Riparian Grant Program Specialist; Program Specialist

Schedule

The typical workweek is a standard 40‑hour week, typically 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The role may require occasional adjustments, travel, and overnight stays for commission meetings, workshops, or site visits. The position is hybrid/remote with the expectation of coming into the office as needed and may be performed from anywhere within Washington State.

The Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC) is a non‑regulatory state agency that supports and coordinates Washington’s 45 conservation districts. We administer voluntary conservation programs and provide incentive‑based services to help people protect natural resources and working lands.

With funding from the Washington State Legislature, SCC administers the Riparian Grant Program (RGP) to restore and protect priority riparian areas across the state. In this role, you will build positive working relationships with diverse stakeholders, including conservation districts and external partners; provide internal program administration and implementation assistance; and coordinate outreach to conservation districts and interested parties. You will also support updates to program guidelines, reporting requirements, and delivery systems to achieve program goals.

• Monitor and process RGP grant applications.
• Verify application and project data in SCC’s grant portal for completeness and initial alignment with guidelines and SCC policies.
• Check applications in SCC’s Conservation Practice Data System (CPDS) for completeness and initial alignment with guidelines and SCC policies.
• Route applications for review by other SCC staff and track awards issued by the finance team.
• Monitor and support implementation of RGP grant awards.
• Provide technical resources and support to awardees and resolve their questions and issues.
• Monitor spending and progress of RGP awards, conduct quarterly progress check‑ins with CDs, review monthly spending reports, identify issues or anomalies, and elevate concerns as appropriate.
• Use knowledge of riparian restoration to support program administration improvements (e.g., application, reporting tools, data collection).
• Develop schedule, protocol, and template for five‑year technical project site/field reviews and coordinate site visits with CDs.
• Integrate observations from site reviews into program administrative improvements.
• Provide technical advice to RGP participants on program practices, rules, policies, and procedures, ensuring compliance with policy and guidelines.
• Identify, develop, or distribute resources to aid CDs in implementing RGP awards and riparian restoration, in collaboration with Science Hub.
• Track RGP‑related activities and data; assist in developing report templates and the SCC data platform.
• Assist in program reporting for RGP portion of agency‑wide biennial and annual reports.

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Two years of experience in natural resources or agricultural grant management, program administration, or a related field.
• Computer skills with Microsoft applications.
• Strong customer relations, negotiation, problem‑solving, and customer service skills.
• Valid driver’s license with no serious traffic violations.
• Ability to travel, including overnight stays.
• Ability to handle multiple projects with competing deadlines in a dynamic work environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and the ability to research, organize, and present complex subjects clearly.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills necessary to establish and maintain effective working relationships with agency staff, partner organizations, and conservation district supervisors and staff.
• Ability to understand and follow agency safety policies and other standards for a safe work environment.
• Proven ability to work comfortably with people of widely differing temperaments, perspectives, cultures, work styles, and preferences.

• Experience working with conservation districts.
• Experience interacting collaboratively with local, state, or federal agencies (especially USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) and other specialty or user…