Water Quality Speciality

Application Timeline: Rolling, position open until filled 

Location: Remote, Western US

Reports to: Senior Project Scientist 

Employment Status: Full time

Salary: $84k-$100k,  depending on experience 

Preferred Start Date: As soon as possible; priority application deadline 8/30/23

About Blue Forest

Blue Forest is a climate finance non-profit grounded in conservation science to enable financial innovation for sustainable solutions. We do this by developing financial products that support ecosystem restoration based on identifying, quantifying, and valuing the positive environmental, economic, social, and cultural outcomes. Blue Forest’s first financial tool – the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) – was developed in partnership with the US Forest Service and the World Resources Institute to overcome the funding gap for forest restoration. As a public-private partnership, the FRB enables private capital to catalyze land management on public and private lands by valuing the multiple ecosystem services of healthy forests, thereby reducing wildfire risk and promoting ecological sustainability.  

Blue Forest recognizes that the fields of science, finance, and environmental conservation have histories of exclusion and discrimination based on race, ability, gender, socioeconomic background, and sexual orientation. Blue Forest is actively working to dismantle discrimination and racism in our team and environmental work.

Position Summary

To increase ecosystem resilience in the face of intense and frequent hazards - such as fire, water scarcity, and flooding - there is a need for greater and targeted investment in nature. Blue Forest seeks a water quality specialist to further discover, develop, and deploy qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand the value of landscape-scale environmental management on water quality throughout the watersheds and water distribution systems across the Western U.S. and beyond. The Water Quality Specialist is a high-impact position that will work with both our Science and Project Development teams and external partners to help build the case for investment in restoration of freshwater ecosystems such as fire-impacted forests, post-fire landscapes, salmon and aquatic habitat, tropical forests, and coastal/intertidal systems. You will not be an expert in all these ecosystems. While we are largely focused on restoration of frequent-fire forests in the Western U.S., being successful in this position will require the flexible application of your background, knowledge, and approach to a variety of conservation finance projects being developed at Blue Forest. Your main role will be to perform scientific analyses, such as building or coordinating water quality models, in support of project development. This will involve evaluating the potential water quality impacts from forest restoration (avoided wildfire) to aquatic restoration (floodplain reconnection) projects, and communicating the results to diverse audiences. 

Responsibilities & Duties

Water Quality Analysis: 40%

• Conduct initial review of ecosystem restoration projects to understand potential water quality impacts
• Determine appropriate methods, tools, and techniques for quantifying water quality risk reduction and improvements from various ecosystem restoration activities 
• Develop benchmarks of similar ecosystem restoration projects that have a demonstrated improvement in water quality
• Develop communication materials for partners, investors, and public audiences around the water quality impacts of restoration 

• Interpret and synthesize findings for impact reporting, stakeholder presentations (utilities, state agencies, corporates, and others), and other applications

Project Development: 40%

• Research potential project partners that are interested in water quality benefits of specific environmental projects

• Work collaboratively with project development team, science team, and external science partners to gather relevant data and information to support analysis of the project’s water quality benefits
• Analyze data using models and other approaches
• Work with Blue Forest science team and GIS team to prepare spreadsheets, maps, charts and other tools for visually displaying analysis results to project partners, and other audiences

Develop a community of practice: 20%

• Actively research and reach out to other water quality specialists, scientist, and practitioners
•   Remain current on new water quality tools and methodologies
•   Understand state and federal agency goals and funding opportunities around water quality issues
• Working with colleagues and partners, identify opportunities to improve current scientific knowledge, data, and tools to better leverage water quality benefits for conservation finance 

Qualifications

• A Master's degree and at least 1 year of experience in a professional, scientific setting or equivalent combination of education and experience 
• Knowledge of measurement, monitoring, and/or modeling approaches to quantify water quality impacts from ecosystem restoration projects
• Ability to multitask, prioritize workloads, manage projects, and communicate as part of a team working remotely

Desired Skills 

• Strong communication skills to translate technical concepts to a non-technical audience
• Eagerness to work in a transdisciplinary environment, develop collaborative approaches, and value knowledge plurality (ecosystem services, social sciences, Indigenous and local knowledge)
• Experience with spatial mapping tools (e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS, R) to perform analyses and communicate findings

Benefits:

• 100% employer paid health, dental, and vision coverage; subsidized coverage for dependents
• Access to 401k retirement plan with 4% employer match
• Starting 3 weeks paid vacation and 17 paid holidays; paid sick leave and volunteer time
• 3 months paid family leave
• Employer paid life and long term disability insurance
• Access to Dependent Care FSA
• Public Lands Exploration stipend (reimbursements for visits to National Forests, county parks, etc.)
• Monthly Home Office stipend or co-working space provided
• Additional stipends for health & wellness; home internet and cell service; and professional development
• Option for non-taxable contributions towards repayment of student loan debt, up to $5,250 per year, in lieu of salary 
  

Additional Information

Blue Forest is a fully remote company with staff located across all four continental U.S. time zones. The Specialist will generally be expected to be online during their respective standard working hours, with some flexibility required for travel (30% or less), including occasionally to remote and rural areas throughout the West. Blue Forest also hosts an in-person team retreat each year.

COVID VACCINE REQUIREMENT

All Blue Forest staff are required to be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines that term. Proof of full vaccination shall be a condition of employment and must be provided prior to starting work, except where prohibited by law. Blue Forest is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and the company will engage in the interactive process regarding reasonable accommodations for candidates who cannot be vaccinated due to a disability/medical condition; a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance; or a claimed exemption under applicable state law.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply to this position, please submit an application through recruitee. People from historically underrepresented populations and candidates with non-traditional career paths are especially encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and those submitted by 8/30/23 will be given priority consideration. If participating in the interview process would require you to incur additional expenses to participate, such as childcare, please let us know and we are happy to reimburse for reasonable expenses incurred up to $30/hour for twice the length of each interview in which you participate. There will be space to request this reimbursement upon offer of an interview.

Blue Forest provides equal employment and opportunities for advancement, compensation, training, and growth according to individual merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, veteran-status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable Federal, state, or local law. Applicants must have authorization to work in the U.S.