and prospective donors.
- Represent WRI and the Utah Resilience Fund at conferences, workshops, utility meetings, and stakeholder events.
- Develop presentations, reports, case studies, and communications materials highlighting project impacts and lessons learned.
- Support peer learning among Utah partners and national watershed programs.
- Support efforts to position Utah as a national leader in watershed resilience and conservation finance.
- Contribute to publications, blogs, webinars, and other outreach activities that share best practices and elevate project visibility.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
