Request for Proposals Outreach and Community Relations Director
The Elakha Alliance
Issued: January 2, 2020
About Us
The Elakha Alliance is an Oregon non-profit with a mission to restore sea otters to the Oregon coast and thereby restore the nearshore ecosystem and restore the cultural connection between sea otters and coastal Indian people.
The Elakha Alliance takes its name from “elakha,” the Chinook trading language word for sea otter, which were once plentiful in Oregon’s coastal waters. For thousands of years, sea otters and coastal native people had a strong relationship with each other and the nearshore marine environment. Tragically, sea otters were decimated by hunting for their pelts in the 1700s and 1800s, effectively eliminating them from Oregon by 1910.
Sea otters are a keystone species whose predation and behavior have a profound effect on the ecosystem and mix of species within it. Oregon’s marine ecosystem likely became ecologically simpler and less robust with their absence.
The Elakha Alliance recently completed a strategic plan to guide its work for the next 5 to 10 years. A copy of this plan is available upon request from elakha.alliance@gmail.com. This strategic plan is the basis for the work to be performed by the Outreach and Community Relations Director.
You can read more about the Alliance at: www.oregonseaotters.org.
The Role
The Alliance is seeking a contractor to lead the organization’s work to build a regional consensus that sea otter restoration is a worthwhile objective. Although the contractor will set her/his own hours, we expect that fulfilling the scope of work will require a full time commitment.
The Outreach and Community Relations Director will:
- Lead implementation of the organization’s Outreach and Communications Plan, which includes a combination of online and in-person outreach.
- Online work will include managing the organization’s social media platforms and finalizing, publicizing and maintaining a new independent website. (A separate contractor is being sought for the web design work).
- In-person work will include engaging with target audiences in formal presentations, informal small-group gatherings, one-on-one meetings, and public outreach events. Audiences will include elected officials and staff (or volunteers) from government agencies, coastal Indian tribes, conservation organizations, community organizations, users of marine resources (fishing, harvesting, tourism, etc), as well as interested members of the general public.
- Represent the Elakha Alliance at meetings or conferences to be determined.
- Play a leadership role in planning for and executing a fall 2020 Sea Otter Symposium to be held in Newport.
- Assist the Board President in convening a Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee to advise the work of a separate contractor who will lead the Alliance’s feasibility assessment.
- Prepare for and participate in Alliance Board meetings.
- Work with volunteers to support various tasks to be identified.
- Support, as needed, the Board’s grassroots fundraising and grant writing.
Required Qualifications and Desired Attributes
Required Qualifications: We are seeking proposals from persons with at least three years of relevant experience that demonstrate all or nearly all of the desired attributes.
Desired attributes:
The contractor must be:
- a proactive self-starter who is comfortable working with minimal supervision;
- adaptable, able to respond positively to opportunities and changing circumstances;
- able to plan for, manage, complete and account for their work;
- able to write and speak clearly and effectively; and
- able to communicate with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, in formal and informal settings.
The contractor must have:
- a familiarity with the social, political, geographic complexities of the Oregon coast and the conservation issues that comprise the context for the work of the Elakha Alliance;
- experience in planning and implementing events (e.g. conferences, meetings) and communications (via websites, social media platforms, emails);
- experience working for or with one or more Indian tribes, or other experiences working with diverse communities or cultures; and
- capability and interest in learning and communicating scientific topics that undergird the work of the Elakha Alliance.
Contract Oversight The contractor will work closely with the Board President of the Elakha Alliance in planning for and performing all work under the contract..
Travel: The contractor must be willing and able to perform significant travel (including overnight) on the Oregon coast. A driver’s licence and car are a requirement for the position. Other travel to out-of-state conferences or meetings may arise on a case-by-case basis. Funds are available in the Elakha Alliance budget to reimburse actual travel costs (e.g. mileage, meals, lodging) under policies adopted by the Board.
Duration
The Alliance expects the contractor to be able to commit to at least two years of work. (Funding is in place for the first year, with a very high expectation funding will be available for the second year). Opportunities beyond two years will depend on the success of the work in 2020-2021.
Contract compensation
We will consider proposals involving compensation between $4,500-$6,250/month. Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed in the course of implementing the contract.
How to Apply and the Selection Process
Please submit a resume and a cover letter. The cover letter should explain:
- How you would approach the role,
- The ways in which your relevant experiences match up with the required qualifications and desired attributes,
- Your compensation needs, and
- The date you could commence the work.
Please provide at least three references..
Submit the materials to elakha.alliance@gmail.com
The selection process will include at least one interview. A final decision on which proposal to accept will depend upon a combination of the proposal strength, the interview, and the compensation required.
Deadline for proposals: January 30, 2020