The Groundwater Project Director establishes the Conservancy as a major conservation partner within the area of groundwater management and planning. The Groundwater Project Director defines conservation priorities and long-term conservation strategies, builds strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field and develops key partnerships with public and private organizations to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions and best practices. They support the development of innovative scientific methods, analyses, tools and frameworks to address the natural system needs, engage local community support for local conservation efforts, and negotiate complex and innovative solutions with government agencies and landowners to conserve and protect natural communities. They develop scopes of work and budgets for contracts, manage contractors, write and manage public grants, schedule and facilitate meetings, and present our work and guidance in meetings, workshops, and conferences.
The Groundwater Project Director leads regional partner engagement with farmers, irrigation districts, groundwater sustainability agencies, and other NGOS. They support partner capacity-building, expand funding sources, and push for the local and regional planning and coordination needed to ensure that groundwater management considers ecological function and restoration. They identify a pipeline of future projects, evaluate new project opportunities, test effective strategies, and foster the relationships needed to succeed at the local, regional, state, and federal levels.
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The Nature Conservancy’s California Water Program is working to secure a more prepared and sustainable future by developing the science, tools, demonstrations and enabling conditions to ensure we can meet the water needs of communities, nature, and the economy. Our multi-disciplinary team employs a variety of innovative strategies to provide natural areas with the water and habitat they need, including by developing ground-breaking science, engaging through policy, and collaboratively managing water resources with communities, farms, and ranches. The Healthy Rivers strategy is working to ensure that rivers are protected as an integral part of a more resilient water future for California. Our team focuses on three main drivers of river flow alteration: groundwater depletion, ill-timed or unsustainable diversions, and dams.
The Groundwater Project Director will advance efforts to improve flows in priority rivers through groundwater management and integrate those efforts with projects that increase statewide protections of ecosystems that rely on groundwater and reduce groundwater demand. This position will focus on replenishing aquifers—nature’s underground reservoirs—by reducing pumping and piloting infiltration methods and close technical and policy gaps at the state and local level to ensure the groundwater law protects against overdraft. The Groundwater Project Director oversees some or all aspects of protection, science, stewardship, and community relations for the Healthy Rivers groundwater portfolio. The Project Director serves as the principle contact for partner conservation organizations, government agencies, foundations, and the academic community.
The Groundwater Project Director will support, and be supported by, a senior scientist with expertise in groundwater dynamics, as well as Senior Project Directors who lead strategy and partnerships. This position will report to the Water Program Associate Director within TNC California. The location for this position is anywhere within California and the Project Director will need to be available to travel occasionally to project sites across the state.