Science Program Manager

The Science Program Manager provides scientific leadership and technical expertise to support implementation and adaptive management of the Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Plan. The position is responsible for ensuring that UCSRB programs, planning efforts, and decision-making are informed by the best available science and that scientific information is translated into practical, useful tools for salmon recovery partners.

The Science Program Manager works closely with UCSRB staff, the Regional Technical Team (RTT), Watershed Action Teams (WATs), project sponsors, tribes, state and federal agencies, consultants, and other regional partners. The position requires strong scientific judgment, analytical and organizational skills, and the ability to independently lead complex technical initiatives from concept through completion.

• Serve as the primary technical and scientific resource for UCSRB staff and regional partners.
• Independently plan and manage science-related initiatives from initial scoping through final delivery.
• Identify emerging scientific issues, information gaps, and research or monitoring methods relevant to implementation of the Recovery Plan.
• Translate complex scientific information into clear findings, recommendations, maps, summaries, presentations, and decision-support tools.

• Maintain, update, and improve the Upper Columbia habitat and barrier prioritization frameworks, including Assessment Unit and reach-scale prioritization for spring Chinook and steelhead.
• Incorporate new data and periodically evaluate prioritization assumptions, metrics, weighting, scoring methods, and data sources, recommending improvements as needed.
• Translate regional prioritization information into practical products that help project sponsors identify priority locations and restoration opportunities.

• Manage core spatial datasets used for recovery planning, including Assessment Units, reaches, restoration priorities, limiting factors, fish distribution and intrinsic potential, project locations, and other relevant datasets.
• Maintain UCSRB's web maps, website, and GIS datasets to ensure current spatial data and information is accurate, accessible, and useful to staff and regional partners.

• Develop and maintain reach-scale planning products that support proactive identification and development of restoration opportunities.
• Develop and update Relative Elevation Models (REMs) and related floodplain and geomorphic planning products for priority restoration reaches.
• Develop analyses of floodplain connectivity, channel migration, side-channel and off-channel habitat, riparian conditions, geomorphic processes, and other reach-scale characteristics relevant to restoration planning.

• Develop a framework to track habitat status and trends and progress toward implementation of the Recovery Plan. Communicate results through summaries, figures, maps, or other tools.

• Maintain a structured process for documenting scientific findings, uncertainties, management questions, and resulting adaptive management actions.
• Synthesize restoration effectiveness monitoring, research, and other scientific information to inform Recovery Plan implementation and identify needed changes to restoration priorities, strategies, or technical guidance.

• Establish procedures and schedules for routinely reviewing and updating key datasets and analytical products.
• Verify analytical outputs and conduct quality-control reviews before maps, datasets, analyses, or technical products are distributed or used for decision‑making.

• Organize and lead technical workshops, conferences, science forums, and other events that promote information sharing, collaboration, and application of science to salmon recovery.
• Coordinate the Regional Technical Team (RTT) and associated subcommittee meetings including facilitating technical discussions, tracking priorities and action items, and coordination follow-up activities.
• Prepare the annual recovery progress report for NOAA and provide scientific, technical, and data support for annual BPA reporting.

• Develop scopes of work,…