Freshwater Restoration Specialist

What We Can Achieve Together

The Freshwater Restoration Specialist works to restore ecological function to freshwater systems to benefit biodiversity and climate resilience. They will develop, manage and advance freshwater conservation projects, public and partner outreach efforts, and research and monitoring activities. It is preferred that this position be located in east central Iowa from a home office, shared office, or hybrid.

The Freshwater Restoration Specialist addresses critical threats to freshwater systems and species through on-the-ground restoration activities. They will coordinate on-the-ground freshwater conservation and restoration activities in priority geographies to improve the management of streams, floodplains, and wetlands. They identify, prioritize, design, and oversee in-stream and floodplain restoration projects to improve aquatic biodiversity, fish passage, floodplain connectivity, and natural hydrology. Potential actions could include wetland restorations, perched culvert repairs, low-head dam removal, restoring in-stream habitat, and floodplain reconnection.

They collaborate and coordinate with federal, state, and private partners on conservation planning and activities. Close collaboration with partners allows TNC to achieve greater conservation outcomes and is a critical part of this position. Community outreach and engagement are also important for cultivating landowner, farmer, and community support for restoration projects, and building awareness of The Nature Conservancy. Engagement activities can include presenting at conferences and meetings, hosting field days and public events, publishing articles and providing social media content.

The position is responsible for securing funding for freshwater conservation projects through public and private grants, donor solicitation with the development team, and corporate engagement. They develop project budgets, maintain records, and create reports for funders.

They assist with identifying gaps in research around freshwater biodiversity threats and impacts, help design and fund research and monitoring projects, and assist with research activities as needed. This may include fish and mussel surveys, water quality sampling, and vegetation assessments.

They manage conservation data, participate in conservation planning, and develop project packages. This includes collecting, assembling, and analyzing various types of data, to prioritize and plan future restoration efforts. This position produces maps using GIS software and assists in the production of reports and restoration plans. Work will be done both in the field and in an office setting.

• May supervise volunteers, interns, technical, administrative and/or professional staff with responsibility for performance management, training and development.
• Coordinates multiple tasks or projects in a timely manner and with attention to detail.
• Works with Freshwater Team to prepare and monitor freshwater program budget.
• Ensures program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.
• May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.
• Performs tasks with minimal supervision and makes independent decisions based on analysis, experience, and context.
• Works well independently and as a team.
• Some travel across Iowa will be required to priority geographies.

• Bachelor’s degree and 3 years experience in natural resource management or similar field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience coordinating multiple projects.
• Experience managing staff or volunteers.
• Relationship-building experience to work closely with a variety of partners, i.e., media, government officials, and internal scientists.
• Experience completing tasks independently concerning timeline(s).
• Experience with communication via written, spoken and graphical means in English.
• Experience using common software applications such as Word, Excel, web browsers, etc.
• Experience in training.

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience…