Position Details:

Stewards Individual Placements provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. The Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) Program combines the strength of a national leader in conservation service with the National Park Service to train a diverse group of emerging leaders to assist park units in building lasting connections to communities.

Selected CVA will be supervised by DINO Resource Stewardship and Science staff and will spend their time working on various science communication and engagement projects. For example, although river rafting is a popular and sought-after experience in the park and river concessionaire groups take visitors on daily trips along the Green and Yampa Rivers, these groups currently do not have strong relationships with park resources staff. This leads the concessionaires to not provide visitors with the most updated or cutting-edge research occurring in the park or have a sense of shared stewardship amongst parties. Selected CVA will assist is in developing a training program, informational packet, and setting up initial events between Resources staff and concessionaire groups to facilitate this discussion and generate a tangible byproduct that can be easily updated in future years as new research and information becomes available.

Similarly, although a volunteer cultural resources stewardship program was initiated with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office in 2021, very few volunteers are currently engaged and enrolled in the program. There are over 1,000 recorded sites in both UT and CO portions of the park, and the CVA will help with advertising and expanding this volunteer stewardship program and establishing a CO-based counterpart to the UT system (the current volunteer framework is only applicable to Utah-based cultural sites).

CVA will also assist in other projects, such as: generating social media content on current scienced-based research projects in the park; assisting in the development of volunteer and engagement events with the local community; assisting in the development of a DINO-specific river youth camp; and assisting with volunteer field events, such as volunteer river-based research trips.

Site Description:

Dinosaur National Monument straddles northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah and is located in a high desert environment. The monument preserves over 210,000 acres of land containing a multitude of paleontological, cultural, and natural resources. Some of these resources include diverse ecosystems, a rich paleontological and geological record with over 600 known paleontological sites, and a landscape with over 10,000 years of human history and over 1,000 known cultural sites.

Volunteers are currently utilized in the summer season primarily as campground hosts, 'Weed Warriors' in invasive plant management control, and river rafters for work-related river-based research trips. A handful of volunteers also assist throughout the year as archaeological site stewards. There still remain many gaps, however, in opportunities to connect with the local community and to provide stewardship programming events due to staff shortages and capacities. The CVA will help develop these sought-after relationships within the community to build a thriving volunteer network and help develop programming and protocols that can be referenced and built-upon in future years.

Position Responsibilities:

• Under guidance of supervisor, will be responsible for making initial introductions, setting up meetings, and meeting with new and existing partners and community groups.
• Developing written byproducts of projects they are involved with, including: a brochure and/or manual for river concessionaire training; a digital or physical worksheet for CO site stewards; 1-page briefs on volunteer projects they assist in coordinating or implementing; social media content
• Digitizing museum collections and research publications
• Assisting in field-based community engagement and volunteer projects

• Orally present findings of projects to staff, partners, and public

CVA Minimum Requirements:

• Must possess a strong interest in resource stewardship and science communication
• Must be self-motivated and intellectually curious

• Must be able to work well both independently and as part of a team environment
• Participate in the CVA National Early Service Training in early November 2023
• Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
• High School Diploma/GED
• Be 18-30 years old at time of service (veterans up to 35 years old)

• Pass fingerprint-based FBI, state criminal, and a national sex offender checks.
• Be able to provide proof of a driver’s license and complete a MVR check
• Must be over 21 years old or have had license for at least 3 years to be insured in this position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous coursework in the social and natural sciences (including course areas such as archaeology, anthropology, Native American studies, history, environmental studies, geology, biological sciences, geography, etc.)
• Pursuing or attained Bachelor’s degree in a social or natural science field
• Strong writing skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Experience using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

• Able to hike short to medium distances (up to 2 miles) over easy to moderate terrain
• Prior experience engaging public on resource stewardship or science-related projects
• Public speaking experience is not required, but openness to try is expected

Additional Information:

Park housing is provided at no cost to the participant in either a 3-bedroom HVAC house furnished as a dormitory (with 2-5 roommates) or a studio apartment, depending on seasonal availability. Housing includes all amenities (air conditioning, heating, stove, utensils, pots, pans, refrigerator, washer and dryer, bathroom with shower, wifi, etc.). Efforts are made to provide interns with their own room, but depending on park staffing and availability, dormitory rooms may need to be shared (2 persons/room, no mixed gender). Housing is located in the park housing area of the Green River District (Jensen, Utah) so intern will be in the community of permanent and seasonal staff. House is located 50 yards from Green River Resource Center where intern will spend approximately half of their time. Other office location is in Dinosaur, CO, an approximately 30-minute drive from housing. Intern will need to bring all personal items including toiletries, pillows, and linens.

The participant will occasionally work among a peer group of other interns, providing an opportunity to collaborate on projects. Additionally, intern will have opportunity to interact with staff from other Monument programs, such as the Fire Program, Interpretation & Education Program, and Law Enforcement Program, to assist with project planning and implementation. The monument’s Resource Stewardship and Science program has many interactions with nearby federal and state agencies, universities, and museums, which will offer the intern additional opportunities for networking. CVA will also work with local river concessionaire groups and tribal stakeholders for community outreach initiatives.

Benefits:

• CVA will receive a weekly stipend of $500/week living allowance, additional $65/week housing allowance, if housing is not provided.
• Limited health care/childcare benefits
• The position is eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award $6,495.00 (pre-tax) upon successful completion of the program
• Professional development funds
• Networking opportunities within the National Park Service and partnering organizations

• Public Land Corps Hiring Authority
• Week-long in-person training at NPS site with travel/meal expenses covered.

How to Apply

Please visit Community Volunteer Ambassador (cvainternships.org) to review “Member Positions” by region and find instructions on how to apply.

The CVA position will start on Monday, September 11th, 2023, and run for 50 weeks until Friday, August 23rd, 2024. Applicants will need to apply here: https://form.jotform.com/StewardsIPP/sept-23-cva-application. Application form requires a resume, cover letter, professional references.

Please ensure your cover letter addresses how your experience aligns with the CVA program, your experience working with diverse populations, and position details for this park/position. You may submit one application for multiple positions by selecting all sites you are interested in.

Applications Deadline

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. First review will occur in early June. Final deadline is Friday, July 21st, 2023.

For Application Questions:

Please contact Geoff Elliot, Program Director at gelliot@conservationlegacy.org

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, political affiliation, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.