Director of Education and Community Engagement

Background and Purpose:

Our vision – every community in Anne Arundel County is actively engaged to ensure a healthy environment for all – cannot be achieved without intentional engagement of each community in our County. In order for our waterways to be clear, our air to be clean, and our natural ecosystems to be resilient, every community must have access to leadership and restoration benefits. WSA is committed to ensuring that all communities have leaders who can drive change for sustainable landscapes and clean waters.

WSA trains and supports local leaders—people who recognize environmental challenges in their communities, identify problems, build trust, and take the initiative to lead restoration efforts. Since 2009, WSA has trained over 375 Watershed Stewards, who, together with their communities and the WSA staff, have installed thousands of projects from rain barrels to stream restorations, and engaged over 250,000 neighbors in environmental action. These Stewards come from all walks of life—teachers, retirees, business owners, students, and faith leaders—people deeply rooted in the places they serve and committed to improving their communities. We stay with our leaders long after their initial training, offering continued support, community, and guidance to help them make a lasting impact. Together, we’ve built a trusted network of community-based leaders driving positive environmental change.

The Director of Education and Community Engagement (DECE) leads the innovative training and engagement programs of the Watershed Stewards Academy, ensuring that communities throughout Anne Arundel County can access our educational programs and resources and that our organization continually improves our connection with the diversity of communities across the county.

The DECE is a key organizational leader guiding a dedicated and talented team to facilitate the Watershed Steward Certification program, lead partnership development with community anchor institutions and mentor community leaders to develop effective community engagement. The DECE will provide expertise and leadership to ensure WSA’s programs and initiatives meet the needs of the county’s rich tapestry of communities, particularly those that have traditionally been overlooked or underserved by environmental organizations. This role will guide efforts to strengthen WSA’s organizational practices, cultivating a culture where staff, partners, and community members feel respected, valued, and engaged. The DECE reports directly to the WSA Executive Director, works collaboratively with the WSA staff and manages the WSA staff Engagement Team, including the Community Engagement Manager and Steward Engagement Specialist. The DECE may manage additional staff or interns as the organization grows. More about the WSA staff may be found on our website.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Education and Leadership Support (40%)

• Recruit and train a minimum of 25 Watershed Stewards annually with an emphasis on engaging Stewards from communities without Steward coverage, particularly in northern, western and southern Anne Arundel County. More about the WSA Certification Course may be found
• Manage the Steward Engagement Specialist to ensure that Watershed Stewards are supported, engaged and connected to WSA, following their certification.
• Manage the Community Engagement Manager to provide training and engagement programs to communities who are less connected to WSA, including historically marginalized communities.
• Provide educational expertise and evaluation to ensure that all WSA programs meet training and engagement goals and utilize education and engagement best practices.

Community Engagement and Partnerships (30%)

• Provide strategic leadership to identify, prioritize and co-create partnerships and other connections with community institutions including schools, libraries, parks, congregations, corporations and non-profits and other community groups.
• Ensure that partnerships are supported through the WSA Engagement Team and other WSA staff.
• Coordinate strategic initiatives to increase our connections to a wide array of communities, ensuring that the organization adheres to best practices for community engagement. The DECE also leads the professional development of staff and the Board of Directors to continually build cultural competency.

Organizational Leadership (30%)

• Manage at least 2-3 full-time staff, including management of work plans to achieve organizational goals, while balancing staff capacity.
• Manage departmental and program budgets.
• Write and manage program specific grants and contracts.
• Build and maintain relationships with donors, including Watershed Stewards and others engaged by WSA’s programs.
• Serve on the organization’s leadership team to help set organizational priorities, policies and ensure a positive work culture.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to teach and connect with groups concerning environmental stewardship and restoration or related community development topics. Must possess proficient knowledge of environmental restoration and stewardship practices.
• Knowledge of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice related best practices and experience applying cultural competency to engagement of under-represented audiences.
• Commitment to supporting the volunteer goals of a diverse range of constituents and a strong desire to help forward WSA’s mission to engage all communities. Demonstrated ability to effectively work and communicate with diverse populations.
• Ability to measure and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Budget and project management skills. High attention to detail.
• Demonstrated proficiency with office software (e.g. Video/Web Conferencing, Google Suite, Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, and/or PowerPoint preferred) and willingness to learn new programs as required.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in applicable field of education, environmental studies, or related field from a regionally accredited college or university.
• 5-10 years of experience working in the environmental education or community engagement field OR an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities deemed sufficient to prepare the applicant to successfully perform the duties of the position.
• Minimum 5 years of management experience, including management of staff, work plans and budgets to reach programmatic goals.

Work location and schedule:

• Flexible work schedule to include approximately 40 hours per week. Evenings and weekends are required, but daytime hours are flexible around the employee’s schedule.
• This is a hybrid position. Primary work location is the WSA Office located at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center (975 Indian Landing Road, Millersville, MD), with telework on an agreed schedule.
• A background check and fingerprinting (paid for by WSA) is required prior to employment.
• The DECE must have the ability to travel to and from sites using their own vehicle. Business mileage reimbursement is included.