The Sonoran Institute, based in Tucson, Arizona, seeks a full-time Manager, Resilient Communities and Watershed for its office in Denver, Colorado. This is an outstanding career opportunity with a leading community-based natural resource conservation organization serving the North American West for experienced manager.
The ideal candidate will have an advanced degree or equivalent experience in natural or water resource management, communicating public policy or climate science, land use, urban/regional planning or related field. We are seeking a team-player with a passion for our work or the desire to learn about and develop a passion for the work of the Sonoran Institute. If you are ready to help make the West great again then keep reading and prepare yourself for an opportunity like no other.
The Sonoran Institute’s mission is to connect people and communities with the natural resources that nourish and sustain them. We work at the nexus of commerce, community, and conservation to help people in the North American West build the communities they want to live in while preserving the values which brought them here. We envision a West where civil dialogue and collaboration are hallmarks of decision making, where people and wildlife live in harmony, and where clean water, air, and energy are assured.
The Sonoran Institute has a track record of helping communities plan and adapt to change. Across the North American West, population growth, shifts in the region’s economies, and the impacts of a changing climate are affecting communities and the natural resources that nourish and sustain them. Effective strategies to increase climate resilience, manage growth, and ensure economic prosperity requires sound information, problem-solving tools, collaboration across boundaries and sectors, and improved laws and policies at all levels of government.
The Sonoran Institute’s Colorado Growing Water Smart (CGWS) program helps communities bridge the gap between water management and land use planning to build a more resilient future. This is especially important for Colorado as its population continues to rapidly grow. From 1 million people in 1930 to over 5 million today, projections now anticipate that Colorado’s population could nearly double by 2060.
To sustain this growth, Colorado will need to better manage its water supply. Although Colorado is a headwater state, the state’s water supply faces increasing uncertainty with over-appropriated river basins, longer droughts, and more frequent fires. The Colorado Water Plan predicts that by 2050 the state could have a supply gap of up to 560,000 acre-feet.