Design and Implementation Project Manager

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT MANAGER

Classification:  Non-Exempt                        Reports To: Restoration Program Manager

Part-Time: (20+ Hours)                                Pay Rate: $30-$34

Job Summary: This position merges the aspirations of Sonoma Ecology Center’s mission, to help our community achieve and sustain ecological health, with best available science and the site-specific goals of landowners and managers who seek to improve their landscapes.

As the climate warms, and water becomes scarce or comes too fast, as fire risk becomes a perennial concern, and as threats to biodiversity mount, landscapes designed and managed by humans are increasingly key to solving these multiple challenges at the same time. The ideal candidate will work closely with our Restoration team, and with our Resilient Landscapes Coalition partnership, to design and oversee installation of innovative projects on residential, business, and government landscapes of different scales that meet this multiple-solutions objective.

Organization:

Sonoma Ecology Center is a 31-year-old nonprofit with a mission to work with and for our community to identify and lead actions that achieve and sustain ecological health in Sonoma Valley. We drive important land, water, biodiversity, research, and climate initiatives in the North Bay and beyond. We have 40 staff members, and manage multiple grants and contracts, often in partnership with other agencies, so that we may better leverage our important resources and knowledge base.

Duties/Responsibilities (Include but not limited to):

• Landscape design
  • Prepare proposals to provide landscape design services that satisfy multiple sustainability goals including habitat creation, wildfire safety, aesthetics, water and energy conservation, and stormwater management
  • Create compelling, thoughtful landscape designs using a variety of tools and methods to successfully communicate design goals. Designs will include irrigation plans, plant lists, and maintenance plans
  • Create defensible space assessments for clients desiring a landscape evaluation that may or may not have elements of new design
  • Work with the SEC Community Engagement Program to develop a landscape design clientele
  • Conduct financial tracking of projects
  • Meets with prospective clients (site visits), listens to needs and expectations
• Landscape implementation
  • Prepare proposals and contracts to implement designs in coordination with the Restoration Program Manager and Project Manager, utilizing the Restoration crew
  • Work closely with the crew to assure best practices for planting, irrigation, and other landscape tasks
  • Source materials, plan workflow, and coordinate scheduling. Conduct financial tracking and reporting
  • As needed, oversee outside contractors hired to implement SEC designs
• Contribute to SEC Restoration Program and Partner activities:
  • Collaborate with Resilient Landscapes Coalition partners; focus on community education and workshops to promote defensible space and fire resilience
  • Support restoration projects by contributing or creating vegetation plans and irrigation designs
  • Provide oversight and technical support to the SEC Nursery Manager
  • Contribute to the education and development of Restoration Technicians by providing education about defensible space, and depending upon experience, irrigation techniques, plant propagation, native plants, and other topics

Basic Qualifications:

• Degree in horticulture or landscape architecture, or related field, or at least two years of experience in creating landscape designs.
• Experience managing projects, including budgeting, tracking, and crew supervision
• Works well in a team environment
• Extensive experience with California native plants
• Basic understanding of ecology, California vegetation types, and wildfire behavior

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships
• Experience as an educator
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple deadlines
• Spanish language abilities are highly desirable
• AutoCAD or similar digital drafting software proficiency is highly desirable
• Well practiced digital or hand graphics skills
• Possession or ability to obtain California C-27 Landscape Contractors License

Physical Requirements:

One will be required to sit and/or stand for periods of time.  One must be able to use a computer for long periods of time and occasionally  lean forward to draw on a drafting table.  Field/site visits will involve hiking over uneven terrain, bending, stooping, kneeling, and you may be exposed to inclement weather.  Site visits to the native plant nursery can be chilly in the winter.

This is a hybrid position of office time, site visits, and working from home. One must have  a suitable and safe home office space.  A current driver’s license is required as is auto insurance.

Benefits:

SEC offers benefits such as paid time off and health insurance to all employees who average 20 hours or more per week. (Sick is automatically accrued).  We offer two Kaiser Health Plans, of which SEC pays 80% of the monthly premium for the employee.  At this time, SEC does not contribute to spouses, significant others, or dependents.  We offer paid holidays, and a cell phone plan.

Sonoma Ecology Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be given equal consideration; equal access to programs, services, and employment opportunities is available to all persons. Persons with diverse backgrounds and of all ethnicities and genders are encouraged to apply. Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodations to the application and/or interview process should notify our Human Resources Department.

To Apply

Please apply using BambooHR HRIS by clicking here: https://sonomaecologycenter.bamboohr.com/careers/41

Alternatively, email humanresources@sonomaecologycenter.org and write Design and Implementation PM in the Header. Please attach your resume, cover letter, and three references, preferably in one PDF. No phone calls, please. For more information about the Sonoma Ecology Center, please visit www.sonomaecologycenter.org.