Conservation Director

The Nevada Wilderness Project seeks an experienced ecologist, with an ability to work in the nexus between public policy and science, to join our fast-paced efforts to protect Nevada's wildlands.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a person interested in applying their scientific experience to our wilderness proposals and to land management challenges.

We seek someone who can synthesize and analyze existing scientific information, develop new information, and translate these ideas into a format that will influence federal land management decisions in Nevada. The primary activities of this position are to:

1. Coordinate wilderness field inventories and development of conservation proposals;   
2. Build web-accessible databases of proposed wilderness areas and their ecological attributes that informs and engages the public, our coalition partners, and our volunteers; and   
3. Coordinate wilderness policy and partnerships with grassroots advocacy activities.

The ideal candidate has at least an MS in conservation biology or similar field, field experience that includes solitary backcountry travel, experience with land conservation issues, familiarity with environmental and public land law and policies, knowledge of Nevada ecosystems, outstanding communication skills, and a proven ability to develop public policy and land management recommendations based on ecological information. Knowledge of and experience using ArcView is essential, and general computer literacy is also required.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

1. Coordination of Wilderness Field Inventory and Proposal Development 
   • Collecting research from multiple state, local, and federal agencies. 
   • Serving as the inventory coordinator for the ongoing statewide inventory of potential wilderness areas (coordination includes identification and preparation of areas to be inventoried and products needed to carry out the inventory with efficiency and effectiveness.) 
   • Coordination and education of coalition staff and volunteers on inventory places and processes.
   • Organization of information in such a way that allows prompt access by multiple staff and coalition partners.
   • Developing a rationale for prioritizing proposed wilderness areas.
   • Coordinating the production of data and materials to support wilderness designation on WSA and citizen inventoried land, including the production of Nevada Wilderness Coalition Wilderness proposals. 
     
2. Database/Web Development 
   • Work with Webmaster to build database of inventory and ecological information to educate the public about Nevada's wildlife and ecosystems. 
   • Provide written and graphic content for website on conservation policies as they relate to proposed wilderness (i.e. fire, restoration, etc) 
   • Organize and prioritize administrative advocacy for citizen proposed wilderness left unprotected in legislative efforts 
     
3. Wilderness Policy and Partnerships
   • Work with appropriate staff in identifying priority and emerging issues as they relate to citizen proposed wilderness.    
   • Participate in grassroots advocacy efforts related to both agency actions and legislative campaigns.   
   • Work with appropriate staff to develop materials to educate membership about wilderness.   
   • Identify and cultivate new partners for site-specific advocacy as they relate to wilderness.   
   • Act as the face of the Nevada Wilderness Project to the scientific community, and deepen relationships with scientists in academia, federal, state, and local agencies in order to promote better wilderness protections.   
   • Develop reports, and policy briefs as needed to build the scientific case for protection, restoration, and good stewardship of wildlands in Nevada.

Other Requirements

• Ability to travel frequently within and outside Nevada.     
• Ability to work in a supportive, team based environment in which organizational goals trump individual goals.   
• A robust sense of humor.   
• Optimism and joyful approach to work.     
• Passion for protecting wild places.

Compensation

This position is available immediately and can be located in our Reno or Las Vegas offices. The Nevada Wilderness Project is an equal opportunity employer. Compensation is competitive and depends on experience.

To Apply

Please submit via e-mail a cover letter explaining your qualifications for this position, resume, writing sample, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references.