POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) is seeking qualified applicants for the Executive Director position. The successful applicant will have demonstrated experience in effectively managing multi-entity environmental, scientific and/or engineering programs; fostering and maintaining collaborative approaches to complex environmental issues; the ability to facilitate consensus among diverse and sometimes conflicting stakeholders; success in raising funds from public and private sectors, including federal, state and local grants; and the ability to manage an effective and talented staff.

Position Summary
The Executive Director is a full-time position responsible for ensuring the efficient and fiscally-responsible operation of the TBEP. This includes providing the supervision and appropriate oversight of the managers of TBEP’s technical projects, its public education and outreach initiatives, and its program administration function. The Executive Director will also be responsible for maintaining existing and developing new sustainable funding sources from public and private sectors, and meeting requirements stated in the various grants (including EPA Cooperative Agreements) awarded to TBEP.

Primary among the Executive Director’s responsibilities is to maintain and strengthen TBEP’s local, state and national reputation as a science-based ‘honest broker’, encouraging all stakeholders to work together to form effective solutions to meet agreed-upon goals for the restoration and protection of Tampa Bay.

Qualifications
The successful applicant will possess most or all of the following qualifications:

  • Knowledge of the principles of estuarine ecology and the factors affecting water quality in estuaries.
  • The ability to readily grasp the technical basis for the program’s goals and actions and to communicate those concepts to policy-makers, the public, and the media in easily understood terms.
  • The ability to facilitate consensus among diverse and sometimes competing stakeholders on complex environmental issues.
  • The ability to build partnerships among the program’s local government, agency and private-sector partners on projects that support implementation of the CCMP.
  • Success in marketing environmental or natural resource management programs and in raising funds from private and public sources.
  • Experience in program management including project management, finance, budgeting and personnel management.
  • Demonstrated leadership in her/his professional life and personal accomplishments.

TBEP values leadership qualities in its Executive Director, and has identified the following qualities as desirable:

  • Ethics and values– adheres to an effective set of core values, whether working within the TBEP organization, with partners, or with members of the community at large.
  • Integrity and Trust– is widely trusted by the scientific community, government agencies and the public at large.
  • Communications– is able to speak and write clearly and succinctly regarding TBEP’s mission and projects to a variety of audiences including public officials, the technical and scientific community, and the public.
  • Building and maintaining successful teams– creates strong morale and spirit within the TBEP staff and with all partners; shares credit and successes.
  • Working toward common goals with multiple and diverse partners– is adept at identifying common goals and solutions for complex and long-term issues affecting Tampa Bay’s resources.

Education/Experience
The position requires a graduate degree from an accredited university or college in one of the natural sciences, engineering, public administration, business administration, urban and regional planning, policy analysis, or a related field and at least six years of progressively responsible experience in one or a combination of those fields. Preference will be given to candidates who have successfully directed environmental and natural resource management programs with high visibility and who have successfully developed diverse and stable funding sources for those programs.

Compensation and Benefits
Salary: Commensurate with education, experience, and other qualifications. Starting salary range: $85,000 – $110,000 per year.
Pension: TBEP participates in the Florida Retirement System (www.myfrs.com)
Deferred Compensation: Nationwide 457 Plan available
Health and Dental: Employer subsidized health. Dental insurance available.
Life Insurance: Employer paid life $50,000
Vacation/Sick Leave/Holidays: Competitive leave package, including annual, sick and holidays

TBEP Organizational Summary
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) is an independent special district of the State of Florida with the mission of building partnerships to restore and protect Tampa Bay through implementation of a scientifically sound, community-based management plan. TBEP was originally formed as the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program in 1991 and re-organized through an Interlocal Agreement as the Tampa Bay Estuary Program in 1998. The Interlocal Agreement was updated in 2015. As provided in the Interlocal Agreement, the TBEP office and staff coordinate implementation of Charting the Course – a comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP) for bay restoration. The CCMP serves as the blueprint for bay restoration as mandated under the Section 320 of the federal Clean Water Act.

The Program is directed by a Policy Board comprised of elected officials from the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, the counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Pasco, and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The Policy Board is advised by senior managers from local governments, agencies, and industry sitting on a Management Board, and with input from a Technical Advisory Committee and a Community Advisory Committee. Various other groups created by the TBEP including the Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium play important roles in achieving goals of the CCMP.

As of December 2017, the program will be staffed by six full-time positions: an Executive Director, a Senior Scientist, an Ecologist, a Technical Projects Coordinator, a Program Administrator, and a Community Projects Manager. A seventh position, an Outreach Coordinator, is currently vacant. Technical and Communication Support contracts support staff in meeting programmatic requirements. Funding is provided by Congressional appropriations administered through EPA, and by seven local governments and the Southwest Florida Water Management District pursuant to commitments in the Interlocal Agreement. Revenues from a specialty license plate, the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund, the RESTORE Act and various grants for special projects administered by TBEP supplement funding.

Application Instructions
Submit a cover letter (including responses to questions), resume, and three professional references to Ron Hosler, TBEP Program Administrator, ron@tbep.org in Microsoft Word or pdf format. The cover letter should not exceed 6 pages in length (3 double-sided pages), explain how the applicant meets the qualifications and education and experience requirements listed above, and provide responses to the questions listed below. Applications must be received no later than 2:00 P.M. EST on Friday, October 6, 2017. No phone calls, please. Applicants are prohibited from contacting members of the Policy Board about TBEP, their application, or any aspect of this selection process.

To ensure all applicants have the opportunity to address a common set of questions, applications should include written responses to the following as part of the cover letter:

  1. Please describe why you would like to be the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. What do you consider to be your primary strengths for this position?
  2. Please describe a challenging situation that best demonstrates your ability to lead an agency or program/project under difficult circumstances.
  3. Please describe a large complex issue that required you to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders in order to address the issue and bring about consensus.

Applications will be reviewed by the TBEP Policy Board. Finalists will be interviewed by the Policy Board on Friday, November 17, 2017, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the offices of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council in Pinellas Park, Florida. Applicants selected for interviews will be notified by October 30, 2017. The position will be filled in mid January 2018.

All applications and materials provided to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program are considered public record.

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an Equal Opportunity Employer
and a Drug Free Work Place