Senior Specialist - Rapid Response, On- Call bei Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Job Summary
Directly supports the Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) Conservation Department’s Manager and Vice President in collaborating with community-based organizations to maintain, develop, and implement comprehensive conservation solutions to address anthropogenic threats facing sea turtles and ocean ecosystems. Primarily, this position will lead the development and maintenance of a network of experts in Palm Beach and Martin counties that collaborate to improve both disturbance detection and status & trends monitoring of changes to the marine and estuarine ecosystems in central and southeast Florida. This position is part-time (<30 hours a week) “on call” position and is not eligible for benefits.

Core Responsibilities
Build LMC’s capacity to create and maintain a collaborative network of partners for fast mobilization of people and resources in response to coral reef and estuarine-related disturbances for Palm Beach and Martin counties. Provide both regional and project-specific coordination, implementation, and quality assurance of rapid response to ecosystem disturbances including but not limited to invasive or exotic species collection, underwater marine debris clean ups, coral disease and bleaching, etc.

Work with LMC’s Dive Safety Board and Dive Safety Officer to update and implement the dive manual and safety protocols as well as document the standard operating procedures for offshore scientific diving including reciprocity with other partners. Assist DSO with organizing and conducting regular drills and exercises to test the readiness and efficiency of response plans.

Design and implement training programs for LMC staff and partners on response procedures and equipment protocols. As needed, develop and acquire relevant permits for actions pursuant to response activities directly undertaken by LMC. Support VP of Marketing and Public Relations in developing communication pieces. Prepare detailed event reports, including lessons learned and review the response and conduct a debriefing with all parties involved to identify areas for improvement, as needed. Collect, analyze and publish data related to disturbance response activities.

Coordinate with partners to conduct habitat restoration activities including site characterizations (e.g., Reef Visual Census, Bleach Watch, and Disturbance Response Monitoring (DRM) surveys) in Palm Beach and Martin counties. 

Assist Administration of Funding: Work with Conservation Manager and VP to develop scopes of work/grant applications (including budgets) and administer allocated funds in compliance with local, state and federal laws, policies and procedures. Track progress and develop/review deliverables and ensure timely completion of projects. Ensure annual and multi-year budgets are encumbered and spent in a timely manner. 

Information Management and Sharing: Maintain regular contact with program partners and produce and provide information and/or updates to response partners, agency representatives, and LMC leadership. Information and updates may be in the form of presentations, one-pagers, written or verbal updates, or other products as requested. Work collaboratively and exchange information with LMC staff, volunteers, and all interested stakeholders. Where appropriate, represent the Conservation Department or LMC in in local, regional, state-wide, and federal collaborative meetings.  

•    Participate in Conservation and LMC-related outreach events such as Turtle Fest, International Coastal Cleanup month, etc., as applicable. 
•    Create, deliver, and distribute Conservation-related resources such as signage, educational materials, data analysis and interpretation, etc. 
•    Contribute to Conservation-related communication pieces, as well as Board and Annual Reports.  
•    Ensure project deliverables and reports are submitted in a timely manner and are in compliance with state and federal laws, policies, and procedures. 
•    Interpret data to create visual graphics for social media outreach campaigns, funding sources, volunteer and staff newsletter and to report conservation successes and interesting stories. 
•    Capture and manage conservation footage and maintain photo and video database for conservation programming. 
•    Maintain electronic files of all resources, information compiled, and reports generated. 
•    After completing relevant trainings, may drive and trailer LMC vehicles and participate in field activities including, but not limited to, scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, and kayaking, as applicable. 
•    Provides back-up support to other departments as needed.
•    Adheres to all organizational and departmental policies and procedures.
•    Ensures that goals for an excellent visitor experience are met and maintained.

Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time, including tasks or projects across departments to support the overall success of LMC.

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Experience
•    Bachelor’s degree in biology, marine science, environmental science, or related field or at least 7 years of equivalent professional experience. Preferred Master of Science degree in related field. 
•    Must have strong interpersonal communication skills and the ability to communicate with a variety of different audiences. 
•    Minimum of Advanced Open Water dive certification with at least 50 open water dives; Scientific Diver including Rescue Diver Certification or higher and local diving experience is preferred.  
•    Valid driver’s license required. Preferred towing experience.  
•    Skill in database management.
•    Ability to work holidays, weekends and a non-traditional work week.
•    Ability to create, compose, and edit written materials using basic computer skills in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, etc.
•    Ability to use hand and power tools as well as scientific monitoring equipment.

About Us
Founded in 1983, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a leading cultural attraction in South Florida that provides open access to all guests. Today the Center is a global leader in the research, rehabilitation, and protection of sea turtles, serving our broader mission to promote ocean ecosystem conservation. Annually we reach 900,000 guests with our transformational education programs and partner with nearly 100 organizations across six continents and 16 countries in ocean conservation. In 2022, we opened our new 27,500 square-foot campus expanding our exhibition, education, convening space, and medical facilities and increasing our regional economic impact.

Physical Demands + Work Environment 
The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Successful applicants must be comfortable in a highly dynamic environment in an active and busy office or outdoor setting. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand and walk. The employee is frequently required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. This position involves working outdoors in Florida, often in hot and humid conditions, and at events that extend into evening and weekend hours. Must be willing and able to travel for offsite programming and possess a valid driver’s license.

Notes 
This is a non-essential, part-time on-call position that is not eligible for benefits. The successful incumbent may be required to perform tasks beyond the scope of this job description as requested by the supervisor. This recruitment may be used to select candidates for additional open positions. It is our policy that all team members, including newly hired, transferred, and promoted team members, will be carefully monitored and evaluated for an initial introductory 3-month period on the job. After satisfactory completion of the introductory evaluation, such team members will be evaluated on an annual basis.