There are currently two job openings at Playa Lakes Joint Venture:
- Business Administrator
- New Mexico Wetlands Restoration Specialist
- IMBCR Data Analyst / Biostatistician
About Playa Lakes Joint Venture
PLJV is a regional partnership of federal and state wildlife agencies, conservation groups and private industry dedicated to conserving bird habitat throughout portions of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Our mission is to conserve the playas, prairies and landscapes of the western Great Plains through partnerships for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. The Joint Venture facilitates cooperation among a broad coalition of partners on the national, regional, state and local levels to fund and implement habitat conservation. We provide regional planning, value-added efficiency and implementation approaches, while our partners provide financial, technical and local expertise to develop conservation projects. In addition, PLJV supports local conservation partnerships, state agencies and other partners by developing various decision support tools, as well as providing education about how to use the tools to target and deliver the most effective habitat conservation. PLJV also works with a variety of partners to inform landowners about conservation programs and to target conservation efforts in areas that will provide the most benefit.
PLJV’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
People are essential to realizing our mission to conserve birds and wildlife across the western Great Plains. At PLJV we are committed to including all voices within our landscape in order to implement conservation work by collaborating with a wide variety of individual and community stakeholders and ensuring that our work is reflective of their values, beliefs, and ways of knowing. We commit to building more equity into our programs and services by improving our awareness and understanding of the unique perspectives of people, engaging in dialogue with communities of all backgrounds, and taking actions that support our combined interests in a meaningful way.
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is seeking an experienced Business Administrator to support the essential accounting and operations functions of its business. PLJV is a non-profit organization with a mission to conserve the playas, prairies, and landscapes of the western Great Plains through partnerships for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. This position will assist the Business Director in accounting, billing, and reporting for federal and non-federal sources of funding, and will work with the Coordinator, PLJV staff, and various partners in meeting day-to-day operations needs. Primary duties include mail collection and distribution, bank deposits, check writing, expense and receipt tracking, time tracking, onboarding support for new positions, and logistics management for board meetings and staff retreats.
Major Duties
- Time and expense tracking for major grants
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Office, vendor, and meeting management
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with emphasis in business administration, accounting or non-profit management, or the equivalent in education and experience
- High level of proficiency with Google Sheets and/or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
- High level of proficiency with Quickbooks accounting softwareDesired Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Additional Desired Qualifications
- Excellent writing skills with proven ability to translate complex financial data for a variety of audiences
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects with conflicting deadlines
- Proficiency in Google Workspace applications
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Background in Human Resources management or support is desired but not required
Other Requirements
- Must possess and maintain a valid state driver’s license
Travel Required
- Travel requirements may be as much as 10% or greater to attend staff meetings, management board meetings, and other regional partnership meetings, as needed
Supervisor
This position reports directly to and is evaluated by the PLJV Business Director. Job performance is reviewed in the context of responsiveness to objectives and priorities as determined by the Business Director and Coordinator. Annual work plans for the position will be developed by the Business Director in consultation with the Coordinator.
Salary, Benefits, and Start Date
Starting salary is commensurate with education, experience, and location with an expected range of $60,000-$70,000 per year. PLJV offers a generous benefits package, including employer-paid health coverage (medical, dental and vision), HSA with annual contribution to defray medical deductibles, and a 7% match on salary toward our retirement plan. We anticipate this position will begin working on or around May 1.
Job Location
The job location can be anywhere in the Denver/Boulder metro area, with priority given to those candidates who are willing to live in the Boulder county area.
To Apply
Playa Lakes Joint Venture is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks a diverse applicant pool. Please email your application documents as one complete PDF file to jobs@pljv.org. All applications should include a resume, a one-page cover letter, and three professional references. In the cover letter, please include salary requirements and desired location. The deadline for all applications is 5:00PM MST, on March 29.
NEW MEXICO WETLANDS RESTORATION SPECIALIST
The role of the New Mexico Wetlands Restoration Specialist is to conduct outreach to landowners and managers on the benefits of playas and other wetlands, and facilitate wetlands restoration work in eastern New Mexico. Primary funding will come from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF), with additional non-federal funding from private sources. This position focuses on the New Mexico portion of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) region.
The position requires coordination among private, local, state, and federal agencies, and as such, the incumbent needs to be a team leader as well as team participant. Day-to-day work consists of working with landowners, PLJV staff from various disciplines (conservation delivery, GIS, biological science, communications, and social science) and local, state, and regional partners to accomplish bird habitat conservation. The eastern NM Wetlands Restoration Specialist work will be instrumental in developing municipal water and aquifer conservation strategies.
Major Duties
- Collaborate and work with other PLJV staff that will support this position with communications, outreach, GIS, social science, and biological science.
- Collaborate with local conservation partnerships and other partners to pursue playa conservation projects within eastern New Mexico.
- Present conservation programs and their benefits to playa owners. Identify landowners willing to restore playa lakes and associated grasslands on their property.
- Assist in identifying and prioritizing restoration sites, and contracting for restoration.
- Coordinate on final site selection, including conducting site visits, as necessary.
- Develop playa lake and grassland restoration prescriptions and associated project budgets.
- Design and implement wetland and associated grassland restoration projects.
- Document project work during implementation and closeout.
- Maintain close communication with partners
- Identify people, organizations and contractors to implement restoration activities, help maintain landowner files.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Ability to build and establish relationships with private, municipal, state and federal landowners and managers.
- Demonstrated track record of working with producers, both farmers and ranchers.
- High level skills in oral and written communication and the ability to communicate with both technical, management, and lay audiences.
- Ability to be a self-starter and a team player.
- Ability to travel to attend state and local partner meetings.
Additional Desired Qualifications
- Working knowledge of the Farm Bill and the various programs within FSA and NRCS may be used for wetland conservation.
- Understand the wetland and grassland conservation networks in New Mexico.
- Current knowledge of (or the ability to learn quickly) the functions and values of wetlands and grasslands, within eastern New Mexico.
- Experience with wetland restoration projects.
Other Requirements
- Must possess and maintain a valid state driver’s license.
- This position may need to conduct off-site meetings and evaluations that may include traversing wet, rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces in hot, cold, dry, or humid environments.
Travel Required
This position requires substantial workday travel within eastern New Mexico to meet with landowners and partners. Travel requirements may be greater than 50%, although nights away from home may be less than 10%. Travel reimbursements provided.
Supervisor
The position reports directly to and is evaluated by the PLJV Conservation Delivery Manager, in conjunction with NMDGF. Job performance is reviewed in the context of responsiveness to objectives and priorities as determined by the Conservation Delivery Manager, and based on input from the Management Board and partners. Annual work plans for the position will be developed by the position incumbent in consultation with the supervisor and NMDGF. Beyond a work plan, the incumbent is largely self-directed in accomplishing objectives.
Salary, Benefits, and Start Date
This is a full-time position. Starting salary is commensurate with education, experience, and location with an expected range of $65,000-$75,000. PLJV offers a generous benefits package, including employer-paid health coverage (medical, dental, and vision), HSA with annual contributions to defray medical deductibles, and a 7% match on salary toward our retirement plan. We anticipate this position will begin working no later than June 1, 2024.
Job Location
The job will be located in an area that facilitates ease of travel within central-eastern New Mexico (preferably Clovis, Roswell, or Tucumcari). Priority will be given to candidates currently living or willing to live in this area.
To Apply
Playa Lakes Joint Venture is an equal opportunity employer and seeks a diverse applicant pool. All applications should include a a one-page cover letter, resume, and three professional references. Please email your application documents as one complete PDF file to jobs@pljv.org. In the cover letter, please include salary requirements, available start date and desired location. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; evaluations will begin on March 22.
IMBCR DATA ANALYST / BIOSTATISTICIAN
Every spring since 2016, the PLJV partnership collects data on breeding grassland birds throughout its six-state region using the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions protocol (IMBCR), generating thousands of lines of data that need to be analyzed. In addition, we will begin vegetation data collection to evaluate the effectiveness of grassland restoration treatments in New Mexico. We seek a motivated and experienced data analyst to 1) complete partner-specific data analyses on effectiveness of management techniques and 2) evaluate internal PLJV-specific questions regarding grassland bird density and occupancy in relationship to wetlands and other landscape-scale grassland and wetland patterns. This is a full-time position with funding for three years. There is the potential to become a permanent position, dependent on fundraising.
Major Duties
- Use parametric, information theoretic, and machine learning statistical techniques, as appropriate, to analyze multi-year grassland breeding bird data according to partner and internal PLJV needs
- Use GIS to extract appropriate spatial and remotely sensed data for use in analyses.
- Communicate with state, federal, and nonprofit partners about results of data analyses and development of future projects
- Write and submit reports to partners on-time
- Attend partner meetings, as appropriate, to present results
- Work with Conservation Science Director and other PLJV staff to develop and fundraise for additional projects and decision support tools using IMBCR data
Required Qualifications
- Experience analyzing large, complex datasets
- Experience with hierarchical distance sampling models and machine learning models such as Boosted Regression Trees
- Experience using GIS to extract spatial covariates
- Self-motivated and able to work remotely
- Demonstrated capacity to deliver products on-time
Additional Desired Qualifications
- Advanced degree in statistical analysis, biological sciences, or other related field
- Knowledge of the ecology of the grasslands and playas of the western Great Plains
- Experience with cloud computing
- Strong communications skills, including the ability to succinctly explain detailed scientific information in a way that is understandable to the average audience
- Ability to build and establish relationships with a diversity of state, federal, corporate, and nonprofit partners
Other Requirements
- Must possess and maintain a valid state driver’s license
- PLJV is a fully remote office environment. Candidates must have access to appropriate work/office space with internet access sufficient to perform regular office tasks (e.g., email, zoom/teams/google calls, etc.).
- This is primarily an office position and travel requirements will be limited (<10% of time). Therefore, physical demands are limited to those required for moving within your office space and the ability to navigate airports, hotels, and other meeting spaces.
Supervisor
This position reports directly to the Conservation Science Director. Job performance is reviewed in the context of responsiveness to objectives and priorities as determined by the Conservation Science Director. Annual work plans for the position will be developed by the position incumbent in consultation with the Conservation Science Director. Beyond a work plan, the incumbent is largely self-directed in accomplishing objectives.
Salary, Benefits, and Start Date
Starting salary is commensurate with education, experience, and location with an expected range of $60,000 – $70,000 per year. PLJV offers a generous benefits package, including full medical and dental coverage, HSA with annual contribution to defray medical deductibles, and a 7% salary match toward our retirement plan. We anticipate this position will begin working on or around June 3, 2024.
Job Location
This is a fully remote job, however, preference will be given to candidates within the Playa Lakes Joint Venture Region.
To Apply
Playa Lakes Joint Venture is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks a diverse applicant pool. Please email your application documents as one complete PDF file to jobs@pljv.org with IMBCR Data Analyst in the subject line. All applications should include a one-page cover letter and a CV or resume. If submitting a resume, please include citations for any publications that illustrate your experience. In the cover letter, please include salary requirements and an estimated start date. The deadline for all applications is Sunday, April 7, 2024.