U.S. Virgin Islands GIS and Data Coordination Fellow 

This position is part of the NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellowship Program, supporting the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) projects. The fellow will support the project: Climate Resilience and Risk Reduction in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Host Organization: Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR)
Location of Position: U.S. Virgin Islands
Duration of Position: Two years
Annual Salary: $54,121    
Benefits: Medical insurance, 11 paid federal holidays per year, 15 paid personal days per year, professional development training, travel funding, relocation allowance

Work Environment:

This position will be full-time and involve primarily in-office and field work, with some teleworking flexibility. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources has offices on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, and the fellow will be able to select which office works best for them. The fellow will be able to spend time at any of these locations based on current project goals and deliverables. The fellowship position will be splitting time between office and field work. This full-time position provides many opportunities to learn about the U.S. Virgin Islands, its natural resources, and the workings of a territorial government. The fellow will be joining a large and well-established department in the Government of the Virgin Islands which offers an office environment with the support needed for somebody stepping into a new role. The mentors will communicate with the fellow daily through in-person interaction allowing for thoughtful collaboration on goals and plans and online workshare platforms through the government email system. Basic needs required for this position, such as a laptop, camera, office space, and an official department email address, will be provided with opportunities to upgrade based on the project's evolving needs.

Fellowship Position Description:

The fellow will work with the Territorial Parks and Protected Areas (TPPA) to oversee the geographic information systems (GIS) and database management tools relating to all projects within the Virgin Islands’ Climate Resilience Regional Challenge award. Primary mapping tasks will include maintaining accurate maps of land acquisitions, restoration progress, and watershed implementation projects, and working with the division’s communications specialist to create public friendly versions of these data. The fellow will also work with each project partner lead to develop and maintain monitoring protocol. This work will need to complement grant reporting goals to maintain consistent data management that is able to be shared with the principal investigator (PI), project leads, the external evaluator team, and NOAA staff. The fellow will be expected to work independently as well as with a team in order to ensure projects have input from a variety of stakeholders and expertise. 

Goal 1: Review and improve existing data management protocol within the Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas to prepare for the addition of projects under the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge grant

Objective A: Study and understand each project within the award

Objective B: Explore and create notes on existing data collection for each project to determine how that data would best be collected by the Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas

Objective C: Update the division’s databases so the databases are prepared to receive monitoring data from each of the projects

Goal 2: Establish data collection methods and target information for each of the project leads to monitor projects which will collaborate with the data being collected by the external evaluator team

Objective A: Confer with regional and subject matter experts to confirm ideal data collection for each of the project types 

Objective B: Conduct meetings with each project lead to finalize data to be shared with the Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas for monitoring purposes

Goal 3: Develop and maintain GIS database of pertinent information from each project as well as public friendly maps of the land acquisitions.

Objective A: Determine what monitoring data needs to be recorded spatially for inclusion in a GIS database rather than the text-based Airtable database maintained by the division

Objective B: Maintain a regular schedule for collecting data from each project to include database entry and QAQC schedule

Objective C: Using data collected, work with the division’s communications specialist to create public friendly communications collateral designed to inform updates on each project

Final Project: At the end of the fellowship, this data will be compiled into a public-facing webpage (or story map) and available on the Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ website.

Anticipated Travel:

The fellow will be working on territorial projects based on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. Travel and working space will be covered; however, the Government of the Virgin Islands’ travel protocol does not allow fellows to receive per diem. Office space, transportation, and lodging will be provided for all required travel within the territory.

Desired Qualifications:

Minimum education: bachelor’s degree with GIS experience or master’s degree in relevant field

Subject matter expertise can vary. Subject matter expertise in climate adaptation and resilience is preferred but not required. Experience working with GIS and database management is required and is the primary focus of this fellowship. The fellow will be working with projects related to park management, restoration, and implementation of watershed management plans. Familiarity with these topics will be beneficial to understanding the scope of the entire award.

Local or regional knowledge: Familiarity with the Virgin Islands or the Caribbean would be a major advantage. However, experience and comfort with GIS and database management is more important.

Other desired experience or attributes: 

• Experience with community outreach and communication, such as developing story maps, social media content, and participating in public meetings
• Comfortable with field work, including but not limited to mangrove restoration, trail building, and coral restoration
• Eagerness to live in and learn about an Afro-Caribbean community and incorporating the community's needs into the work

Fellow Mentoring:

This fellow will be working with the Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas in the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. This division is the lead on the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge project and responsible for overseeing the successful completion of the entire award. The division is led by Director Kristina “Kitty” Edwards who will be the fellow’s supervisor. Edwards will oversee the completion of all tasks, provide professional development assistance, and assist the entire team in all aspects of this award. Edwards is based on St. Thomas, but she will make frequent trips to St. Croix and St. John to manage all projects.

The official mentor for the fellow will be Grants Administrator Brigitte Berry. Berry will work closely with the fellow assisting with day-to-day tasks and the more personal aspects of professional development. As Edwards and Berry are both born and raised on St. Thomas, they can help and provide advice to the fellow if  the fellow relocates from outside of the territory. If the fellow decides to live on St. Croix rather than St. Thomas, the fellow will be supported by division staff living on St. Croix, and Berry will maintain the mentor relationship through regular virtual check-ins as well as by facilitating travel between the islands.

 

To apply, please upload the following materials in one PDF file:

• Resume (two-page limit)
• Statement of interest, where the candidate describes what they hope to gain from the fellowship experience and what they can contribute. Candidates should also highlight any connections to or special interests in the region, including Indigenous or local knowledge and relevant life experiences. (500-word limit)
• Unofficial academic transcripts to show coursework (or joint services transcript for veterans)
• Two professional or academic references (names and contact information)