The Project Manager acts as the BalanceBlue Lab's project manager and ambassador for advancing on-demand fishing gear in fixed gear fisheries to reduce the risk of marine wildlife entanglement. The New England Aquarium (NEAq) is committed to a vital and vibrant ocean for future generations. NEAq's BalanceBlue Lab amplifies ocean health and conservation by engaging private-sector collaborators and driving ocean-friendly practices into the global seafood sector.
The BalanceBlue Lab is a resource for supporting innovators, industry, and investors in making informed decisions to deliver "the ocean we need for the future we want." To that end, NEAq's BalanceBlue Lab drives entrepreneurs, corporations, and ocean industries towards ocean-friendly practices, sustainability goals, and climate adaptation strategies based on deep internal technical and scientific expertise.
This is a full-time regular position offering a comprehensive benefits package. The schedule will be Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm with mostly remote schedule. This role will require occasional travel regionally to visit with stakeholders and participate in workshops with fishers, as well as attend annual consortium meetings. Remote days are only available for residents of MA, RI, NH, ME, NY and VT.
Essential Functions
- Serve as NEAq program manager for BalanceBlue Lab's on-demand fishing gear work, with a budget of approximately $1M per year. Duties include serving as primary point of contact for interactions between partner organizations, fishing communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other partner entities, as well as other NEAq internal departments. This includes supervision and daily management of all aspects of the project plan, managing the financial/grant obligations, drafting grant proposals and reports, developing and supervising budgets and spend, managing and coordinating logistics for multiple events, serving in a leadership role on external committees, and achieving project and programmatic goals.
- Manage external consultants/contractors.
- Coordinate subject matter expertise where needed for policy framing, input, and providing scientific framing and information.
- Coordinate and track progress and outcomes of activities against NEAq action plans and strategies.
- Lead advancing on-demand fishing gear project internally and externally (e.g., give presentations, draft initial comment letters, develop external communication materials).
- In coordination with interdisciplinary action team and Director of BalanceBlue Lab, assist with the deliverables and priority touchpoints across audiences (e.g., public-facing, visitors, government, private sector).
- Participate on steering committees, boards and/or technical committees related to on-demand fishing gear.
- Attend and present work at academic and industry conferences/tradeshows.
- Participate in meetings with corporate partners, providing technical expertise and translating scientific materials for business audiences.
- Coordinate with Director of BalanceBlue Lab on other related BalanceBlue initiatives and activities.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of the BalanceBlue Lab team and contribute to similar deliverables in the innovative fishing and aquaculture gear space as needed.
- Lead community of practice management efforts (data collection and synthesis, workshop design, implementation and evaluation).
- Contribute to overall iterative project strategy development.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in natural resources management, marine science, marine policy, or other related field required.
- At least five years of relevant experience required, with three years of experience directly engaging and managing diverse stakeholders related to fishing, gear innovation, ocean conservation, or other similar field.
- A genuine interest in, and passion for, the important ocean conservation mission of the NEAq and appreciation for science-based solutions.
Preferred Qualifications
- Demonstrated success working directly with diverse stakeholders, particularly with fishing communities, strongly preferred.
- Experience working with commercial fishing industry using on-demand fishing gear.
- Experience applying technical guidelines and/or government regulations to environmental-focused project work.
- Established network within the fishing, gear innovation, and/or ocean conservation space.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking.
- Strong basic technical/scientific understanding of bycatch and/or uptake of fishing gear technology; ability to quickly digest and interpret technical information from scientific sources.
- Highly motivated with strong organizational and interpersonal skills, and a high attention to detail.
For more information and to apply online please visit: http://neaq.applicantpro.com/jobs/
New England Aquarium is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer as defined by the EEOC. Here we foster a culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion. We strive to engage and inspire a broad audience with our efforts to protect the blue planet, and we believe a diverse workforce provides experiences, skills, and perspectives that enrich our programs, strengthen problem-solving, add creativity, and enhance our work environment.
Salary: $65875 - $74600 per year
Job Posted by ApplicantPro
