Local Government Specialist

The Local Government Specialist independently manages projects related to watershed planning, capacity building and technical assistance for local governments within the Chesapeake Bay watershed (initially, focusing on portions of the Delmarva peninsula). By building strong relationships with small, under-resourced local government officials and collecting and reviewing relevant plans and data, the Specialist identifies potential forests and green infrastructure projects and collaborates with peers at the Alliance to plan for implementation of watershed best management practices. The Specialist works under the direction of the Local Government Initiative Director.

Specific Duties of the Position:

• Collaborate closely with staff from partner municipal leagues and/or county associations
• Collect, manage, and prioritize local government watershed planning technical assistance requests
• Meet regularly with local government staff and officials, and maintain open communication with the goal of fostering long-term partnerships
• Create scope of work for watershed planning technical assistance for partner local governments
• Identify local government priorities, goals, needs and challenges related to water resources
• Review existing environmental planning documents, included but not limited to comprehensive plans, capital improvement plans, green infrastructure plans, park plans etc.
• Identify opportunities to meet goals and/or address challenges with the installation of best management practices on publicly owned lands
• Utilize GIS and other geospatial tools to assess possible BMP sites on public lands
• Create action plans that recommend next steps, including possible funding sources, and share results with local government staff and officials
• Collaborate with Alliance Program teams to identify high-priority projects to seek out implementation opportunities
• In collaboration with the Local Government Initiative Director, lead grant proposals (or other funding pursuits) to support the ongoing efforts of the Local Government Initiative
• Lead grant reporting, including tracking grant outputs and grant financials