Habitat Restoration Specialist

ERT, Inc. is seeking a highly skilled Habitat Restoration Specialist to join our team in support of customers at the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC), Restoration Center (RC).

This is a remote position with limited travel to the Northeast region, requiring a strong understanding of aquatic habitat restoration and the ability to plan and implement complex restoration projects.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the identification, design, implementation, and monitoring of restoration projects that align with NOAA RC program priorities.
• Lead Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) restoration planning in collaboration with New Jersey trustees.
• Coordinate restoration planning and implementation, gathering information from state and federal trustees, local governments, and the public to understand regional priorities and interests.
• Develop restoration plans and evaluate individual restoration projects, including drafting project concepts, budgets, and monitoring/evaluation and adaptive management plans.
• Conduct independent literature and expert opinion research and provide reports addressing case strategy and decisions.

Requirements:

• Minimum 8-10 years of specialized experience with demonstrated ability to plan and implement aquatic habitat restoration.
• Advanced knowledge and scientific/technical skills related to freshwater, coastal, and marine habitats, and fishery habitat restoration in the Northeast region.
• Experience coordinating and planning complex restoration projects with diverse stakeholders.
• Knowledge of environmental compliance requirements for restoration project types and geographic areas in the Northeast Region.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including project scheduling, budgeting, and handling multiple, concurrent, and competing projects and responsibilities.
• Ability to perform field assessment activities to identify and evaluate habitat restoration projects.
• Familiarity with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, reliable, self-starter, self-motivated, and detail-oriented.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Willingness for occasional travel.

Desired Qualifications:

• Current or ability to obtain 24-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) certification, with maintenance through annual 8-hour refreshers.
• Experience with government document retention requirements.
• Experience with Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and Oil Pollution Act (OPA).
• Experience with GIS.
• Experience working in a litigation-sensitive environment.

Education: BA/BS degree in coastal or aquatic sciences, fishery biology, ecology, hydrology, water resources, earth science, engineering, or a related field. MS degree preferred.

Location: Periodic on-site meetings at the NOAA Fisheries, Highlands, NJ office and/or regional site visits and meetings with partners in the New York/New Jersey area may be required with regular off-site work acceptable.

Benefits: All full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits upon starting: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Paid Time Off, and 11 Paid Federal Government Holidays.

Salary: The salary range for this position is approximately $85,000 - $90,000/year.