Sierra Nevada Program Director

The Tuolumne River Trust promotes the stewardship of the Tuolumne River and its tributaries to ensure a healthy watershed, from Yosemite National Park to the San Joaquin River in Central California and involving the Bay Area communities that depend on water from the Tuolumne.

The Trust has 2,000 members, a half million dollar core budget, 5 full time employees and some part time employees and consultants. The Trust serves a diverse geographic area (the Sierra Nevada and foothill regions, Central Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area) and constituency (rural, urban, and suburban communities).

Job Activities and Responsibilities include:

1. Managing a comprehensive Clavey River Watershed Analysis, including supervising subcontractors working on the project, working within a collaborative process, and acting as fiscal agent for the project.
2. Educating and organizing support for permanent protection of the Clavey River in Tuolumne County and elsewhere, and similar efforts for the South Fork Tuolumne River, among businesses, hunters, anglers, and grazing, timber, off-highway vehicle, and water interests.
3. Coordinating regular educational events (i.e. outings and talks) through the Tuolumne River Exploration Center to enhance the Trust's presence in Tuolumne County and to market the Tuolumne Trust and its activities.
4. Engaging in Yosemite National Park's Wild and Scenic Tuolumne River Management Plan process, including advocating for the interests of the river and grassroots organizing.
5. Representing the Trust to the public, media, government (local, State, and Federal) and decision makers.

Qualifications include:

1. Degree in environmental studies, geography, biology, political science, or related field.
2. 1-2 years experience in the environmental field, preferably including background in working with the Forest Service and grassroots organizing.
3. Prior experience and ability in building relationships and working with people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
4. Excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as basic computer skills.
5. Other skills considered a plus: knowledge of Tuolumne County, detail-oriented, leadership abilities, initiative (a self-starter), grant proposal writing, environmental education, and media outreach.

Position Summary:

Salary is competitive and depends on experience. Excellent benefits. The Trust is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse staff. The full-time position is based in Sonora and will require work in Tuolumne County, plus occasional travel to Modesto, Sacramento, San Francisco, and other places in California. This job offers excellent potential for professional growth.

To Apply:

The position will be open until filled. The first round of interviews will occur the week of February 6.

Please send an email (with cover letter, resume, three references, and 2-page writing sample as attachments) with subject heading "Sierra Nevada Program Director".

No phone calls please.

Organizational Background:

This is an opportunity to work with a small, well-established environmental organization on the Tuolumne River watershed in California's Sierra Nevada. Founded in 1981, the Trust is the only organization working on the entire Tuolumne River, linking Sierra and Valley conservation issues and forging strong ties between rural mountain and valley regions and Bay Area urban communities. The Trust has a long record of success. We won Wild and Scenic status for 83 miles of the Tuolumne River in 1984 and defeated a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Clavey River in the mid-1990s. We work through public education, multi-agency cooperative programs, grassroots organizing, and litigation when necessary.

Today, the Trust's Sierra Nevada Program focuses on the Tuolumne's most pristine tributary, the Clavey River. The Trust builds support for permanent protection of the Clavey River and manages an ambitious watershed analysis being conducted as part of a collaborative process, while building the constituency throughout Tuolumne County and California for the Tuolumne and advocating for programs and policies that keep the Tuolumne River healthy for people, fish, and wildlife.