Project Director; Water Resources

Full-Time Project Director (Water Resources)

Experience:

8-12 years; or an equivalent combination of education and experience

Start Date:

September 2, 2025, or as soon as possible

Job Type: Full Time, Exempt with benefits

To Apply:

Please send your cover letter and resume to JOBS and include “Project Director (Water Resources)” in the subject line.

ABOUT US

Sustainable Conservation unites people to solve the toughest challenges facing California’s land, air, and water—and to collaboratively steward the resources all Californians depend on in ways that are equitable, practical, and enduring. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has driven shared solutions to meet the water needs of California’s environment, people, and economy – with particular focus on advancing sustainable groundwater management and accelerating the stewardship of ecosystems, working lands, and waterways.

Over the past few years, Sustainable Conservation has connected its programs around conserving California’s water resources through groundwater recharge, aquatic habitat restoration, water quality management, and soil health. This holistic approach to conserving the state’s most consequential resource has allowed Sustainable Conservation to listen, collaborate, and test solutions on the ground so they can scale effectively, equitably, and sustainably.

Since 1993, Sustainable Conservation has found success in building uncommon coalitions across sectors, interests, and geographies to develop scalable, science-based strategies that establish truly lasting solutions. The programmatic focus on removing barriers to adoption and driving systemic change ensures long-term positive impacts. By working at the watershed scale, this approach enables solutions to take root and grow across California’s most vital and vulnerable landscapes.

Please visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). to learn more about our work.

POSITION SUMMARY

Sustainable Conservation’s priorities include improving water supply reliability for farming, farm-adjacent communities, and ecosystems in California’s Central Valley. One of our areas of focus involves promoting and scaling multi-benefit stewardship of water, through groundwater recharge and demand management, to achieve groundwater sustainability, drinking water protection, and ecosystem benefits.

We are seeking a Project Director with experience in California water and/or agriculture to ensure that our Water for the Future Program strategies are compatible with real-world management decisions. The ideal candidate will understand water management at an irrigation district, water agency, flood control, and/or Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) scale. The ideal candidate will also have experience working with agricultural producers.

The Project Director will be an essential member of Sustainable Conservation’s multi-disciplinary Water Team and will provide perspectives about the priorities and constraints of water managers while taking into consideration agronomic, environmental, and community priorities. Main responsibilities of the Project Director include:

• building external partnerships to pilot and scale sustainable multi-benefit water management strategies;
• collaborating with team members in the development of decision support tools and guidance materials for water managers and agencies;
• managing at least two projects and related contracts;
• working on scoping and applying for funding for potential projects.

This position will report to the Senior Director for the Water for the Future Program and expand the Water Team’s ability to collaborate on and develop multi-benefit water management programs to advance viable solutions to California’s complex water challenges.

Location: This position can be based out of one of our offices, located in San Francisco, Sacramento, or Modesto. Our teams work in a hybrid work environment with the option to work remotely a few days a week. Periodic travel throughout the state will be required.

Primary Responsibilities

Subject Matter Expertise

• Contribute to strategic planning, particularly to pilot, develop, and scale multi-benefit water management projects and programs.
• Develop technical guidance…