St. Croix Reef Restoration Associate

JOB TITLE: St. Croix Reef Restoration Associate – Contractual Employee
LOCATION: St. Croix, USVI
SALARY RANGE: Commensurate with experience
SUPERVISOR: Director of Restoration Strategy, CRF™
JOB STATUS: Full time, 40hrs/week including weekends and special events
POSITION-TYPE: This position is grant funded over a three-year period. Scope of work will be
defined on an annual basis. CRF™ expects this to be a long-term position
but that is ultimately dependent on performance and funding.
SUBMISSION: Email application materials to: jessica@coralrestoration.org
Applications are due by November 10, 2024
Save application file as: LastName.FirstName.DateofSubmission

APPLICATION MATERIALS

• PAGE 1: Cover Letter that speaks to your interest in being a part of CRF™ Team, its
  mission, and what you can bring to restoration efforts in St. Croix (limit 1 page).
• PAGE 2-3: Resume concisely presenting related experience and directly addresses items
  in this position description (limit 2 pages).
• PAGE 4: Contact information and relationship to applicant for two references. Please
  note, if applicants are formerly associated with CRF™, references should come from
  outside the current CRF™ Team.
• PAGE 5: (if available) Scans of your highest level of SCUBA certification, First Aid, CPR
  and Oxygen Provider certifications, and highest level of boating certification/training.

ABOUT THE CORAL RESTORATION FOUNDATION™

Coral Restoration Foundation™ is a United States (US) 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit ocean conservation organization. Our core mission is to restore coral reefs, to educate others on the importance of our oceans, and to use science to further coral research and coral reef monitoring techniques. CRF™ does not believe that the plight of coral reefs in the 21st century is hopeless. In fact, the organization has developed a strategy for coral reef restoration that exists at the intersection of four core CRF™ programs: (1) restoration, (2) science, (3) education, (4) global.

Total CRF™ contributions and other financial support were approximate $3.5 million in 2020, $4.7 million in 2021, $5.9 million in 2022, and $5.8 in 2023. This growth in public and private support is proportionately reflected in growing staff activities such as nursery maintenance, coral transplantation, data collection, boat and warehouse operations, contract negotiation and compliance, and other administrative activities. Funding has been a mix of public grants and foundation donations. In recent years CRF™ contributions to reef restoration have been acknowledged through numerous accolades and consistent media coverage.

CORE VALUES

The contracted employee should embody the core values of CRF™. This includes the ability to be
team-oriented and able to work with a diverse group of staff, interns, volunteers, donors and
community members.

CRF™ Values Statement: CRF™ is driven by action and results. We believe that through education and innovation, we provide hope for coral reefs and future generations. We act with honesty, respect, and integrity at all times as representatives of the organization. The organization promotes a positive working environment that values teamwork, education, and financial stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. We cultivate an immersive environment to develop team members, volunteers, and interns through mentorship.

POSITION BACKGROUND

Tropical coral reefs are declining at unprecedented rates globally, imperiling the communities most dependent on the ecosystem services they provide. It is widely acknowledged that without active intervention (e.g., coral restoration) the benefits derived from coral reefs will be lost or materially degraded. As such, coral restoration has been identified as a priority in many locations. One such location with an expanding investment into coral restoration implementation is the U.S. Virgin Islands. To aid in the coordination of these growing restoration efforts, VI-RoCS was formed in 2020 and released a Coral Restoration Plan in 2023 for the territory that identifies six critical reef sites to prioritize interventions. Long Reef, one of the six identified sites, was not receiving active restoration attention; therefore, CRF™ was invited to begin operations in St. Croix to leverage our expertise in large scale coral restoration that has been ongoing in the Florida Keys since 2007.

CRF™ operations on St. Croix began in early 2024 and are rapidly expanding. An in-situ coral nursery has been established where thousands of coral fragments are being grown for restoration on Long Reef. Field days are coordinated with contract divers from the island. Opportunities for outreach events and public community dives are growing and are expected to mature as we continue to seek greater community engagement. Restoration efforts are guided by the priorities and restoration targets outlined in the Coral Restoration Plan and will continue to be coordinated with DPNR, NOAA’s Restoration Center, and VI-RoCS.

As CRF™ continues to grow and contribute to the existing restoration efforts in the USVIs, we are seeking a dynamic individual to contribute to our organization evolving restoration capacity in St. Croix. This position will be based in St. Croix, where they will assist in coral restoration efforts at Long Reef and help expand community engagement on the island. CRF™ will provide a final scope of work defining contract deliverables to promising candidates prior to an offer and onboarding.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The St. Croix Reef Restoration Associate will work directly under the USVI Coral Restoration Coordinator with oversight from CRF™ Director of Restoration Strategy.

This position is based in St. Croix, USVI. Applicants must have a positive attitude while being self- motivated, reliable, and display strong core characteristics as described in CRF™ value statement. This position involves working in a complex underwater environment, maintaining high safety standards while often managing 3-5 additional (sometimes relatively inexperienced) divers. We expect that this contractual employee is capable of multi-tasking and can think critically while being intuitive and proactive. They can adjust to unexpected changes and readily solve problems. They must achieve and maintain a high level of spatial awareness, for divers’ safety and to complete restoration tasks seamlessly.

This position is a field-based role, responsible for assisting in the implementation of restoration activities at Long Reef in support CRF™ annual restoration goals in St. Croix. While the primary purpose of this position is to assist in diving and field-based tasks, this position will also work towards the develop and expansion of our organization’s community engagement and outreach capacity. Field work is supplemented with land-based activities to support these efforts. They will work closely with the USVI Coral Restoration Coordinator and other team members to help plan and execute operations.

In response to applicants and before final selection, CRF™ will provide a final statement of work detailing the consulting contract before onboarding. Detailed deliverables will include a timeline for implementation and milestones across an annual contract.

Responsibilities (including, but are not limited to):

• Contribute to CRF™ restoration goals in St. Croix
  • Successfully perform field-based restoration activities such as installing and maintaining in-situ nursery structures, propagating corals, outplanting corals to reefs, and monitoring nursery and restoration sites.
  • Safely and efficiently drive small vessels to restoration sites.
  • Oversee small teams of divers to complete restoration tasks according to CRF™ standard operation and safety procedures.
  • Land tasks to support restoration such as nursery structure assembly, general maintenance of tools, and ordering supplies as needed.
• Project Reporting and Assistance
  • Collect and enter data across all restoration tasks (nursery, outplanting, monitoring, and dive log) within CRF™ master repositories.
  • Maintain and update records such as coral collection sites, nursery maps, and outplanting records according to CRF™ data standards on our cloud-based platform.
  • Assist in the development of St. Croix SOP’s and manuals.
  • Assist in permit and grant reporting as needed.
• Community Liaison
  • Support the expansion of CRF™ community presence in St. Croix.
  • Coordinate public dive charters to St. Croix restoration sites.
  • Present CRF™ efforts at public and community events as needed.
  • Assist in training opportunities (with support from CRF™ Education and Operations Departments).

Required skills and qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Biology, Ecology, Marine, or Environmental sciences.
• Minimum 1 year demonstrated experience in ocean restoration or related conservation field work.
• SCUBA certification: Rescue Diver from an internationally recognized training agency, with a minimum of fifty (50) open water dives; at least thirty (30) of those dives as ocean dives, and ten (10) as boat dives.
• Current certifications for: First Aid, CPR and O2 Provider with the certification issued from an internationally recognized agency (or the ability to obtain prior to start date).
• Small boat handling experience is essential. Preference to MOCC Certified or Coast Guard Licensed Captains.
• Demonstrated experience using MS Office (Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook), Garmin GPS software, and Google products (Google Earth).
• Spatial awareness of surroundings and fellow divers; ability to watch and manage dive teams while also being able to accomplish tasks within nurseries and at restoration sites.
• Experience with SCUBA tank, high-pressure air compressor, gear repairs, and general vehicle or vessel maintenance.

Desirable skills and knowledge:

• Practical (first-hand) experience with coral restoration methods and priorities.
• Experience living and working in the USVI is highly valued.
• Nonprofit program management
• Operational and strategic planning

We would expect a successful contractual employee to have the following characteristics:

• Strong critical thinking skills and the ability to adapt or modify processes in response to changing circumstances and a demonstrated ability to solve routine problems independently.
• Strong organizational, communication, planning and analytical skills.
• Coordinate multiple tasks with many variables, while working on SCUBA.
• Acute attention to detail.
• Personable and team oriented
• Self-motivated
• Excellent communication in English, both orally and in writing.
• Deep integrity, with an unwavering commitment to ethical behavior and communication.

TEAMWORK AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS CRF™

operates with a small staff of 30 people and relies on our seasonal interns, consultants, as well as volunteers to accomplish our mission and work effectively on the water. We are a lean operation, and teamwork is crucial to our success. Being an effective team member means not only having the ability to work with CRF™ staff but also to be a positive example to our interns and volunteers (both on the water and off). Interested candidates should be able to work well with and communicate with a diverse group of people including fellow staff, interns, volunteers, the public, donors, media, and partners.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL EFFORT

Work requires high levels of physical exertion and/or physical strain. Must be able to carry 65 pounds and able to lift 35 pounds overhead. This position is expected to perform 3 shallow-water scuba dives for up to 5 consecutive days per week. Work environment involves frequent exposure to various elements (sun, heat, wind, rain, cold, etc). Typical work week is 9am-5pm, 5 days a week, inclusive of weekends. Additionally, a willingness to travel and work flexible hours is essential. This individual will be expected to scuba dive as well as work in an office and warehouse to complete related supporting tasks. CRF™ requires Covid Vaccination (subject to applicable federal/state guidelines) to join our team.

Coral Restoration Foundation™ is an Equal Opportunity Employer.