Empleos
Technical Support Consultant
Opportunity for Professional Services Contract
The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (Estuario) seeks qualified applicants to provide services as a Technical Support Consultant to support Estuario’s water quality monitoring and related efforts through technical support, data management, and visualization. The Technical Support Consultant is a senior level service provider (an individual or consulting firm) with the technical expertise to support and enhance Estuario’s water quality monitoring program, synthesize and integrate environmental data, conduct spatial and temporal analyses, and support the development of communication and visualization data tools such as a data dashboard. This role will support during the early phases of a Regional Water Quality Monitoring Collaborative (RWQMC) to integrate data gathered by the various members. The water quality data collected constitutes a crucial component of the Estuarine Environmental Indicators of the San Juan Bay Estuary.
ABOUT ESTUARIO
The Corporation for the Conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary is a 501©3 non-profit organization that operates the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, or Estuario. The Estuario became part of the National Estuary Program (NEP) in 1994 and is the only tropical and non-continental location within the NEP under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act. The Estuario’s mission is 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. The work is guided by the Estuario Plan, a master restoration plan for the San Juan Bay Estuary officially known as the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In November 2021, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to invest in the nation’s infrastructure and resilience, with a major focus on environmental justice and climate change. Estuario will use BIL funding to enhance water quality monitoring efforts. Since 2008, Estuario has implemented a water quality monitoring program that follows an EPA-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan. This long-term monitoring is supported by certified citizen scientists led by Estuario’s water monitoring field coordinator.
The monitoring efforts involve collecting and analyzing water samples for various parameters, including fecal enterococcus, nitrate + nitrite, oil and grease, total phosphorus, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, specific conductance, turbidity, and water column transparency at monitoring stations within the estuary system and its tributaries. Through this initiative, Estuario evaluates the effectiveness of implemented Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) actions and assesses both natural and human-induced impacts on the system. Water quality data is available to the public through the SJBE website (https://estuario.org/calidad-de-agua/), providing scientifically-based information to the public, government, and academia.
Tracking progress toward established water quality targets throughout the SJBE system requires consistent monitoring, coupled with effective data management, analysis, synthesis, and reporting. Enhanced data collection, analysis, and reporting will also be essential for quantifying baseline water quality conditions before the construction of anticipated infrastructure projects in the Caño Martín Peña and Hato Rey/Río Piedras basins, and for tracking changes in water quality following the completion of those projects.
Responsibilities:
The Technical Support Consultant is a senior-level service provider (an individual or consulting firm) with the technical expertise to support and enhance Estuario’s water quality monitoring program. They will be essential to track the progress toward established water quality targets throughout the SJBE system by developing effective data management, analysis, synthesis, and reporting SOPs and protocols. The service provider will support the development of a data visualization dashboard that integrates water quality monitoring performed by the various members of the Regional Water Monitoring Collaborative (RWMC) and maintains the data.
This role will conduct a thorough revision of Estuario’s water quality monitoring program to develop a long-term protocol to provide the data needed to track water quality status and future trends; track progress toward living resource goals; and evaluate the Partnership’s progress in providing the water quality conditions needed to achieve its living-resource-based environmental goals.
The service provider will:
- Support the development of data-sharing protocols for the RWMC to support the efficiency, accuracy and usability of data to support the cohort’s goals and data gathering and sharing objectives.
- Develop quarterly reports documenting RWMC efforts and progress.
- Gather, collate, analyze, summarize and synthesize water quality data sets of the San Juan Bay Estuary collected in recent decades to document water quality conditions, spatial patterns and temporal trends.
- Develop and implement a comprehensive long-term monitoring program that will track water quality status and future trends and evaluate progress in providing the water quality conditions needed to achieve its living- resource-based environmental goals.
- Manage and maintain real-time monitoring data established through buoy platforms equipped with multi-parameter water quality sensors and ensure this data is integrated into the long-term monitoring program.
- Provide the technical and scientific expertise to develop communication and presentation data tools such as a data dashboard, score cards, among others.
- Support to other Estuario projects that require water quality monitoring data as needed.
The Service Provider is expected to:
- Coordinate all meetings with stakeholders and/or the public as necessary.
- Submit quarterly written reports to Estuario or as requested.
- Provide own assistants, as needed.
- Cover own business and travel expenses and tools, including transportation, computer, computer software and licenses, materials, etc.
- Be able to work from outside the Estuario’s premises and be on-site as needed.
- Be able to provide evidence of liability and worker’s compensation insurance.
Required Qualifications (Education and Experience):
- Master’s degree preferred; Bachelor’s degree required (preferred fields: Geology, Hydrology, Environmental Sciences, Biology, Ecology, or related fields).
- At least ten years of working experience related geomorphology, freshwater ecology, hydrology, grey/green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and climate resilience strategies.
- Experience with environmental fieldwork, including in inclement conditions and following safety protocols.
- Clear understanding of the complications of reverse channelization.
- Clear understanding of the expected climate change effects on freshwater ecosystems and urban infrastructures.
- Experience in building equitable and just working relationships with diverse stakeholders, including high-level executives, public servants, and community members.
- Detail-oriented with strong analytical skills
- Strong oral, written, and communication skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively and independently, efficiently managing time.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, cloud-based software (e.g., Google Drive), and Adobe and other software required to
- Must provide own computer and transportation.
Start Date:
Ideally the candidate would be available to begin November 4, 2024.
Language Required:
Fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
How to apply:
Interested candidates should send their resume/CV by email no later than October 18, 2024 to: [email protected]. The email must be directed to Brenda Torres, Executive Director, and must specify in the subject the title of the position, Technical Support Consultant.
Sources of funding:
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)
The Corporation for the Conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that operates the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership. 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.
