[Hiring] Senior Coral Reef Restoration Specialist @Entarian

Role Description

Entarian is seeking a Senior Coral Reef Restoration Specialist to provide technical leadership and support for coral reef restoration activities for the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation, Restoration Center. This position will support the coordination, planning, implementation, monitoring, and oversight of coral reef restoration projects, with particular emphasis on Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) restoration planning and implementation, environmental compliance, project management, and collaboration with federal, state, nonprofit, and other restoration partners. The position requires the ability to support field activities and may require periodic regional site visits and meetings with partners, with regular off-site work acceptable. The contractor may be required to travel for meetings, workshops, trainings, conferences, and field activities.

• Coordinate coral reef restoration activities across NOAA, partner organizations, coral nursery sites, propagation programs, researchers, resource managers, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders to support consistent and effective restoration approaches.
• Support development and implementation of coral reef restoration coordination plans, best management practices, permitting and authorization requirements, capacity building, technology and methods transfer, and resilience-based recovery strategies.
• Provide technical management and oversight of trustee or responsible-party coral restoration projects, including coordination and development of restoration plans, assessment reports, environmental compliance documents, monitoring plans, permit requests, project budgets, adaptive management plans, and restoration scaling activities.
• Plan, execute, and implement small- and large-scale coral restoration actions associated with NRDA cases, including emergency, primary, and compensatory restoration, and support the scaling of Natural Resource Damages to appropriate restoration.
• Support NRDA restoration planning under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), including coordination with state and federal trustees, project identification and selection, restoration concepts and designs, monitoring and evaluation plans, case strategy, and technical research.
• Provide project management support for coral restoration projects, including identifying project milestones, developing and maintaining budgets and schedules, overseeing and tracking progress, coordinating contracting activities, and supporting project implementation and reporting.
• Provide field oversight and technical expertise for coral restoration and monitoring activities, including site evaluation, implementation and refinement of monitoring programs, data collection and synthesis, emergency coral restoration, and support for regional coral reef monitoring activities.
• Evaluate and synthesize multi-year coral restoration monitoring data, identify data gaps, conduct or support statistical analyses, refine monitoring protocols, and develop technical reports, memoranda, and scientific publications.
• Develop and support environmental compliance documentation and permitting, including NEPA Environmental Assessments and documentation supporting Environmental Impact Statements; coordinate with NOAA General Counsel for Natural Resources and applicable regulatory agencies; and support consultation requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and Endangered Species Act.
• Support fishery habitat restoration projects that benefit fisheries, protected species, and coastal resilience, including project identification, conceptual design, feasibility assessment, prioritization, implementation, monitoring, and adaptive management.
• Collaborate and communicate with federal, state, nonprofit, scientific, and other partners to enhance restoration outcomes and effectively navigate complex technical and programmatic issues.
• Support cross-NOAA coral restoration coordination, including communication and collaboration among NOAA programs and offices, leadership of recurring coordination meetings, development of meeting materials and notes, and dissemination of information to program leadership.
• Develop restoration plans, annual reports, leadership briefings, technical reports, and other written products supporting coral reef restoration activities.
• Perform data management and reporting activities, including accurate and timely tracking of project information in RCDB, DARRTS, SharePoint, and other reporting systems; maintaining Administrative Records and case websites; and coordinating information requests and process improvements.

The position is fully remote with periodic on-site meetings, regional site visits, and meetings with partners throughout the Southeast required. The contractor may also be required to travel for workshops, trainings, and conferences.

The salary for this position is approximately $74,000 - 94,000/year.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in biology, ecology, natural resource management, environmental science, marine science, or a related discipline, with 8–10 years of specialized professional experience directly related to coral reef restoration and marine resource management.
• Expertise in marine habitats, specifically coral reef ecosystems and coral reef restoration.
• Demonstrated experience implementing and coordinating coral reef restoration activities.
• Experience providing technical oversight of coral reef restoration projects, including restoration planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Experience with NRDA restoration planning and implementation, including restoration projects conducted under the Oil Pollution Act and/or CERCLA.
• Experience planning and implementing restoration actions associated with NRDA cases and developing or supporting restoration plans, environmental compliance documents, monitoring plans, permit requests, and restoration scaling.
• Experience developing and implementing monitoring plans and programs in coral reef environments.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to identify project milestones, develop and maintain budgets and schedules, oversee and track progress, and manage multiple restoration activities.
• Ability to support coral reef field activities and visually identify commonly encountered coral reef-related marine organisms, including fish.
• Strong understanding of coastal and offshore ecology applicable to coral reef ecosystems.
• Strong collaboration skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively with federal, state, nonprofit, scientific, and other restoration partners.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including demonstrated authorship of peer-reviewed scientific literature and the ability to develop restoration plans, technical reports, annual reports, and materials for program leadership.
• Understanding of federal policy and the NRDA process.
• Current certification, or ability to become certified, as a NOAA Scientific Diver and/or Working Diver, as well as certification in First Aid, CPR, and Oxygen Administration.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and support occasional travel and field activities.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident and be able to pass a background investigation to obtain a security badge to access applicable government systems and facilities.

Desired Qualifications

• Extensive practical experience implementing and overseeing large-scale coral reef restoration projects.
• Experience with NEPA environmental compliance and development of Environmental Assessments and documentation supporting Environmental Impact Statements.
• Experience with ESA, MSA, and other applicable marine resource protection statutes.
• Experience coordinating coral restoration activities across multiple organizations, programs, or geographic areas.
• Experience with emergency coral restoration following physical impact events.
• Experience synthesizing long-term coral reef monitoring datasets and developing technical or peer-reviewed scientific publications.
• Experience with restoration project and case-management systems such as RCDB, DARRTS, and SharePoint.
• Experience working with NOAA or another federal natural resource agency.

Benefits

• Medical, Rx, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company-matching
• 11 Paid Federal Government Holidays
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Professional Membership Reimbursement
• Employee Referral Program
• Competitive compensation plan
• Discretionary variable incentive bonuses based on factors such as individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance