Research & Monitoring Seasonal Field Assistant
Get to Know Us – Our Why:
MCWD believes that water is a central organizing element in the development of sustainable cities. We know that our lakes, streams, and wetlands have the power to underpin community identity, and grow social, environmental, and economic value. This is why we are dedicated to building a landscape of vibrant communities where nature and the built environment exist in balance and create value and enjoyment. We are pursuing a vision of A Balanced Urban Ecology through public-private partnerships that protect and improve water, while creating a sense of place within the watershed.
How We Work Together – Our Culture:
MCWD is a leader in watershed management—it’s a place to explore your potential and to push boundaries. We know that our success is driven by talented people who want to grow, think, and create. Our culture thrives on ideas, imagination, initiative, and the power that diverse perspectives bring to our collective mission. At MCWD, we enjoy the challenge of deep, meaningful work and appreciate the power we have as a team to achieve excellence in a constantly evolving environment. MCWD is committed to building a diverse staff and strongly encourages applications from candidates of color.
What You Will Be Doing – The Job:
You will support MCWD’s data-driven culture by leading field data collection, data entry, and supporting the development and modification of GIS datasets.
- Collecting water quality and biological data to characterize the aquatic health in Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
- Install, operate, inspect, calibrate, and repair monitoring equipment in the field including water quality probes, automated samplers, surveying equipment, and other monitoring equipment.
- Unlock the spatial components of legacy datasets in management systems by integrating them with GIS
- Enhance existing GIS datasets by creating, updating, and populating key attributes
Who You Will Work With – The Team:
The research and monitoring program’s purpose is to assess the ecological and water quality conditions of lakes, streams, and wetlands within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). The role of the Research and Monitoring Field Assistant is to assist in the implementation of the District’s monitoring plan, by leading field data collection, processing, hydrologic, water quality and biological data. This position will support multidisciplinary teams within MCWD by providing high-quality water resource datasets and developing MCWD’s GIS datasets to support MCWD’s vision, mission, and goals.
What You Will Bring to MCWD:
- Thorough knowledge of water quality sampling protocols, QA/QC protocols and sample processing through the chain of custody
- Thorough knowledge of water quality monitoring equipment and its use including automated samplers, water quality sondes, GPS devices, and other sampling equipment
- Ability to utilize ESRI products to maintain spatial databases
- Familiarity with scripting languages such as R and Python
- Familiarity with relational databases to manage large datasets for water quality, hydrologic, or biological datasets
- Ability to follow standard operating procedures
- Ability to trailer and operate motorized watercraft and ability to work occasional evenings and weekends
- Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, and ability to be an objective listener and respect the opinion of others
- Ability to develop and maintain positive, cooperative, working relationships with all District employees/consultants and the general public
What We Can Offer You:
MCWD believes that taking care of its people is the right thing to do. We strive to provide an environment that supports great work, balanced with a great life, by offering:
- A collaborative and supportive culture
- Exposure to a variety of skills and experiences to improve your knowledge as a water resource professional
- Flexible hybrid work environment
- Employer paid Employee Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
- Opportunities for professional development and professional networking that will provide you the opportunity to better understand the field of water resources
Please include a cover letter, resume and three references.