Water Rights Development Section Manager; Natural Resource Protection & Sustainability Manager

Position Title:

Water Rights Development Section Manager (Natural Resource Protection & Sustainability Manager
1)

The Water Right Services Division is excited to recruit for a Water Rights Development Section Manager. This position will manage a team processing water right transactions that evaluate how much water was developed within a specific timeframe under a water right permit and how much remains to be developed. The position will also provide the day-to-day supervisory oversight for positions that enhance operational efficiency and program development for the entire division.

If you are an interdisciplinary leader who has experience providing oversight to staff who administer regulatory programs that intersect with natural resource policy and law guided transactions, we encourage you to apply!

Water Rights Development Section Manager

Natural Resource Protection and Sustainability Manager 1

Full Time;
Permanent

Exempt, ineligible for overtime or compensatory time.

The monthly salary range before PERS
* will be $6,834.00 - $10,569.00 and after PERS
* will be $7,306.00 - $11,304.00
.

North Mall Office Building, 725 Summer St. NE Suite A, Salem Oregon 97301.

This position may be eligible for relocation assistance for the successful candidate. The final amount offered will vary based on the location of the candidate.

Hybrid (in the office and remote work) is generally a standard offering for this position, though subject to supervisor approval. Due to the nature of stakeholder engagement for this position, full time remote work is not possible as the position must be available to attend meetings in Salem, Oregon and around the state. This position is expected to work from the office once or twice a week, or more frequently as needed to meet with staff and fulfill other business needs.

The in-office expectation includes serving as Manager on Duty an average of twice a month, working regular business hours at the North Mall Office Building.

The Oregon Water Resources Department is committed to creating a workplace culture that understands and appreciates differences among people and is welcoming and inclusive to all. By fostering fairness and equity in its work culture, the Department strives to improve services for all Oregonians. We acknowledge that not all people have experienced equitable opportunities or fair treatment. We are committed to increasing our awareness and understanding of historic injustices and building a foundation for meaningful change.

We value a wide range of professional and lived experiences, and people of underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The position manages the newly formed Water Rights Development Section within the Water Right Services Division. The role includes overseeing staff working in the Extensions, Certificates, WMCP, and Adjudications programs that collect and process water right transactions. This position supervises staff in these programs and is directly responsible for those water right transactions.

Additionally, the position provides day‑to‑day supervisory administrative functions for the Protest program and the Water Rights Advisor position. The Protest program resolves disputes resulting from agency decisions before they reach court. The Water Rights Advisor supports the Protest program, either directly or by improving the defensibility of documents before they reach the protest period. The Water Rights Advisor also provides Division‑wide support by helping each section with the evaluation of complex proposals brought forth either internally or externally and by participating in rule making, bill review, and the fee workgroup.

To manage transactions in accordance with Oregon’s water law, the position must successfully synthesize disparate information from different fields of expertise (e.g., scientific, geographic, geological, hydrologic, legal). The position supervises staff who interact with customers of the Department, and the…