Schmidt Marine

Conserving Marine Life in the U.S.

Pew's conserving marine life in the United States (CMLUS) project focuses on protecting essential habitats found in coastal waters like oyster reefs, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and salt marsh that provide nursery areas, food and refuge for a diversity of marine wildlife. Efforts include working with communities and partners to advance policy and management measures at the state and federal levels that conserve and restore economically and ecologically valuable coastal habitats. Additionally, the project promotes incorporating blue carbon into State Natural and Working Lands Strategies and establishing blue carbon targets in order to elevate the importance of coastal habitats.

Position Overview

The officer is a seasoned campaigner who collaborates with the CMLUS project director to lead and coordinate strategy implementation in California, while also overseeing other initiatives. The strategy includes a targeted but ambitious set of objectives focused on securing nearshore and coastal habitat conservation measures in U.S. coastal waters. The officer contributes to broader project strategies and objectives, providing expertise, insights, and feedback; represents Pew in meetings with government officials; builds new partnerships with stakeholder groups; works with policy experts and scientists to ensure that advocacy efforts are based on the best available science; and builds relationships with Tribal Nation leadership.

The position, working remotely from a home office in California, reports to the CMLUS project director and works closely with project team members in the Pacific, Washington D.C. and in other project regions, as well as with staff from conservation science, communications, government relations, and other Pew departments.

Responsibilities

• Foster a work environment that is inclusive, equitable, diverse, and in line with Pew and the project’s related goals.
• Lead or co-lead the development and implementation of effective strategies and plans to deliver program objectives.
• Develop and maintain a broad knowledge of the science, policies, and politics of nearshore and coastal habitat management in the U.S.
• Provide recommendations to guide development of Pew strategies and activities. Define and conduct specific research on key policy and scientific issues and engage with Pew’s research unit to ensure that the project’s work along the Pacific coast is based on sound data.
• Develop issue briefs, web features, newsletters, and similar product, ensuring factual accuracy for Pew’s Pacific coastal campaigns and communicating highly technical information in an effective way to multiple audiences through direct contact and writing.
• Partner with Pew operations staff including communications and government relations.
• Represent Pew with state and local policymakers, business leaders, Tribal Nations, the media, and other key stakeholders.
• Engage and cultivate new relationships with external organizations, including funders, government agencies, Tribal Nations, scientists, industry leaders, and non-governmental organizations, to raise the profile of and secure support for strategy-wide efforts.
• Participate in activities that support program and Pew-wide objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent experience required.
• Eight years of applicable experience.
• Prior to commencing employment with Pew, candidates for this position who were registered to lobby in any jurisdiction must certify termination of previous registration(s) and provide copies of termination notices jurisdiction(s) to Pew.
• Track record of successfully advocating for coastal habitat protections with key regulatory bodies.
• Strong written and oral communications skills.
• Time- and project-management skills, including an ability to meet multiple deadlines.
• Politically astute; able to understand the needs and motivations of different individuals and institutions, able to anticipate outcomes and conceptualize win-win scenarios that satisfy multiple agendas among multiple stakeholders.

Key attributes and preferred experience

• At least two years of management experience preferred and a collaborative management mindset.
• Able to set short and long-term planning goals in line with program strategies.
• Strong interpersonal skills and exhibits diplomacy and cultural sensitivity. Able to work productively with a wide array of individuals and stakeholder groups.
• Seasoned judgment, able to make decisions, justify recommendations, and be responsive, clear and firm with colleagues and partners.
• Ability to synthesize information and to focus quickly on the essence of an issue/problem and develop a solution. A strong commitment to producing measurable results.

Travel

Significant regional travel, up to 40% of the individual’s time, anticipated, including attendance at meetings and events regionally and nationally, as well as occasional trips to Pew’s Washington, D.C. office.

Total Rewards

We offer a competitive salary and benefit program, including: comprehensive, affordable health care through medical, dental, and vision coverage; financial security with life and disability insurance; opportunities to save using health savings and flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits to help prepare for the future; and work/life benefits to maintain a good balance.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Pew considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity, military/veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.