[Hiring] California Water Resource Specialist @AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST

Role Description

Reporting to the Senior Agricultural Specialist, the California Agricultural Water Resource Specialist works as part of a multi-disciplinary team to successfully deliver AFT’s outreach, research, policy, and technical assistance programs supporting regenerative agriculture, groundwater recharge, and farmland protection in agricultural regions in California.

What You’ll Be Working On

• Managing multiple projects to help achieve AFT’s San Joaquin Land and Water Strategy goals, including collaborating with other AFT staff and partners to track progress on project deliverables.
• Providing technical expertise on a broad range of regenerative agricultural projects including groundwater recharge and infiltration practices, soil health management, and other related conservation practices.
• Providing technical assistance to farmers and ranchers through outreach, creation of farm conservation plans, and implementation of regenerative agriculture practices including aiding in the layout & installation of practices and evaluation of completed practices.
• Coordinating and linking research with different partners to leverage soil and water research projects, including methods development as well as translation and bridging outcomes relevant to farmers and water managers.
• Analyzing farm conservation practice data to evaluate achievement of goals, track project/on-the-ground progress, and to aid in adaptive management.
• Contributing to AFT’s policy support related to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and other state water policy.
• Fostering collaborations among NGOs, agencies, academic institutions, water districts, and agricultural partners.
• Representing AFT externally with stakeholders through presentations at conferences.
• Coordinating with AFT’s communications team to actively promote work, identifying and assisting with storytelling opportunities through social media, blog posts, profiles, fact sheets, videos, and other mediums.
• Coordinating with other AFT program and development staff to develop annual program and budget goals and provide input on funding proposals, reporting, and budget management.

Qualifications

• Previous experience or willingness to learn agricultural conservation planning and implementation issues and techniques.
• Interest in developing partnerships with the scientific community, farmers and ranchers, non-profits, corporations, agricultural retailers and industry, and government agencies.
• Familiarity with environmental outcomes quantification tools and methodologies preferred with prior research experience.
• Experience analyzing conservation practice or water data to generate descriptive statistics to present information to project partners is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to facilitate discussions among technical and lay audiences and translate technical information into plain language to various stakeholders.
• Direct professional experience working with farmers, farmland owners, water quality monitoring and/or modeling experts, state and federal agencies, soil and water conservation districts, and others is preferred.
• Dedication to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice within AFT and across agriculture and the food system.
• A collaborative, professional, and innovative approach.
• Must be highly motivated with strong interpersonal skills.
• A desire to participate in a strong team culture of shared learning, innovation, and problem solving among AFT staff.
• Spanish-English language fluency preferred; other/additional language skills are beneficial.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree with a minimum of 4 years of related work experience or a graduate degree with a minimum of 2 years of related work experience in water resources, agriculture, hydrology, soil science, environmental resource management, or related fields, preferred.
• Professional experience working directly with farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural and environmental organizations and stakeholders is strongly preferred.

Benefits

• Insurance coverage begins the 1st of the month following the date of hire.
• Medical & Prescription Coverage.
• Dental Coverage.
• Vision Coverage.
• Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD).
• Voluntary Life Insurance.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Healthcare & Dependent Care.
• Health Savings Account (HSA).
• 401k Plan.
• Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 13 “sick days” per year.
• Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year maximum.
• Holidays: AFT observes twelve fixed holidays and a week between Christmas and New Years off during the year (all offices closed) plus a choice of up to three (depending on hiring month) floating holidays.

Why You Should Apply

• Be a part of a purpose-driven, committed, knowledgeable, high-performing, experienced, and fun team.
• A diverse and inclusive work environment.
• A cause and mission you can be proud of.
• Competitive compensation & benefits.
• Remote work opportunities.
• Flexible scheduling.

Timeline

To be considered, applicants must submit a resume, a cover letter explaining why they are the right fit for both AFT and this role, and complete all screener questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.