Career Opportunities
Position Title
- Position Title: EBM Tools Training Coordinator
- Supervisor: EBM Tools Program Coordinator (NatureServe) and designated NOAA Coastal Services Center Staff
- Location: Oakland, California (at the NOAA Coastal Services Center West Coast Regional Office co-located with the California Ocean Science Trust)
About Us
The EBM Tools Training Coordinator will be an employee of NatureServe. NatureServe is a nonprofit conservation science and technology organization that provides the scientific basis for effective conservation action. With nearly 100 staff and an international network of over 80 natural heritage programs across the United States, Canada, and Latin America, NatureServe is the leading source of information on rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems. It provides information and tools to conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public to help them make informed decisions about managing our natural resources. Since 2006, NatureServe has coordinated the Coastal-Marine Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) Tools Network, a voluntary alliance of tool developers and users to promote the awareness, development, and effective use of tools and methods for EBM.
The Training Coordinator will be based at the NOAA Coastal Services Center West Coast Regional Office in Oakland, California (co-located with the offices of the California Ocean Science Trust). NOAA Coastal Services Center (the Center) is a federal entity that works directly with private and public sector partners to bring information, services, and technology to local, state, and federal coastal resource managers and non-profit organizations. The Center has been an active member of the EBM Tools Network since it began in 2006.
The Training Coordinator will be co-managed by staff from the NatureServe EBM Tools Network Coordination Team and NOAA Coastal Services Center. The position term is two years.
For more information about NatureServe, NOAA Coastal Services Center, and the EBM Tools Network, visit www.natureserve.org, www.csc.noaa.gov, and www.ebmtools.org.
Summary of Position:
The Training Coordinator will coordinate the development and delivery of training by global tools experts to U.S. West Coast management communities. The Training Coordinator will first seek partnerships with key U.S. West Coast organizations to understand the management needs of the audiences they serve, their capacities for using tools, and optimal training delivery methods for these audiences. He/she will then work with the regional organizations and the EBM Tools Network to identify tools that can meet those management needs/capacity constraints and tools experts that can provide technical tools training. The Training Coordinator will then develop or lead the development of appropriate training content (including tool use case studies and data needs); liaise with partner organizations to ensure the training content and delivery methods meet the learning objectives of the target audiences; and provide some portion of the logistical support necessary for the training to occur. When possible, tools training will be incorporated into existing or planned coastal and ocean resource management trainings to present tools in the context of how they would be used and “mainstream” tool use by making it a standard part of management trainings. Focal areas for training include: 1) Understanding and accounting for land-sea interactions and attendant effects on coastal water quality and 2) Marine spatial planning including ecologically and socially-optimal siting of alternative energy facilities, aquaculture facilities, networks of marine protected areas, and other ocean uses. The expected results of this work will be increased incorporation of ecosystem processes into U.S. West Coast coastal management and, ultimately, healthier coastal and marine ecosystems in the region.
In addition to work with U.S. West Coast practitioners, the Training Coordinator will devote approximately 25% of their time to supporting training opportunities throughout the U.S. and internationally. This will include adapting and disseminating training materials developed for U.S. West Coast audiences to national and global audiences through webinars and other e-learning products, hosting multi-day tools training events in conjunction with EBM Tools Network meetings, and seeking opportunities to integrate tools components into existing coastal-marine management and conservation trainings. He/she will also provide tool developers with feedback on EBM tools from field EBM practitioners.
Essential Job Functions
- Liaise with potential training partners to understand the tool needs and capabilities of the audiences they serve and determine appropriate tools and training delivery methods for those audiences
- Develop and/or lead the development of audience-appropriate tools training including information on how tools can be applied in the field
- Coordinate the delivery of or incorporate tools materials into multiple training events for U.S. West Coast coastal and marine resource managers, decision makers, and stakeholders
- Evaluate the success of trainings and training materials and improve their utility
- Provide training materials developed for U.S. West Coast training events to relevant national and international audiences via webinars and other e-learning products
- Host multi-day tools training events for relevant national and international audiences in conjunction with EBM Tools Network meetings
- Support incorporation of relevant tools training materials into coastal-marine management and conservation trainings for relevant national and international audiences
- Transfer information about tool user needs and capacity to tool developers
- Seek funding for additional program activities and negotiate training prices and registration fees on a training-by-training basis depending on the cost of conducting the training and the ability of the training recipients to pay
- Manage budget, accounting, and reporting for project
- Provide regular reports and conduct periodic evaluation and strategy meetings with the supervisory organizations and partners
Required Experience & Qualifications:
- MS or PhD in coastal-marine science or policy, community or land use planning, conservation planning, or related field and a minimum three years directly related experience
- Demonstrated knowledge of wide range of coastal management issues
- Demonstrated experience with the use and application of geographic information systems or other geospatial analysis tools for environmental issues
- Demonstrated ability to design, deliver and evaluate adult learning activities for the coastal and marine management community
- Ability to work with professionals from a wide range of disciplines, sectors, and geographies
- Excellent oral and written communication and meeting/working group facilitation skills
- Excellent organizational, time management, and research skills
- Willingness to travel frequently (1-2 trips per months, primarily on the U.S. West Coast and to Charleston, South Carolina)
- Ability to comply with all NOAA security and IT rules and regulations
Preferred Skills:
- Knowledge of instructional design and training methodologies for adult learners
- Experience with web-based or other distance learning techniques
- Experience working with U.S. West Coast coastal and marine management communities
- Experience in integrated land-sea planning or some aspect of marine spatial planning
How to Apply:
E-mail resume and cover letter to jobs@natureserve.org. You must refer to Job #EBM981 in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the position is open until filled; application submission by mid-September is encouraged.