Science Associate
@ The Nature Conservancy

The Science Associate supports engagement teams with critical science outputs for place-based watershed projects on behalf of the Nature for Water Facility (‘N4W’). Housed within The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds Strategy, the Nature for Water Facility is a technical assistance outfit that provides hand-in-hand support to local champions seeking to develop watershed investment programs. N4W aims to support 40-60 place-based engagements globally over four years via a mixture of pro-bono and fee-for-service partnerships.

The Science Associate (‘Associate’) provides critical science inputs as part of broader N4W engagement teams that work with local organizations and agencies to build watershed investment programs that deliver water security and healthy ecosystem outcomes. The Associate’s work involves executing primary freshwater analyses, project coordination, information gathering and analysis from local, national, and global datasets, obtaining inputs from partner subject matter experts, incorporating feedback from local stakeholders, and ensuring the quality of finalized scientific outputs. This position provides technical execution support for projects promoting Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for water security, including aspects relating to hydrology, geographic information systems, prioritization & optimization algorithms, land use / land cover evaluation, and monitoring & evaluation program establishment. The position requires occasional domestic and/or international travel, including to remote field locations (anticipated travel burden of 20%).

The Science Associate will play a vital role in supporting the prioritization of Nature-based Solution (NbS) implementation options for watersheds, ensuring they effectively deliver targeted water security objectives. This role will apply spatial analytical tools, hydrological models, and tools for projecting land use and land cover scenarios. Additionally, the Science Associate will develop implementation management dashboards utilizing relational database visualization tools. This role will work closely with Science Leads, helping them coordinate scientific workstreams, and requires effective collaboration with partners from diverse backgrounds and geographies to incorporate their perspectives and contribute to the development of interdisciplinary science products.

Are you a results-oriented individual passionate about applying scientific solutions to real-world water security challenges? Do you possess a strong foundation in spatial analysis and hydrological modeling, and thrive in a collaborative environment working with diverse partners? If you're eager to contribute to the prioritization of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for watersheds and develop innovative management tools, we want to hear from you!

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

Master's Degree in water resources, ecology, hydrology, civil or environmental engineering, environmental science, geography, or a related field and 1 year of professional experience or equivalent combination.

Experience in geo-spatial analysis, hydrological modeling, and remote sensing /earth observation.

Experience synthesizing, interpreting, and communicating scientific information.

Experienced in project management planning and techniques, including elaborating clear workplans and managing deadlines.

Programming, statistical, and data science expertise such as Python, R, MATLAB.

Proficient in the English language, both written and spoken.