Position Description:

Vice-President for Watershed Protection

Background
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay, Inc. is a private, non profit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its 432 square mile watershed. The organization works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research and advocacy. Specific programs include: bay-wide water quality and natural resource monitoring; direct acquisition and protection of important watershed open space; education programs; and a Baykeeper advocacy program to support the cleanup and protection of Buzzards Bay. The Coalition is managed by an 18 member volunteer Board of Directors and maintains a staff of fifteen at offices in New Bedford and Woods Hole, MA.

In 2007, The Coalition for Buzzards Bay was selected from more than 1,700 land trusts across the country as the recipient of the first-ever National Land Trust Excellence Award from the Land Trust Alliance for its work in preserving lands vital to the protection of Buzzards Bay, its rivers and drinking water supplies. Southeastern Massachusetts is one of the fastest growing regions in New England. Presently, 55% of the Buzzards Bay watershed is undeveloped and unprotected and threatened by sprawl. Our goals are to increase the rate of land protection and the amount of protected land in the Bay watershed, to pursue a Bay-focused land protection strategy, to empower local land trusts and to educate private landowners about land conservation. Since launching its land program in 1998, the Coalition has successfully accelerated land protection in the watershed in the face of strong development pressure and has permanently preserved more than 3,500 acres of land.

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay has more recently begun to pursue natural resource restoration projects on its own properties and seeks to expand upon this work with private landowners, municipalities, and partner conservation organizations. Goals of this new program area are to restore degraded freshwater and coastal wetlands, streambanks and anadromous fish passage in watershed rivers.

Position Description
The Vice President for Watershed Protection is responsible for implementation of all aspects of The Coalition for Buzzards Bay’s land conservation, land stewardship and natural resource restoration programs. The full-time position reports directly to the President and is responsible for the management of a current staff of three conservation professionals. Tasks include, but are not limited to:

Land Conservation

• Identify, prioritize, negotiate and manage direct acquisition of lands, conservation restrictions (i.e. conservation easements) and limited development projects within the bay watershed, often in cooperation with local partner land trusts, municipalities and state conservation agencies;

• Provide technical and planning assistance to ten Buzzards Bay watershed land trusts, 15 municipalities, and private landowners regarding the acquisition of land or conservation restrictions for permanent protection;

• Coordinate and encourage land protection activities of state and federal agencies as well as regional or national land trusts in the Buzzards Bay watershed;

• Prepare funding proposals to support property acquisitions, project reports, budgets, documentation, press releases, and presentations;

Land Stewardship

• Create baseline documentation and manage property monitoring, records maintenance, public access, neighbor and landowner relations and ongoing land stewardship for all properties and conservation restrictions under Coalition ownership and care;

• Provide support to local land trusts within the bay watershed regarding land stewardship activities.

Natural Resource Restoration

• Identify, prioritize, negotiate and manage the restoration of degraded wetlands, streambanks and fish runs within the bay watershed;

• Coordinate design, permitting and construction of restoration projects and manage consultant relationships with environmental engineers, watershed ecologists, landscape architects and construction companies;

• Coordinate and encourage restoration activities of state and federal agencies as well as regional or national fish and wildlife conservation organizations in the Buzzards Bay watershed;

• Prepare funding proposals to support restoration activities, project reports, budgets, documentation, press releases, and presentations; 
  
  

Professional Qualifications

• Masters Degree or Juris Doctor and minimum seven years experience in land conservation, land use planning, natural resource management or real estate development. Minimum three years experience managing staff.

• Understanding of land conservation methods and watershed ecology and prior management of land protection and restoration projects required.

• Strong computer skills including email/internet and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access) required. Proficiency with ArcView GIS mapping software preferred.

• Knowledge of Buzzards Bay, the southeastern Massachusetts landscape, real estate and land ownership patterns preferred.
  

Salary/Benefits
Highly competitive nonprofit salary plus benefits including employer contributions towards Health Insurance and 401(k) Retirement plan and access to supplemental benefits.

To Apply
Interested applicants should respond with a cover letter including salary requirements and resume to:

Mark Rasmussen, President
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay
620 Belleville Avenue
New Bedford, MA 02745

For more information see www.savebuzzardsbay.org. No calls please.

Position was posted on June 12, 2008 and will remain open until filled.

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is an Equal Opportunity Employer