Watsonville, CA

Position Title: Community Solutions Coordinator

Organization: Community Water Center

Location: Watsonville, CA

Organization Overview: The Community Water Center (CWC) acts as a catalyst for community-driven water solutions through organizing, education, and advocacy in California. CWC has offices in Visalia, Watsonville and Sacramento, CA. The Center employs four primary strategies in order to accomplish their goals:

• Educate, organize, and build the capacity of low-income communities and communities of color to address local drinking water challenges.
  
• Support low-income communities and communities of color in the development of drinking water solutions through technical assistance projects.
• Advocate for systemic change to address the root causes of unsafe drinking water in California.
  
• Serve as a resource for information and center of expertise on community water challenges.
  

CWC’s team is passionate, dynamic, and believes in the cause of water justice and making real change that is driven directly by impacted communities themselves. Their organizing and advocacy work, community collaborations, and organizational culture all reflect a concern for equity, mutual respect, appreciation for diversity, and environmental and social justice. As CWC continues to grow, they are looking for candidates who share their values, bring a passion for achieving their mission, and contribute to making change in their society. They are currently increasing their technical capacity to work alongside communities on state-funded technical assistance (TA) projects to develop drinking water solutions that meet community needs.

Position Overview: This position is a full-time exempt position that will be primarily responsible for developing drinking water projects in underserved communities where residents do not have reliable access to safe and affordable drinking water. The Community Solutions Coordinator will also provide technical support and resources to assist residents in making informed decisions on the best drinking water solutions for their needs. This position will work directly with other CWC teams focused on advocacy, organizing, communications and policy; and will coordinate regularly with community partners, government agencies, contracted consultants, technical advisors, and affiliate organizations. They will work closely with the CWC organizing team to ensure that information about drinking water problems and potential solutions is communicated effectively to community partners and provide opportunities for community engagement and action. This position will require travel to communities throughout the Central Coast and Central Valley as needed. This position will report to the Community Solutions Manager in the Watsonville office. All employees at CWC are “at will.”

Duties: 

• Manage and support projects to evaluate, plan and implement drinking water solutions
  (such as consolidation with a nearby water system, treatment options, and local
  drinking water infrastructure improvement projects).
  • Project Implementation
    • Lead the implementation of some of CWC’s drinking water projects and
      support CWC staff leading other such projects.
    • Coordinate with community residents; local, regional and state
      governmental agencies; and other stakeholders.
    • Contract and manage vendors and consultants.
    • Oversee the development of scopes of work, deliverables, timelines, and
      specific tasks for vendors and consultants.
    • Provide oversight to ensure contracted work is in the best interest of
      CWC, meets community needs, is of high quality, and is completed on
      time.
    • Identify and address barriers to project completion.
  • Project Funding Management
    • Lead management of projects including developing and tracking project
      budgets, submitting funding applications and scopes of work to funding
      agencies, and providing regular progress reports.
    • Support the development, tracking, and reporting of project outcomes
      and performance metrics.
• Develop technical analysis, informational materials, and other resources that are
  accessible to a non-technical audience on topics including:
  • Drinking water quality and potential health risks.
  • Pros and cons of potential drinking water solutions.
  • Project status updates.
• Support CWC’s organizing and advocacy efforts by:
  • Coordinating with staff and community partners to garner project support and
    overcome political or bureaucratic barriers.
  • Using the best available data and community-based knowledge to identify
    at-risk communities to target drinking water project development.
  • Coordinating with staff on the development of informational materials and
    communications strategies.
• Support CWC’s policy advocacy efforts by:
  • Identifying areas where changes in policy are needed in drinking water funding
    programs to address project barriers and make funding more accessible to more
    underserved communities.
  • Providing technical support such as review of local groundwater management
    plans or analysis of impacts on local drinking water wells for CWC’s advocacy to
    improve groundwater management.
• Build strategic relationships, alliances, partnerships, and coalitions that advance CWC’s
  campaigns and projects.
  General Duties
• Foster an environment that promotes trust and cooperation amongst staff,
  management, community members, and affiliate organizations.
• Attend and actively participate in staff, management, planning, and program meetings;
  reporting processes; and staff retreats.
• Actively participate in CWC activities such as donor drives and fundraising events.
• Other duties as assigned by the Executive Director, Supervisor and other Directors.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Experience reviewing technical analyses and information (preferably related to drinking water, wastewater, the environment, health, and/or social justice) and synthesizing technical information for non-technical audiences.
• Strong verbal and written communication and presentation skills, with sensitivity to appropriate delivery depending on target audience.
• Fluency in English.
• Outstanding organizational skills, including the ability to make progress on multiple projects concurrently.
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with diverse organizations, groups, and individuals.
• Experience working with low-income communities and/or communities of color.
• Ability to be detail-oriented and think analytically, creatively, and critically.
• Ability to analyze drinking water technology information and develop cost estimates.
• Valid Driver’s License.
• Ability to travel within California and work some evenings and weekends.
• Skilled with use of a computer and relevant software in a professional setting.
• Degree (Bachelor’s or more advanced) in engineering, environmental science or related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Fluency in Spanish (strongly preferred; will be evaluated during the interview process).
• Three or more years relevant professional experience.
• Project management experience, including oversight of project contractors (e.g. consultants working on specific technical aspects of a larger environmental project), and scope, budget and schedule development and tracking.
• Experience soliciting grant funding for projects or working on grant-funded projects.
• Experience or familiarity with drinking water quality and treatment, piped drinking water systems, drinking water wells, and groundwater quality and management.
• Experience working on drinking water projects, wastewater projects and/or public policy.
• Experience planning and facilitating meetings with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience working with management and analysis of databases, including geospatial data (GIS).

Salary/Pay: $65,000 – $82,000 per year (based on experience and qualifications)

Application Deadline: Open until filled

How to Apply: Please use the online application to view the full job description as well as how to apply.