Geospatial Conservation Analyst

Description

Department: Plant Science & Conservation

Supervisor: Curator of Living Collections

Supervises: GIS/Mapping Volunteers; assigned interns/volunteers

FLSA Salary Classification: Full-Time, Exempt

Revision Date: October 2026

Availability: Primary schedule of standard business hours with occasional evening and weekend availability required to support departmental and organizational needs. Some travel and field work required.

Develop, maintain, and analyze spatial data to support Huntsville Botanical Garden's living collections, conservation, research, natural-area management, infrastructure, and organizational decision-making. Serve as the Garden's organizational GIS administrator and a technical and analytical resource within the Plant Science & Conservation Department, working both indoors and in the field. Manage spatial data and GIS systems; integrate spatial, biological, collections, and infrastructure data;

conduct geospatial analyses; and translate complex information into maps, applications, metrics, and decision-support products. Collaborate with staff, volunteers, universities, conservation organizations, agencies, and other partners while independently developing and improving GIS workflows, analyses, and applications.

• Maintain and develop the Garden’s authoritative GIS/geospatial data environment (ArcGIS), including base maps, utilities, infrastructure, living collections spatial layers, natural-area data, and other organizational spatial datasets.
• Collaborate with the Plant Recorder and other staff to collect, integrate, validate, and analyze spatial and attribute data associated with living collections, conservation projects, infrastructure, field research, and other organizational needs.
• Conduct spatial analyses to support conservation, research, and planning, including habitat suitability, species distribution, gap analysis, spatial prioritization, change detection, and related analyses appropriate to project needs.
• Develop maps, analyses, dashboards, web applications, visualizations, geospatial metrics, and other decision-support products for conservation, collections planning, natural-area management, Garden development, grants, research, publications, stakeholder communication, and organizational decision-making.
• Troubleshoot GIS technology and perform QA/QC to ensure the accuracy, consistency, security, and integrity of spatial data and analytical products; develop and maintain GIS workflows, data standards, metadata, and SOPs.
• Coordinate field data collection and mapping initiatives involving staff, interns, and volunteers, providing training and technical guidance on approved GIS, GPS, mobile data-collection, and mapping workflows.
• Serve as a collaborative geospatial resource across the Garden, helping staff frame and answer spatial questions, identify appropriate analytical approaches, and translate technical information and findings for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Provide geospatial expertise and project support for grant-funded initiatives, conservation partnerships, research collaborations, safeguarding and restoration efforts, and other departmental or organizational priorities; maintain appropriate project documentation and perform other duties as assigned.

Bachelor’s degree in GIS, Geography, Geospatial Science, Environmental Science, Natural Resources, Ecology, Conservation Biology, Data Science, or a related field and 1.5+ years of professional GIS/geospatial experience or an equivalent combination thereof required. Proficiency in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, including spatial analysis, geospatial data and geodatabase management, field data…