[Coral-List] Job Opening - American Samoa Climate Change Specialist

[Carolyn Doherty]

*Project Location:*

American Samoa, located some 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii, is a group of
five volcanic islands and two coral atolls that total 76 square miles,
inhabited by approximately 55,000 people.  The Samoan way of life, called
“Fa’a Samoa”, defines the basic structure of local communities and is based
on family, tradition, and respect.  The traditional way of life promotes
village welfare over that of an individual.  Extended families, or aiga,
communally own 92 percent of land in American Samoa extending from the
mountaintop to the outer edge of the coral reef.  All resource management
activities in American Samoa must accommodate this existing cultural
framework.
*Program/Agency Background*

The Climate Change Specialist will work as an integral part of the
Governor’s Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG).  CRAG coordinates all of
American Samoa’s coral reef management activities.  The group is a
partnership of five local agencies: the Department of Marine and Wildlife
Resources (DMWR), the Department of Commerce (DOC; including AS Coastal
Management Program & Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary), the American
Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Samoa Community
College (ASCC), and the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA).  Member
agencies work together by mutual consensus to manage the estimated 296
square kilometers of coral reefs with the vision “to protect and conserve
reefs for the benefit of the people of American Samoa, the United States,
and the world”.
*Priority Tasks:
*

The Climate Change Specialist will:

   - Act as point of contact for CRAG member agencies for climate change
   activities, and create ongoing database of past, current, and future climate
   change activities within the Territory. This database will be used to
   analyze research needs and assist in soliciting future research on climate
   change impacts to coral reef ecosystems;


   - Conduct scenario planning for future predicted ecosystem alterations
   andeffectively disseminate results to inform and develop adaptive management
   strategies.


   - Support ongoing research projects related to coral reefs and climate
   change within American Samoa and identify new areas of needed research with
   CRAG member agencies and the four Local Action Strategy working groups;


   - Collaborate with local, federal, and off-island researchers to ensure
      the best available science is used in these strategies


   - Develop and implement new research projects that ensure research
      questions that promote question-based monitoring
         - Some examples of potential research and monitoring projects
         include:
            - Identify areas that are generally more stable during climate
            change events;
            - Identify species and habitats that are highly vulnerable to
            climate change;
            - Identify habitats potentially affected by climate change
including
            transition or alternative habitats;
            - Conduct climate change vulnerability assessments of at-risk
            communities in American Samoa;
            - Investigate the feasibility of implementing techniques to
            reduce stress from climate change and ocean acidification
on coral reef
            ecosystems;
            - Coordinate and conduct relevant training opportunities to
            build local capacity and increase community awareness.
         - Work with researchers to align results with Territorial
   management priorities and effectively disseminate them locally;


   - Work with American Samoa Department of Education (DOE) to incorporate
   climate change into AS curriculum. Finalize draft curriculum and work with
   DOE to integrate into local elementary and secondary schools;


   - Develop a report of research needs that identifies by gaps in current
   knowledge. Research needs will be prioritized based on management priorities
   and questions that can be addressed by monitoring projects;


   - Work with partner agencies to implement the adaptation options
   identified by the climate change task force and outlined in the Territorial
   Climate Change Framework.

In addition to the above tasks, other duties and responsibilities of this
position include:

   - Co-coordinate the Climate Change Local Action Strategy working group;
   - Provide expertise about local climate change impacts to Territory
   agencies, organizations, and governmental working groups as needed;
   - Serve as a liaison to ongoing national, international, and regional
   initiatives, including PICCC (Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative)
   and PACC (Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change);
   - Seek additional public and private funding opportunities for the
   operations and projects of the American Samoa Climate Change Strategy as
   needed; and
   - Undertake other climate change-related projects and initiatives as
   identified by the Climate Change Specialist and CRI Coordinator.

 *Supervisor(s)*

The Coral Reef Initiative Coordinator will be the Climate Change
Specialist’s immediate supervisor on a day-to-day basis. The Climate Change
Specialist will be considered CRAG/DOC staff and will be expected to attend
staff meetings and participate in program discussions.  S/he will be
provided opportunities to join staff members on field visits and in internal
and external meetings.

*Project Partners:*

The Climate Change Specialist will work with key advisory group partners
including, but not limited to, the following:

   - Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR);
   - American Samoa Community College (ASCC; which includes both the Sea
   Grant and Land Grant programs);
   - American Samoa Department of Commerce (Including the American Samoa
   Coastal Management Program (ASCMP) and Fagatele Bay National Marine
   Sanctuary (FBNMS));
   - National Parks of American Samoa; and
   - American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA).

*Eligibility Requirements*

   - A bachelor’s degree in natural resource management or
   environmental-related fields with 2+ years experience OR
   - A master’s degree in natural resource management or
   environmental-related fields with 1+ years experience is required.

 The following background and skills are *required* for this position:

   - Expert knowledge on climate change impacts specific to small-island
   states and coral reef ecosystems;
   - Knowledge of climate change adaptation strategies;
   - Experience disseminating climate change information to diverse
   audiences via education and outreach programs;
   - Demonstrated oral, written, and interpersonal communication and
   leadership skills;
   - Project management experience;
   - A proven ability to be well‐organized and able to manage and prioritize
   multiple tasks; and
   - Creativity, flexibility, and willingness to learn and adapt!

The following background and skills are *preferred *for this position:

   - Knowledge of sustainable development, including, but not limited to:
   alternative energies, waste management, and smart growth;
   - Knowledge of demographics and population growth patterns;
   - Experience living and working in another culture or in an island
   community;
   - Desire to be involved in many aspects of coastal and marine resource
   management (e.g., fisheries, coral reef monitoring and management, nonpoint
   source pollution, etc)
   - Knowledge of and experience working in tropical marine ecosystems;
   - Public speaking, events planning, and meeting facilitation experience;
   - Sense of humor!

*To Apply*

Applicants must send a cover letter and a curriculum vitae with three
references that include current/most recent supervisor and their contact
details (phone numbers and email addresses) by Friday, 4 November 2011.
Applicants should email these documents to
carolyn.doherty at doc.as<hideyo.hattori at doc.as>with email subject
Climate Change Specialist Position. Only short-listed
applicants will be contacted for interviews.

-- 
*Carolyn Doherty*
Coral Reef Management Fellow
Coral Reef Advisory Group - American Samoa
carolyn.doherty at doc.as
1-684-633-5155 ext.230