Location: Laurel, Maryland
Salary: $79,477 plus 3% annual increase
Start Date: October 22, 2024
Duration: 4 Years
Application Deadline: Sept. 23, 2024
Position Description
The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) is partnering with the US Geological Survey (USGS) to hire a Northeast Insect Conservation Coordinator. Incumbent will be a term employee of the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) but will be supervised by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDDNR) and housed at a USGS lab in Laurel, MD. The primary duty of this position is to coordinate interstate insect conservation efforts (with a focus on pollinators) between federal, state, academic, and nonprofit partners with the aim of documenting, sharing, and directing surveys and management actions across state lines. Starting salary is $ 79,477.00 per year, based on education and experience. The position will be eligible for WMI 401(k) retirement benefits and WMI will provide workers’ compensation, general liability protection, professional liability protection and unemployment insurance benefits. The position does not include health insurance benefits.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Serve as a primary point of contact for NEAFWEA on matters relating to interstate insect conservation work.
- Identify Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) whose conservation relies on surveys and management across two or more states.
- Outline major outstanding research questions for insect conservation in the Northeastern region and coordinate necessary studies across states especially in regard to habitat suitability and corridors.
- Improve communication and collaboration between Northeastern state wildlife agencies by coordinating meetings, workgroups, surveys, management actions, and data sharing.
- Locate insect SGCN information data sources through citizen science platforms, academic publications, and local amateur experts to share with relevant state wildlife agencies.
- Act as a liaison between federal, state, academic, and nonprofit partners to facilitate knowledge sharing and reduce redundancy through e-mails, listservs, and quarterly newsletters.
- Develop workflow for interstate data sharing and collaboration that will remain resilient and effective after the term of this position has ended.
- Identify and cultivate connections between state agencies and amateur experts with a focus on increasing the diversity of volunteers.
Minimum Qualifications
This position requires at least a Master of Science degree in Entomology, Wildlife Biology/Ecology, or a related field. Doctoral degrees are encouraged. 4-6 years of related work experience required. Graduate education may be substituted for up to 4 years of work experience.
Selection Criteria
- Expertise with the insects of northeastern North America, with strong preference for direct work with native bee, moth, or butterfly species and an understanding of their natural history and conservation concerns.
- Familiarity with Northeastern natural communities and native plants particularly those used by rare pollinators.
- Experience collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating insect conservation data.
- Experience with ArcGIS and statistical packages evaluating insect records, habitat suitability, or corridors.
- Demonstrated ability to work with a broad range of people, from scientists to volunteers, in order to coordinate the creation of status reports, management recommendations, conservation actions, and scientific data collection/ research.
- Strong organizational skills. The ability to hold meetings via zoom and create listservs while tracking associated timelines, events, and products for multiple priorities.
- Strong writing skills to create proposals, reports, listserv updates, and publications.
- Clarity, patience, and courtesy needed to manage different personalities and coordinate multiple partners.
- Experience talking to the public, presenting lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and concomitant short videos on techniques, natural history, and best management practices.
How to Apply
Please submit your resume, cover letter, and three professional references as one Word or pdf file to Scot Williamson, swilliamson@wildlifemgt.org and Meghan Gilbart, mgilbart@wildlifemgt.org. Please be sure the subject line is titled “Invertebrate Coordinator Job Application” to be considered. For technical questions about the duties, location, etc., contact Jonathan McKnight, jonathan.mcknight@maryland.gov. For questions about WMI, contact Scot Williamson.