Izaak Walton League of America

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

The mission of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), founded in 1922, is to conserve, restore and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife. Our members and staff combine hands-on conservation action, policy work with legislatures and resource agencies, and public education to pursue our conservation goals at the local, state and national levels.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Conservation Policy Manager has two primary responsibilities: advocating for the League’s public policy priorities to decision-makers in Congress and the Executive Branch; and coordinating the League’s grassroots advocacy campaigns. This position offers a unique opportunity to combine direct advocacy with grassroots campaign management to achieve conservation and environmental policy milestones. As a member of the League’s conservation team, the Conservation Policy Manager will support programs focused on clean water, sustainable agriculture and regional conservation by developing advocacy campaigns centered around each program’s needs and objectives. This is a full-time position based in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Advocate for legislation and regulations supporting League policy priority areas, including but not limited to, agriculture conservation, ecological restoration, clean water protections, outdoor recreation, and climate change.
• Coordinate the development and implementation of grassroots advocacy campaigns for League policy priorities.
• Maintain relationships with the legislative and executive branches, as a liaison for the League’s conservation programs.
• Educate and engage League leaders and volunteers around federal advocacy priorities.
• Lead a proactive strategy to engage new and existing volunteers beyond League membership as advocates across a range of policy priorities.
• Proactively facilitate involvement of conservation partners to advance the League’s policy priorities.
• Represent the League in relevant coalitions.
• Work with Conservation Program Directors to ensure grassroots advocacy strategies are components of citizen science campaigns, such as Salt Watch and Nitrate Watch.
• Develop content for IWLA website, social media and publications, including Outdoor America magazine, and written materials as needed.
• Working with communications staff and grassroots activists, secure the publication of opinion pieces, letters to the editor, and other public messages that support the League's advocacy work.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, environmental studies, political science, communications, or related field.
• At least 3-5 years of public policy experience in Congress, the Executive Branch, or related non-profit or private sector employment.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and mobilizing grassroots advocates in public policy.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the federal legislative, appropriations, and rulemaking processes.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex concepts in understandable language.
• Ability to think strategically, establish priorities, and independently manage multiple tasks in a fast-moving, high-workload environment.
• Ability to work as a team player with a diverse array of colleagues, partners, and volunteer leaders.
• Knowledge of relevant conservation issues related to the League’s mission would be highly beneficial.
• Strong personal commitment to advancing the cause of conservation and natural resource stewardship.
• Willingness and ability to travel, including for multiple days and overnight.

COMPENSATION

This position offers a competitive annual salary between $60,000 and $65,000 and a generous package of benefits, including health care, paid holidays, vacation and personal/sick leave, and retirement plan.

HOW TO APPLY

Please email cover letter, resume and a writing sample to the attention of the Conservation Director with the subject line “Conservation Policy Manager” to conserve@iwla.org. Please submit all materials by February 18, 2022. No phone calls please.

The Izaak Walton League of America is an equal opportunity employer. 

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

The mission of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), founded in 1922, is to conserve, restore and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife. Our members and staff combine hands-on conservation action, policy work with legislatures and resource agencies, and public education to pursue our conservation goals at the local, state and national levels. As a strong responsible voice representing outdoor recreationists, we occupy a special niche in the conservation community.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

Working under the direction of the Clean Water Program Director, the Salt Watch Campaign Manager will manage the League’s Salt Watch monitoring program. Salt Watch was launched in 2018 as a new crowdsourced monitoring program – where test strips are sent to thousands of volunteers across the Snow Belt to measure the impact of road salt on rivers, lakes and streams. The Salt Watch Campaign Manager will have the opportunity to grow this program with new, intensive advocacy campaigns in select communities across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Managing this program includes volunteer and partner recruitment and retention, test kit creation and distribution, and developing advocacy campaigns to engage volunteers in collaboration with local partners to facilitate smarter salting in local communities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Salt Watch Campaign Management

• In collaboration with the Clean Water Program Director and other IWLA staff, develop, implement, and adapt a strategic campaign plan for Salt Watch.
• Recruit, equip and support Izaak Walton League members, partner organizations and community volunteers to serve as Salt Watch partners and volunteers in existing and new Salt Watch locations.
• Proactively support the development and implementation of localized Salt Watch campaigns in communities in which volunteers use data they collect to advocate for smarter road salt practices.
• Coordinate and conduct in-person and online events in key locations across the U.S. to promote the Salt Watch program and facilitate new partnerships and volunteer participation.
• Develop advocacy resources for Salt Watch volunteers and partners to utilize when a road salt pollution problem is detected, including sample letters to government representatives and media kits.
• Manage the timely purchasing, collating and distribution of Salt Watch kits nationally (including managing coordinator staff to assist with kit distribution).
• Communicate regularly and frequently with Salt Watch volunteers, watershed organizations and others to support local Salt Watch efforts and foster an interconnected network of Salt Watch volunteers and partners.
• Establish formal partnerships with participating organizations for future collaboration and joint fundraising.
• Assist with Salt Watch program fundraising, including drafting grant proposals, identifying potential funders, and developing budgets.

Data Management

• Ensure Salt Watch data is compiled from Water Reporter and other sources on a weekly basis.
• Input data into database (the Clean Water Hub) and ArcGIS to analyze trends, monitoring sites and frequency of monitoring.
• Support volunteers with data management, including how to input and manage data in Water Reporter.
• Support volunteer use of the Clean Water Hub to communicate with the public, policymakers and the media about water quality information collected by volunteers.

Communications

• Develop content for IWLA website, social media, and publications, including Outdoor America magazine.
• Serve as liaison between League members and chapters; other volunteers; state agencies responsible for water quality, public health, and natural resource management; and the national office of the IWLA.
• Collaborate with the IWLA communications department to proactively engage print, broadcast and other media using Salt Watch data on a local, state and/or regional scale.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental education, natural resources management, natural sciences, or related field.
• Experience meeting with, mobilizing and organizing diverse partners, including local, state, and federal governments, watershed groups and community groups.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing grassroots advocacy campaigns.
• Two years of experience directly coordinating volunteers engaged in water quality monitoring or other citizen science activities.
• Interest and demonstrated experience in environmental education, volunteer management, community outreach and water quality assessment.
• Experience with public speaking and providing engaging training workshops online and in person.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and to organize and manage multiple tasks and set priorities.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS, or other database/mapping platforms to organize, visualize, manipulate and understand complex data sets.
• Ability to work constructively and cooperatively with a diverse array of staff, members, volunteers, and colleague organizations.
• Experience with social media (including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
• Possess a valid driver’s license and own a car for travel.
• Ability and willingness to travel including for multiple days consecutively and overnight.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Work involves both physical exertion and sedentary activities and includes work that involves exposure to the outdoors, including various biological and chemical elements, especially those that are water-based, and periods of standing and walking on rough terrain.
• Must be able to sit or stand for up to eight hours at a time while performing work duties.
• Must be able to travel.
• Must be able to bend, stoop, push, and pull, and to lift up to 50 pounds, in the performance of both office-related and field duties.
• Must be able to operate office equipment.
• Must have vision and hearing corrected to be able to perform essential job functions.
• Must be able to maintain punctuality and attendance as scheduled.
• Must be able to perform essential job functions in an environment that will sometimes include increased levels of work-related stress.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time position. Salary is between $50,000 and $52,000, commensurate with experience, with an excellent health care, leave, retirement, and other benefits package. Compensation will be dependent on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume, by February 14, 2022, to sos@iwla.org. No phone calls please.

The Izaak Walton League of America is an equal opportunity employer. 

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

The mission of the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), founded in 1922, is to conserve, restore and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife. Our members and staff combine hands-on conservation action, policy work with legislatures and resource agencies, and public education to pursue our conservation goals at the local, state and national levels. As a strong responsible voice representing outdoor recreationists, we occupy a special niche in the conservation community.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

Working under the direction of the Clean Water Program Director, the Midwest Save Our Streams (SOS) Coordinator is primarily responsible for coordinating, training, and mobilizing a network of volunteer stream monitors in the Upper Mississippi River region as part of the nationally recognized IWLA Save Our Streams program. Save Our Streams, founded in 1969, is the oldest national volunteer water quality monitoring program in the country, with a 50+ year legacy of grassroots engagement in macroinvertebrate and chemical testing. The coordinator will also facilitate participation in crowdsourced monitoring programs, such as Salt Watch and Nitrate Watch, in this region. The coordinator will contribute to regional and national communications efforts designed to foster an interconnected network of community scientists and clean water advocates. This position will be based in Iowa, with regular travel for in-person work in surrounding states.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Stream Monitoring Training and Support

• Recruit, train and support Izaak Walton League members, partner organizations and community volunteers to serve as certified SOS water quality monitors.
• Coordinate and conduct in-person events in the Midwest to recruit and train existing and new stream monitors and individuals qualified to train monitors.
• Communicate regularly and frequently with volunteer monitors, watershed organizations, and others to support local SOS stream monitoring efforts and foster an interconnected network of volunteer monitors in the Midwest.
• Oversee the quality assurance of the field methodologies, protocol comprehension and proper safety and equipment cleaning practices to produce data that is reliable and valid while minimizing stream site disturbance.
• Replenish, maintain, and promote the SOS equipment loan program across Iowa, which will also involve the promotion of the equipment loan program to existing and new SOS volunteers monitoring in Iowa.

Crowdsourced and Remote Engagement

• Facilitate crowdsourced monitoring (engaging many people with little to no in-person contact and no training) such as Salt Watch and Nitrate Watch, including recruiting and coordinating volunteers and partner organizations, collating and distributing monitoring kits, managing data collection and distribution, and communicating results to partners, local governments, and volunteers.
• Coordinate and conduct online events and webinars in the Midwest to recruit new supporters, advocates, and monitors.
• Develop advocacy resources for volunteers and partners to utilize when a pollution problem is detected, including sample letters to government representatives and media kits.

Data Management

• Input data into database (the Clean Water Hub) to analyze trends, monitoring sites and frequency of monitoring.
• Support volunteers with data management, including how to input and manage data in the Clean Water Hub.
• Support volunteer use of the Clean Water Hub to communicate with the public, policymakers and the media about water quality information collected by volunteers.

Communications

• Develop content for IWLA website, social media, and publications, including Outdoor America magazine.
• Serve as liaison between League members and chapters; other volunteers; state agencies responsible for water quality, public health, and natural resource management; and the national office of the IWLA.
• Collaborate with the Clean Water Program Director and IWLA communications department to proactively engage print, broadcast and other media using volunteer-collected water quality data on a local, state and/or regional scale.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental education, natural resources management, natural sciences, or related field.
• Proven knowledge of stream monitoring protocols, macroinvertebrate identification, and field equipment used for water quality monitoring.
• Two years of experience directly coordinating volunteers engaged in water quality monitoring or other citizen science activities.
• Understanding of quality assurance / quality controls for data collection and analysis.
• Interest and demonstrated experience in environmental education, volunteer management, community outreach and water quality assessment.
• Experience with public speaking and providing engaging training workshops online and in person.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and to organize and manage multiple tasks and set priorities.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS, or other database/mapping platforms to organize, visualize, manipulate and understand complex data sets.
• Ability to work constructively and cooperatively with a diverse array of staff, members, volunteers, and colleague organizations.
• Experience with social media (including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
• Possess a valid driver’s license and own a car for travel.
• Ability to work from home or a location other than traditional leased office space.
• Ability and willingness to travel including for multiple days consecutively and overnight.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Work involves both physical exertion and sedentary activities and includes work that involves exposure to the outdoors, including various biological and chemical elements, especially those that are water-based, and periods of standing and walking on rough terrain.
• Must be able to sit or stand for up to eight hours at a time while performing work duties.
• Must be able to travel.
• Must be able to bend, stoop, push, and pull, and to lift up to 50 pounds, in the performance of both office-related and field duties.
• Must be able to operate office equipment.
• Must have vision and hearing corrected to be able to perform essential job functions.
• Must be able to maintain punctuality and attendance as scheduled.
• Must be able to perform essential job functions in an environment that will sometimes include increased levels of work-related stress.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time position. Salary is between $40,000 and $42,000, commensurate with experience, with an excellent health care, leave, retirement, and other benefits package. Compensation will be dependent on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume, by February 14, 2022, to sos@iwla.org. No phone calls please.

The Izaak Walton League of America is an equal opportunity employer.