Community Planning Partner

Willamette Partnership is a conservation non-profit with a deep commitment to helping build stronger, healthier, and more equitable communities. We believe that people need nature and that the well-being of communities and natural systems is inextricably linked. We do our work by building and supporting strong, multi-partner, multi-benefit solutions through effective collaboration. 

We’ve put a lot of effort into developing Core Principles for our organization. At Willamette Partnership, we: 

● Start with integrity. 

● Respect and support the leadership of communities. 

● Look to nature for solutions. 

● Understand that our strength lies in partnership. 

● Trust in our ability to find common ground. 

● Ensure equity is part of all of our jobs. 

● Find joy in contribution. 

To learn more about who we are and how we work, check out our 2024 Strategic Plan (PDF).

Our work can look intense from the outside, but as one of our recent hires put it, “you’re all remarkably chill people for the amount of work you get done.” We pride ourselves on being just as fun and flexible as we are driven and productive. We actively encourage and model a healthy work-life balance. And our relational approach to our work extends to our internal culture as well — we’re there for each other, joyfully see each other as whole people (not just officemates), and genuinely enjoy getting to work together. 

About the Position 

We are hiring a new partner who will project manage collaboratives, support state and local planning and policy research, and provide direct technical assistance (TA) to communities, local governments, and tribes facing water infrastructure-related challenges. 

Across a number of projects and with varying degrees of engagement (some short-term, some likely multi-year), this work will likely include planning, programs or policy change for gray and natural infrastructure needed for drinking water, and navigating state and federal funding sources related to wastewater and stormwater. This position will work directly with local partners throughout the Pacific Northwest to craft innovative water infrastructure solutions that improve environmental, health, and community development outcomes. 

This new partner will help grow our technical assistance work, with a focus finding sustainable, community-centered water solutions for small, low-income, and rural communities, tribal governments, and others that have experienced inequity under past investments. 

Where We Work 

The Willamette Partnership team has a hybrid work environment. We maintain a small collaborative office on Portland’s eastside with meeting space and shared desks. Team members are welcome to use the space to their comfort level and are provided with an annual work-from-home stipend to provide equipment and materials for a safe and comfortable workspace. This position is expected to meet occasionally with the team and involves regular (10% - 20%) regional travel (including day trips and overnight trips as needed) around Oregon and Washington, as well as occasional travel to other locations. 

What to Expect 

This is a new position, with room to grow the work in directions that align with the new partner’s interests and skills. We’re a collaborative team, and even after the onboarding process is complete for new staff, we provide additional programmatic support as each new partner learns our unique systems and skill sets, until they feel prepared to lead specific community-based projects. 

This position provides a unique opportunity to:

• Manage and support an exciting variety of projects (likely 4-8) that span water infrastructure planning and implementation, natural infrastructure and restoration, collaborative decision-making, local and state policy change, and community visioning.
• Work collaboratively with diverse communities (including tribal governments, communities of color, rural communities, and low-income communities) and sectors to imagine and implement solutions individualized to meet each community’s values and their water challenges in ways that benefit the environment, human health, and community development.
• Lead creative problem solving with diverse collaborative groups through facilitation, process management, and/or community visioning & engagement.
• Maintain and grow a diverse network of partnerships and professional relationships. 

• Support colleagues and external partners as they seek funding from foundation, state, and federal sources.

   Project Example: Environmental Finance Center

• While there’s room to grow your own body of work during your tenure at WP, there are a couple of specific programs we’ll need this position to lead within a few months of hiring. One of those is our work in supporting the Rural Community Assistance Corp (RCAC) for the Pacific Northwest (Region 10) Environmental Finance Center (EFC). Funded through the EPA, this five-year program started in 2023 and delivers direct support to communities and utilities to help them access federal funding for water-related basic services. This TA model builds capacity for utilities by reducing the administrative burden of receiving and managing federal grants, increases their ability to meet regulations, and provides net positive benefits to water quality and the environment.

The specific types of TA this position will likely be providing include:

• Supporting the formation of new interjurisdictional and cross-sector collaboratives that support water utilities and local communities;
• Developing funding strategies for utilities that utilize new programs (ex. stormwater utility fees) or grants;
• Guiding partners through state, federal, and private grant writing processes;
• Developing decision making documents (ex. Roadmaps, Viability Checks, etc.) for informed and nuanced planning by utilities and communities;
• Facilitating collaborative decision making to select projects that yield multiple benefits for utilities and communities, including environmental, human health, and economic benefits.
   

Project Management Focus

The focus of this role will be to manage a variety of projects at once (4-8), with the expectation that a few of them are always dormant. This is often due to needing to put work on pause while local partners focus on more pressing matters or waiting to hear back from a grant application we helped a community apply for. At Willamette Partnership, project management looks like coordinating work with your colleagues and the community partners, being a point-of-contact for the work, and ensuring the work gets done on time. 

While we’re looking for someone who can manage these kinds of programs, you won’t be doing it alone! We’ve got a supportive culture that fosters collaboration, and we help each other out on projects as a routine practice. You’ll be working with a team of colleagues who have experience delivering this kind of TA and can help navigate the program and build relationships with our external partners.

Qualifications 

We are looking for an experienced professional with at least 5 years of experience in relevant fields, including water resources, infrastructure, urban or rural planning, community development, conservation or conservation planning, environmental justice, community engagement, natural resource management, environmental science, or public policy. 

Ideal candidates will demonstrate knowledge, skill, and experience in: 

• Connecting and working with diverse communities that experience inequity under current approaches to infrastructure and conservation, including tribal governments, communities of color, rural communities, and low-income communities.
• Project management, including seeing projects through to completion, even if you weren’t there when the project started.
• Natural water infrastructure solutions such as floodplain restoration, treatment wetlands, green stormwater infrastructure, riparian restoration for water quality, etc. This could include technical assistance, public works, community organizing, finance, policy, or other relevant experience.
• Understanding of how infrastructure and policy change is planned and implemented at the community or regional scale.
• Communicating clearly through concise writing, public speaking, in-person professional interactions, and collaboration with team members.
• Applying for funding from foundation, state, or federal sources, especially State Revolving Funds (SRFs).
• Working effectively both independently and in a team environment. 

We will also prioritize candidates who demonstrate skills and experience in one or more of the following areas: 

• Project management experience leading environmental or infrastructure projects with public and/or philanthropic funding.
• Applying a strong equity/social justice lens to conservation and/or infrastructure planning.
• Working directly with local, state, and federal governments, and/or private landowners and agricultural producers.
• Tribal government relations.
• Infrastructure and conservation finance (e.g., municipal finance, environmental markets, or public-private partnerships), and/or infrastructure budgeting and planning.
• Federal funding programs, such as NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
• Familiarity with water policy and politics (players, history, opportunities) at the local, state (especially Oregon and/or Washington), or federal level. 

Application Process 

Interested candidates should submit a resume and a cover letter specifically stating how your knowledge, experience, interests, and skills relate to this position. All materials should be combined into a single pdf titled  “LastName_PlanningPartner2025.pdf”. Submissions should be sent by email to info@willamettepartnership.org. Please reference job #PlanningPartner-2025 in the subject line. 

We anticipate holding two rounds of interviews for this position. We will begin reviewing applications 6/19/2025, and candidates can expect to hear from us within two weeks whether they are invited to schedule an initial interview. Interviewees selected to move on to a second and final round of interviews will be asked to provide a work product sample (e.g. writing sample, presentation, or video recording) and three professional references. 

Willamette Partnership is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Applicants who need reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any phase of the application process should contact Erin Legg at (503) 841-5466 or info@willamettepartnership.org. 

We are committed to nurturing an inclusive and welcoming culture that values the contributions of diverse experiences. We strongly welcome and encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, or other People of Color, people who are queer, trans, non-binary, people with disabilities, people who are immigrants, people from poor and working class backgrounds, and people from rural communities. 

We are continuously working to improve our recruitment practices to be more equitable and transparent. We are grateful for any feedback, which you can send to robison@willamettepartnership.org.