About

Reef Environmental Education Foundation - General Manager Position - Available Fall 2011

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), a non-profit, marine conservation organization, is seeking to hire a General Manager. REEF is a marine life education and data gathering organization working with the public in unique partnerships with private, governmental, scientific, and educational sectors. The position will be based at REEF’s Key Largo, Florida, headquarters with a salary in the range of $40-50K plus benefits, commensurate with experience. Responsibilities include operational management of REEF Headquarters, financial and administrative oversight, public relations, membership support, and providing support as needed to REEF program staff.

Description:

The position of General Manager will be based at REEF’s Key Largo headquarters, a 1913 historic conch-style house converted into offices, a retail area, and classrooms. Headquarters staff includes an Executive Director, Director of Special Projects (including Exotic Species Program), Field Operations and Outreach Coordinator, Office Manager, Office Assistant, and volunteers and interns. Work environment is casual. Three additional staff – Director of Science, Membership Development Coordinator, and Outreach Coordinator – are located in Washington and California.

Duties of the General Manager include management of a variety of activities necessary to maintain effective day-to-day operations of a marine conservation organization. Areas of responsibility include: overseeing fiscal management including oversight of financial records including A/P, A/R, inventory, and REEF store orders; working directly with the bookkeeper to ensure accuracy of records; supervising the office administrative staff and volunteers; overseeing maintenance and upkeep of the headquarters facility; assisting with public relations including media releases and social media; assisting with logistics for field survey trips; and assisting the Executive Director, Director of Science, and Director of Special Projects, as needed.

Qualifications:

Candidates for this position will most certainly need to have a passion for marine conservation with excellent supervisory/management and communication skills. Educational background and experience with business and fiscal management will be important considerations. Proficiency with office computers and software is required, and knowledge of basic computer networks and QuickBooks preferred. Candidates should be strongly self-directed and work well in a team environment. Excellent written and oral communication skills will rank a candidate highly.

Application procedures:

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume or CV, 2-3 writing samples and references via e-mail to: jobs@reef.org. It is anticipated that a final selection will be made in mid to late August with a starting date in early Fall 2011.

Organization Background:

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) was founded in 1990 as a way to educate scuba divers and snorkelers in marine life identification and to utilize their marine life sightings. Patterned after the successful Audubon and Cornell birding programs, REEF has grown into a 40,000 plus member organization with programs in place throughout the western hemisphere. Primary among these programs is the Fish Survey Project, enabling marine enthusiasts to conduct surveys and submit sightings data from throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic, coastal North America, Tropical Eastern Pacific, Hawaii, and South Pacific. Data are managed by REEF staff and made available to researchers, scientists, managers and the public free of charge via REEF’s on-line database at www.REEF.org. To date more than 150,000 marine life surveys have been submitted.

In addition to the Fish Survey Project, REEF maintains a large and active diver education program with standardized course materials for each of its survey regions. Strong partnerships within the diving industry and effective outreach provide opportunities for thousands of divers to learn about marine life and take part in surveying activities throughout the year. REEF manages the July-long Great Annual Fish Count; the Grouper Moon Project – researching grouper spawning aggregations; the Exotic Species Program – tracking the impact and control of non-native marine fish species, particularly the human-induced invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfish into the Tropical West Atlantic; Special Projects – assessing fish population changes in and around marine reserves and on and around newly developed artificial reefs; printed and e-newsletter communications; and, several week-long field survey and data gathering expeditions. REEF maintains strong partnerships with federal, state, and local government agencies as well as other US based and international agencies, NGOs, and business entities.

REEF is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

Our Mission

To conserve marine ecosystems for their recreational, commercial, and intrinsic value by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active stewards and citizen scientists. REEF links the diving community with scientists, resource managers and conservationists through marine-life data collection and related activities.

Our Vision

REEF Staff

Paul Humann, Acting Executive Director, REEF HQ

Lad Akins, Director of Special Projects, REEF HQ, lad@reef.org

Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science, REEF Pacific Office San Diego, christy@reef.org

Martha Klitzkie, General Manager, REEF HQ, martha@reef.org

Janna Nichols, Outreach Coordinator, REEF Pacific Office Vancouver, janna@reef.org

Jane Bixby, Store Manager, REEF HQ, jane@reef.org

Sasha Medlen, Membership Development Coordinator, REEF Pacific Office Huntington Beach, sasha@reef.org

Great Annual Fish Count REEF HQ gafc@reef.org GAFC Website: www.fishcount.org

Protecting Marine Life Through Education, Service, and Research

REEF was founded in 1990, out of growing concern about the health of the marine environment, and the desire to provide the SCUBA diving community a way to contribute to the understanding and protection of marine populations. REEF achieves this goal primarily through its volunteer fish monitoring program, the REEF Fish Survey Project. Participants in the Project not only learn about the environment they are diving in, but they also produce valuable information. Scientists, marine park staff, and the general public use the data that are collected by REEF volunteers.

Want to know more about the Fish Survey Project and the data that are collected? Visit the Survey Project page to learn more about the Project, the survey methodology, and how the Project data are used.

Mission

To conserve marine ecosystems for their recreational, commercial, and intrinsic value by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active stewards and citizen scientists. REEF links the diving community with scientists, resource managers and conservationists through marine-life data collection and related activities.

Vision

REEF envisions divers and marine enthusiasts actively engaging in marine conservation. With knowledge, training and the opportunity to get involved, these marine citizen scientists make significant and ongoing contributions through REEF’s strategic partnerships with government agencies, science and academic institutions, the non-profit sector, and local communities. Divers and snorkelers are in a unique position to observe and document the many valuable and vulnerable living marine resources. They play an important role in bringing information to the surface that adds to the knowledge base of ocean ecosystems and facilitates informed decision-making. Through REEF’s efforts, marine citizen scientists impart an ethic of stewardship to current and future generations.

Where does REEF work?

REEF's marine conservation and citizen science programs currently operate in the coastal areas of North and Central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii. Our specfic project regions include the Tropical Western Atlantic (Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Gulf of Mexico, and Mid-Atlantic States), Northeast US & Canada (Virginia through Newfoundland), West Coast (California through British Columbia),Tropical Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands), and Hawaiian Islands (main islands, the northwest chain, and Johnston Atol).

How do I get involved?

Become a member! REEF members include divers and non-divers alike, all with an interest in the marine environment. As a REEF member you will receive our quarterly newsletter REEFNotes, a member information packet, and a REEF member number. If you do become a surveying member, you can use this number to track your personal survey data and generate you life list of fish sightings. And the best part is, membership in REEF is FREE! Click here to become a REEF member.

How do I get started in surveying?

You can start doing REEF surveys right away. Just visit our online store to get free scanforms and information about survey materials. Surveys can be conducted on your own or as part of an organized REEF Field Survey. These one-week trips are a great way to get started in fishwatching. Between survey dives, enjoy fish identification presentations by expert fishwatchers, learn the most successful surveying strategies, participate in informative discussions, and get plenty of exciting fish behavior tips. You will be amazed how much you learn and how enjoyable diving will be with your expanded knowledge of marine wildlife. REEF Field Stations serve as distribution points for survey forms, and active centers of outreach and education for REEF. Most offer REEF Fish Identification Courses, organize survey dives, and sell related fishwatching materials. Find a Field Station in your area. Experienced members can also participate in special Survey Trips as part of REEF's Advanced Assessment Team.

Annual Reports

To view a summary of REEF's efforts, visit this page.

Before you use any images, data, text or other materials on this website (www.reef.org), please carefully read the terms and conditions of this license agreement. By using any of these materials, you are consenting to be bound by this agreement. If you do not accept all of the terms this agreement, you are not authorized to use any materials on this site.

1.Ownership of the Site.

This website and all materials on it are the property of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). This agreement gives you no ownership rights to any materials on this site.

What is REEF?
What is REEF's Fish Survey Project?
How do I get involved in volunteer fish surveying?
What do I need to become a REEF surveyor?
Where can I get survey materials?
Where can I conduct REEF surveys?
Where can I go to take a fish ID seminar?