The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, also known as the Estuario, is seeking qualified applications for an experienced full-time Project Officer responsible for overseeing the successful project management and operations of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) projects, including but not limited to water quality restoration, and blue/green infrastructure, and climate/coastal resilience.
The Estuario operates as a partnership of public and private entities committed to their collective responsibility to restore and conserve the waters and associated ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary and its watershed as a sustainable axis of social and economic development. As an EPA National Estuary Program, Estuario’s focuses on implementing the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the San Juan Bay Estuary.
The BIL funding will be used to restore the Juan Méndez Creek located in the municipality of San Juan through high-impact blue/green infrastructure interventions, achieving medium-term restoration of waters communities affected by this body of water, many of which are environmental justice communities.
The Juan Méndez Creek is distinguished by its mountainous formations and as a site for critical cases of illicit discharges, affecting a population of approximately 35,600 of which 49.05 % of families are below the poverty line (US Census, ACS 5-Yr, 2020). The situation is exacerbated during rain events, irrespective of the intensity, causing recurrent spills of discharges. These discharges not only impact the creek’s ecosystem and the health of the people who come into contact with them but also impact the chemical balance of San José Lagoon and its aquatic life, causing eutrophication in these bodies of water. Complete restoration of the watershed requires corrective action toward these discharges.
Facilitation with key stakeholders will also be critical for the design and implementation of the restoration plan for the Juan Méndez Creek, which will be achieved through the creation of an infrastructure committee made up of subject matter experts and key decision-makers during the first year. The plan will also be informed by data and information from Estuario’s Illicit Discharges, Detection, and Elimination (IDDE) project, the only long-term strategy on the island for detecting and correcting illicit discharges. This project provides the data necessary to identify critical areas of sanitary discharges that require attention and assess the current conditions of the creek. These funds will also support the Estuario’s Collaborative Water Quality Monitoring efforts which will be crucial for strengthening the water quality monitoring baseline, monitoring and tracking progress in the restoration of the waters, and thus measuring the effectiveness of infrastructure investments.
The Project Officer will work with the administrative and technical staff to ensure that all work related to BIL funding is completed per the approved work plan and ensure day-to-day operations related to the projects are completed in compliance with funding requirements. The position will work with all internal staff and contractors, and will handle stakeholders’ inquiries related to BIL projects and serve as a point of contact. They will be responsible for all reporting and documentation of the projects and manage the budget for the project.
This position will directly report to the Grants and Compliance Manager. They will closely with the Senior Program Manager and Operations Officer in the day-to-day implementation of their specific projects and activities. They will support the recruitment and contracting processes and facilitating internal communication in relation to BIL activities and will be responsible for resolving or escalating any issues or anomalies to ensure ongoing stewardship of resources in keeping with the policies and procedures that the Estuario establishes.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Responsible for day-to-day operations of projects funded by BIL.
- Ensure compliance with BIL-specific requirements.
- Ensure projects are aligned with BIL funding priorities, specifically focusing on environmental justice aspects.
- Develop annual work plans and budgets in collaboration with Grants and Compliance Manager and Senior Program Manager.
- Develop project contracts, including a detailed scope of work, specific tasks, project deliverables and budget.
- Oversee contractor performance by reviewing invoices, supporting documentation, evaluating products and deliverables, and determining compliance with terms of the contract to assure that contracts for projects are properly executed and being conducted in a timely fashion.
- Develop, implement, and review operational policies and procedures.
- Review Estuario financial assistance applications and ensure compliance from award phase to closing.
- Perform project feasibility and financial evaluations.
- Present project evaluation results to the SJBE Board.
- Monitor and document project progress, developing all reports.
- Review and approve project reimbursement requests.
- Maintain project management database on a regular basis.
- Participate in development of annual work plans and budgets.
- Review, edit and approve all reports submitted by contractors
- Assists with Estuario efforts to secure supplemental funding for programs and projects.
- Performs related work as assigned.
- Make important policy, planning, and strategy decisions.
- Support HR/staff with recruiting process.
- Help promote an organizational culture that encourages top performance and high morale.
- Oversee budgeting, reporting, planning, and auditing for BIL projects.
- Work with senior stakeholders.
- Identify and address problems and opportunities for the organization.
- Build alliances and partnerships with other organizations.
- Support worker communication with the management team.
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s Degree required in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Environmental/Marine/Biological Sciences, Engineering, or related fields
- Over 5 years of experience in environmental or urban planning, environmental conservation/management projects, or similar areas, preferably in non-profits
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Have in-depth knowledge of their specific area of job responsibility and technical understanding of the project.
- Have an awareness of the activities and positions of other agencies and groups related to their assigned responsibilities with the Estuario.
- Be effective at facilitating groups of scientists, educators, resource managers, and public representatives.
- Possess an ability to guide these groups to consensus-based decisions.
- Strong interpersonal skills and a high degree of awareness and knowledge related to the responsibilities and position assigned by the Program Director.
- Ability to communicate technical information to a broad range of stakeholders
- Willingness to seek collaborative solutions to complex environmental challenges
- Strong oral, written, and graphic communication skills.
- Ability to collect, compile, analyze, and evaluate a complex set of inputs and present the findings and conclusions clearly and effectively.
- Demonstrated ability to oversee and collaborate with other team members
- Availability for evening or weekend work to attend meetings and events as required.
- Computer literacy in Microsoft Office, cloud-based data access and share software such as Google Drive, and other software such as Adobe, etc required.
START DATE
Be available to start in a full-time staff position immediately.
COMPENSATION
Commensurate with experience.
LANGUAGE REQUIRED:
Fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates please submit a cover letter and resume/CV by email. The job announcement will remain open until position is filled. The email must be directed to Brenda Torres, Executive Director, and must specify in the subject the title of the position, «BIL Project Officer».
Source of funding: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding
ABOUT ESTUARIO
The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, or Estuario, is part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), created under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and managed nationally by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Its mission is to restore and conserve the water quality in the San Juan Bay Estuary ecosystem as a sustainable hub of social and economic development. Per Section 320 of the CWA, each of the 28 entities affiliated to the NEP must submit to EPA Administrator a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) to guide the restoration efforts of the most important coastal ecosystems for the economy of the Nation. The main responsibility of each organization under the NEP is to coordinate and measure the implementation of the plan in partnership with the community, state, local, and federal governments and the Academia.
The Corporation for the Conservation of the SJBE provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or genetics. MBE/WBE and other certified minorities and small businesses are encouraged to apply.
