Coastal Resources Coordinator

General Statement of Job

Assists with planning, coordination, and implementation of offshore, coastal, estuarine, and riverine environmental projects such as habitat restoration and monitoring, water quality improvements, marine debris cleanups, lionfish, artificial reefs, tourism/recreation, sustainable fisheries, outreach/education environmental protection and restoration initiatives.

• Assists with planning, development, and implementation of programs to protect, enhance, and restore coastal, estuarine and riverine resources and foster ecotourism.
• Assists with the County’s artificial reef and lionfish programs, which may include long days on a boat or adverse conditions and may require snorkel, SCUBA diving, operation of a vessel, or other monitoring methods.
• Leads inshore, nearshore, and offshore-related Coastal Resource programs as assigned.
• Assists management or other county and Coastal Resource staff on various coastal resource issues and projects as assigned, including but not limited to marine debris cleanups, habitat restoration, permitting, report writing, and sea turtle nest monitoring and other conservation efforts.
• Researches and seeks opportunities to obtain grants related to coastal and estuarine recreation, environmental protection and restoration, sustainable marine fisheries, waterfront utilization, artificial reef projects; prepares grant applications and administers projects as assigned.
• Plans, develops, and implements ecotourism related activities.
• Establishes and nurtures productive working relationships with academic, non-government, non-profit organizations and regulatory and governmental agencies who have direct influence on County coastal resource projects.
• Collects pertinent environmental data to assess the overall status of coastal resources.
• Develops and executes educational and outreach programs for various coastal resource related topics, to include public presentations.
• Participates in outreach and education, field activities, and serves on various committees for the Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Program and provides updates to leadership as needed.
• Assists with administration of the County’s derelict vessel and boating safety programs as needed.
• Applies knowledge of principles, practices, methods and terminology of coastal resource management to areas of responsibility.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations and permitting requirements as related to County coastal resource activities.
• Assists with development of departmental budget, policies, and procedures and other data documenting activities.
• Responsible for assisting with coastal system preparedness and recovery during natural and manmade disasters affecting coastal systems.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Education, Training, and
  
  Experience:
  
  Bachelor's degree in Environmental or Natural sciences or a closely related field, supplemented by two (2) years of environmental experience in planning, program evaluation, project management, and/or research/analysis with an emphasis on coastal systems; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Experience in coastal resource monitoring activities is required. Knowledge and experience of the unique Northwest Florida coastal ecosystems is preferred.
  
  Experience with environmental protection and restoration initiatives is preferred. Experience operating an ATV and vessels is preferred. Experience operating basic scientific hand tools is preferred.
• Licenses and/or
  
  Certifications:
  
  Requires a valid driver license. SCUBA diving certification is required.

• Physical Requirements: Requires the ability to operate office equipment, to include computers, copy/fax machines, and any related peripherals. Must be able to exert up to 20 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Requires full range of body motion, to include bending at the waist and full use of lower extremities and back muscles. Must be able to traverse irregular, uneven, and/or erratically moving surfaces frequently.
  
  Requ…