Associate Restoration Scientist

River Partners is seeking an Associate Restoration Scientist in Chico, CA. This full-time role involves collaborating with the Restoration Team on ecological restoration projects, conducting field monitoring, and data collection. Key responsibilities include project planning, ensuring compliance with regulations, and maintaining relationships with clients. The position requires regular travel to project sites and offices, emphasizing teamwork and effective communication to achieve restoration goals.
Associate Restoration Scientist

Position Title : Associate Restoration Scientist

Location: Chico, CA

Status: Full-time, Non-Exempt

Reports to: Restoration Ecologist

Pays Scale: $26.20-$32.93

A thriving future for California’s environment and communities requires bold vision, creative problem-solving, and relentless determination. This is a critical decade for action and River Partners is growing our team of talented, tenacious change-makers to meet the challenge head on. Join us!

Who We Are

River Partners brings life back to California rivers. We’ve revitalized more habitat along impaired California rivers than any other entity in the western U.S., having led hundreds of projects across nearly 20,000 acres throughout California. We restore thriving native forests and ecosystems that support imperiled wildlife, improve flood safety, boost the state’s climate resilience, replenish and improve freshwater resources, create open space for communities, and build stronger local economies. Since 1998, we have pioneered an innovative, entrepreneurial approach to conservation, combining modern farming, cutting-edge science, and diverse partnerships.

Position Description

The Restoration Science Associate collaborates with River Partners’ larger Restoration Team to identify, evaluate, implement, and complete restoration activities. This position reports to a Restoration Science Manager and regularly works in outdoor conditions to conduct field monitoring and data collection, providing essential insights for project planning and data-driven decision-making. The Restoration Science Associate also ensures the effective communication of findings to team members and external partners.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

(10%) Project and Team Collaboration
• Participate with the Restoration Science Team to deliver large-scale ecological restoration projects on time, within the budget, and with the highest standards of project performance.
• Participate in developing workplans, training plans, performance appraisal, timesheets, and expense reports.
• Maintain a personal 70-20-10 plan in partnership with supervisor, and share with peers.
• Ensure compliance with workplace regulations in collaboration with the Safety & Office Manager.
• Exercise sound judgement in elevating issues for support or review by senior leadership.
• Maintain and support good working relationships with clients and vendors.
• Fulfill project monitoring obligations while contributing to organizational outcomes such as organization-wide impact tracking, seed collections, and developing restoration science partnerships.
• Regularly travel to project sites and regional offices to complete job duties and collaborate with the larger Restoration Science Team.
• Foster positive working relationships amongst Restoration Science, Field Restoration and Administrative teams to support excellent project delivery.

(70%) Project Planning, Monitoring, and Development
• Conduct data collection and analysis to support site evaluation and conception scoping.
• Participate in writing and analysis to assist in project planning and design, cost-estimation, budgeting, partnership cultivation, and work planning to support the Restoration Team in delivering excellent restoration projects and the Development team in securing new restoration projects (grants and contracts).
• Support the Restoration Team to:
• Ensure timely and budget-complaint agreement deliverables.
• Proactively monitor budgets and schedules, revise workplans, troubleshoot project obstacles, and manage productive relationships with clients and regulators.
• Collect field data and perform literature review and synthesis to inform and monitor restoration projects using data-drive approaches.
• Cleary communicate project developments, constraints, and opportunities to peers, external partners, and the Leadership team.
• Advance the science of Restoration Ecology through management of research partnerships, site studies, field trials, and demonstrations using River Partners' projects as living laboratories.
• Adhere to sensitivity and permit compliance requirements.
• Use projects and project partner relationships to maintain and grow restoration project adaptation, learning, and improvement.
• Support the Development Team to:
• Develop realistic project outcomes, workplans, and schedules for proposals.
• Generate technical language for grant proposals as requested.
• Support Advancement Director to secure private funding for projects and initiatives:
• Prepare materials and represent River Partners at site tours and pitch meetings as requested.
• Regularly share stories, project outcomes, photos, and other pertinent information from the field with River Partners leadership and team members.
• Support Heritage Growers:
• Regularly scope and forecast seed and plant requirements for restoration projects.
• Scout and participate in wildland seed collections.
• Collaborate with Heritage Growers to pilot and test new ecotypes in restoration projects.

(10%) Communications – Internal and External
• Share project and team issues with appropriate team leads and senior leadership at River Partners.
• Serve as an organizational ambassador for conferences, site tours and project visits with vendors, partners, and clients.
• Know and coach staff and peers from Field Restoration Team to know the specific details of project implementation and outcomes including:
• Timeline, tasks, and budget.
• Special regulatory permit conditions and sensitivities (for example cultural resources).
• Conceptual site model and intended measurable outcomes.
• Strategic partners and regional importance of project.
• Inspect project sites and collaborate with Safety & Office Manager, CFO, Senior Director of Field Restoration, and Director of Communications to highlight successes and outcomes, correct errors and respond to challenges.
• Cultivate collaboration amongst Field Restoration and Restoration Science teams to ensure project compliance with permitting conditions, restoration plans and best available science.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Working knowledge of California plants, riparian ecology, hydrology, soils, and wildlife.
• Familiarity with California and Federal environmental permitting including NEPA/CEQA, ESA, CDFW Code, California Water Code, and Clean Water Act Section 404/401.
• Ability to collaborate with diverse team members and community partners with poise, vision, and respect.
• Working understanding of statistics and experimental design.
• Intermediate skills in collecting, organizing, and analyzing field data, including spatial data and maps.
• Excellent verbal, analytical, organizational, and written skills, including data visualization to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Integrity and ethics beyond reproach.

Qualifications
• BS and a minimum of 1 year of experience in Ecology, Wildlife Management, Restoration, or a related field. Relevant experience may substitute for education.
• Experience working with GPS/GIS applications.
• Experience in ecological monitoring and program-building in ecological assessment.
• Proficiency in working with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and SharePoint.
• Valid California driver’s license with no restrictions.
• Ability to communicate in Spanish (preferred).
• Commitment and enthusiasm to carry out River Partners’ mission.

River Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

River Partners is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, religion, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with disability, or any other protected group status or non-job related characteristic as directed by law.