Current fellowships


Natural Resources Coordinator - AmeriCorps

Last updated: 1/27/2022 4:14:52 PM Sonoma State University
Job Fellowship Sonoma State University Monthly Stipend $2255 End of Program Award $4441.5

Location

Position Title: Natural Resources Coordinator
Term of Service: Full-time, January 3, 2022 - August 31, 2022
Time requirements: 40 hours/week; 1,200 hours in an 8 month term

About Climate Corps AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a national service commitment that meets a community’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Climate Corps AmeriCorps partners with local government, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations to provide full-time service opportunities in the Bay Area, Southern California, and the Central Valley to support communities’ critical needs for building climate resilience. Climate Corps AmeriCorps Fellows dedicate 1,200 hours of service in exchange for leadership and career development, and a living stipend supported by an AmeriCorps grant. Climate Corps AmeriCorps is an exciting opportunity for service-minded individuals who are passionate about building climate resilience for communities. For more information, please visit www.americorps.gov or www.climatecorps.org.


About Sonoma State University-Center for Environmental Inquiry
Sonoma State University’s Center for Environmental Inquiry manages three remote preserves (4200 acres) and undertakes restoration projects on the SSU campus. Our mission is to mobilize faculty, students and community to solve environmental challenges. We engage 2500 people annually through field trips, workshops, tour programs, and volunteer events.

This is a unique opportunity for a highly responsible individual interested in building leadership skills and expertise in a diversity of land management challenges.

The Fellow will receive mentorship and coaching via weekly meetings with the Center Director and/or Resource Specialist. They will attend monthly staff meetings with our collegial and dedicated team and work one-on-one with various staff as part of their project work. There are a wide variety of opportunities on and off campus to attend workshops, lectures and training and the Center Director regularly forwards these opportunities to the fellow (e.g., a monthly North Bay Forward lunch where they will meet with community members, scientists, and agency representatives to discuss sustainability and resilience needs of the North Bay). The fellow will be encouraged to take two 5-week training programs offered by the Center that teach natural history and land management. Throughout the job, the fellow will make personal connections with a wide variety of professionals working in the fields of sustainability, resilience, ecology and restoration.



Description of duties:
Under the direction of the Center Director, the Natural Resource Coordinator serves as the field project leader, implementing all aspects of projects needed to control invasive species (e.g., yellow star thistle, pigs, blackberry, douglas fir), improve preserve access and security, and enhance opportunities for research and education. This is a leadership position in which the fellow serves as a point person to identify project and training needs, coordinate implementation, and report on progress.

Key Areas of Responsibility include:
- Full understanding of the purpose and scope of each project and how to improve them. Includes consultation with experts and Center staff needed to acquire new field skills.
- Volunteer recruitment, supervising student employees and working collegially with Center staff
- Providing educational content to volunteers at work events and supporting educational events and workshops with information about restoration work on the preserves and campus
- Coordinating project logistics. Includes working with campus departments needed to coordinate projects, scheduling, purchasing and organizing field gear, and troubleshooting
- Ensuring project protocols are followed and quality control of monitoring data
- Communicating and providing regular updates to Center staff
- Writing and updating management plans and writing pieces for Center social media and website
- Additional responsibilities can include working with other Center staff to ensure that campgrounds and roads are ready for use by classes and visiting groups, leading tours, supporting preserve monitoring projects, and light repair jobs such as replacing locks and repairing fences


Basic Eligibility
- AmeriCorps fellows must:
- Be US citizens or legal permanent residents
- Have a high school diploma/GED
- Be 17 years old or older
- Pass state criminal and FBI background checks, and a national check in the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry
- Test negatively for tuberculosis if working with minors
- Be able and willing to commit to the 8-month service term
- Be vaccinated against COVID-19 or willing to test weekly for COVID-19.

Desired qualifications/characteristics:

This is a position that demands excellent communication skills, organizational skills, creativity and common sense. The successful applicant will be a self-starter and comfortable learning new skills on the job.
Key qualifications include:
- BA or BS or graduate degree in environmental science, environmental studies, biology, education or a related field.
- Highly responsible, motivated, organized and ability to problem-solve. Must be able to clearly organize and communicate project goals, accomplishments, needs, and next steps.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills with people from a wide variety of backgrounds: community volunteers, researchers, faculty, student, agencies, ranchers etc.
- Excellent writing skills
- Demonstrated experience and avid interest in learning more about:
- Native species, ecology, and environmental research
- How to gather and share spatial data in QGIS
- Environmental education and presentation skills
- Experience working long hours outside in physically-demanding sites and situations is required
- Comfortable with a flexible work environment and working 2+ weekend days per month
- Valid CA driver's license with clean driving record and ability to drive 4-wheel drive roads


Benefits of service
- Receive a living allowance stipend of $2,255 per month
- Receive free MEC healthcare, child care support, and qualifying federal student loan deferment throughout your term of service.
- Upon the successful completion of your 1,200 hours and term of service, receive a Segal Education Award of $4,441.50.
- Receive ongoing training & support, including an orientation, monthly trainings, a 2-day retreat, and personal professional development support.
- Benefit from the robust, ever-growing Climate Corps network of partner organizations and alumni.
- Develop sustainability skills, implement impactful climate change resiliency projects, and build partnerships in your community.


Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

Bay Area Community Resources, the administrator of Climate Corps AmeriCorps, is an equal opportunity employer. We cultivate an environment that encourages fairness, teamwork, and respect among all employees and National Service members. We are firmly committed to maintaining an atmosphere in which people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles may grow personally and professionally. Therefore, we enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, religion or religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, marital status, medical condition, disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws or ordinances. Our management is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this equal opportunity policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment advertising, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.