The Water director, with the conservation director and other staff, envisions, prioritizes, and implements strategies for the Grand Canyon Trust’s work on water. The position requires leadership, strategic and analytical thinking, strong relationship building skills, advocacy, and interpersonal skills. This position interfaces heavily with Tribal partners, federal agencies, state agencies, and non-governmental organization advocates in the region. The Water director will have the opportunity to design a new Trust program and grow their team over the coming years.
Advocacy (65 percent)
- Work with colleagues to implement ongoing projects and design new projects in the water arena that help achieve long-term goals in the Trust’s strategic plan. Focus areas include:
- Community-led efforts to sustainably manage the Little Colorado River and protect it from external threats;
- Groundwater management solutions that will ensure that the Grand Canyon’s seeps and springs flow for generations to come and are not depleted by future development projects in the Tusayan area;
- Develop sustainable funding mechanisms in the San Juan River Basin that support water equity, both for communities and the environment
- Collaborate with tribal communities, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations to initiate, lead, and actively pursue improved management of water resources on the Colorado Plateau.
- Support tribal sovereignty and development of co-management systems related to water and river management.
- Integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion objectives and strategies into the Water program work plan and strategic goals.
Leadership (15 percent)
- Recruit, hire, lead, supervise, and collaborate with Water program staff to prioritize and achieve the program’s goals.
- Initiate strategies to achieve specified outcomes and respond to new challenges.
- Foster a safe, accountable, and positive working environment.
Communications and development (10 percent)
- Provide communications content and ideas for the Advocate magazine, board of trustees updates, blog posts, website, social media, and earned media.
- Collaborate with the development team to provide input on donor communications, meet with major donors as appropriate, and work with the team in seeking new funding sources.
Administrative (10 percent)
- Manage the Water program budget(s).
- Serve on various committees, attend and facilitate staff meetings, and participate in organizational trainings.
- Attend board meetings and staff retreats.
- Significant experience:
- Working to accomplish conservation goals related to western water and rivers through multiple strategies, ranging from collaboration to litigation.
- Addressing conservation and environmental justice issues with a team.
- Demonstrating successful managerial skills and the ability to motivate and guide a team with enthusiasm, leadership, accountability, and respect.
- Organizing people with different perspectives to pursue a common goal on an ambitious timeline.
- Using science, policy, regulations, law, and/or political avenues for conservation, public water and lands, advocacy, and environmental justice.
- Building and maintaining strong relationships based in trust, transparency, and accountability with a wide array of communities and individuals.
- Understanding of the federal and state statutes and processes underlying management of surface water and groundwater in the west.
- Demonstrated experience working with Native peoples, leading with humility, and supporting Native communities of the Colorado Plateau.
- Active listening skills and the ability to build actionable solutions based in community needs.
- Academic credentials and/or demonstrated knowledge of laws and policies related to western water, tribal sovereignty, public lands, and environmental issues.
- Demonstrated organizational, planning, and follow-through skills.
- Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.
- A demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Demonstrated ability to follow through with minimal supervision.
- Willingness to travel.
$70,000 – 85,000 starting salary. The starting salary is negotiable, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Salary advances are discussed with the direct supervisor of the position on a yearly basis and based on clearly outlined criteria upon hire. The Trust provides individual health insurance, vacation, holiday and sick leave, disability, 401(k) retirement benefits, and professional development funds.
The Grand Canyon Trust is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in every aspect of our organization. We work actively to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the basis of identity including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, parental status, national origin, age, religion, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression etc. We actively seek diversity in our candidate pools. Applicants of all identities are encouraged to apply.