Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation

About the role

The Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation will work with the Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) staff and partners to build on existing bird and soil monitoring to develop a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation program. This critical role for ACR will work closely with Audubon scientists and rangeland ecologists as well as ranchers to coordinate and communicate monitoring needs.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate the selection of core national, regional, and ranch-level metrics, including birds, biodiversity, habitat, soil, carbon, water, and socioeconomic indicators.
• Standardize measurement protocols across regions (so that differences in results across regions aren’t due to differences in methodologies) and facilitate decision-making to select additional core regional monitoring metrics.
• Work with ACR ranches and contractors on baseline and repeat soil health/soil carbon and habitat assessments. Baseline assessments will include initial measurements and image and video documentation of each monitoring site that are needed prior to Habitat Management Plan development.
• Collaborate with ACR range ecologists to survey ranchers about, document, and communicate key information on ranch management history and grazing and management practices for reporting to funders and/or their program partners.
• Work with the National Science team to facilitate the aggregation, storage, and analysis of monitoring data.
• Identify and report each year’s most important findings for individual ranches, regions, cumulatively across ACR.
• Provide adaptive management feedback to ACR staff to update Habitat Management Plans for participating ranches every 3 years to inform any recommended changes to grazing approach or other management actions.
• Statistically analyze data to identify and report each year’s most important findings, and synergize with the marketing and communication team to (a) identify metrics most useful for marketing and communication purposes and (b) translate key findings into ACR’s Annual Impact Reports, business cases, and other content that tells the story of quantified benefits.
• Collaborate with the marketing and communication team to translate key findings into social media & website content, ACR’s Annual Impact Reports, business cases, and other content and campaigns.
• Support a culture of philanthropy, including public funding efforts.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Americas including through joint planning and execution of shared priorities.
• Maintain and foster a culture of safety.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Conservation Biology, Natural Resource Management, information systems, or other relevant degree related to monitoring; Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 5 years of experience in monitoring, particularly in conservation or biodiversity programs. An equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered.
• Significant experience using data management and statistical software such as Excel and R to manage and analyze monitoring data.
• A highly organized individual accustomed to collaborating with multiple stakeholders from diverse professional, cultural, and geographic backgrounds.
• Significant experience and knowledge using results-based management approaches and tools for conservation or international cooperation programs and ensuring adherence to donor requirements.
• Digitally savvy with experience creating or contributing to social media and website content as well as visual/graphic communications to represent data (charts, graphs, etc.).
• Ability to read and synthesize scientific literature.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills that can be adapted to reach a wide range of individuals and used to increase awareness and assist in decision-making. Ability to synthesize and communicate technical and complex information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong skills in building trust-based partner relationships.
• Self-motivated, excited to learn, and willing to take on problems autonomously.
• Experience working on programs that integrate gender equality and social inclusion approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to be a collaborative and proactive project leader and team player.
• Experience working with regenerative grazing/agriculture or adaptive management a plus.
• Experience with soil health or soil carbon monitoring methods a plus.
• Commitment to Audubon’s organizational values of care, collaboration, change, integrity, impact, and innovation.
• Experience fostering inclusive and collaborative work environments is valued.