Last updated: January 9, 2023
Summary: We are looking for a full-time remote hire to ensure that all CaDC members have the best experience possible. Working at the intersection of member success, marketing, and internal operations, you should have strong communication and organizational skills and be flexible to take on new responsibilities outside your comfort zone. Prior experience running and growing an organization is a nice extra, as is knowledge of the water sector.
The last twenty-two years in the American West have been the driest in more than a millennium; an unprecedented reality that will only grow worse as our region becomes more arid. This changing hydrology is stressing our water systems to a breaking point. Adapting to the realities of a changing climate will require changing our behaviors and systems using the best tools and information available to us.
Meanwhile California’s water management system is fragmented among thousands of local water retailers and additional layers of regional, state, and federal agencies. This fragmentation creates high costs to the sharing and collection of data which results in planning and regulations that are often based on outdated, inaccurate, or non-existent data. Even in the birthplace of Silicon Valley, we are failing to fully harness the potential of modern software and data science to face up to the challenges we face as a civilization.
The California Data Collaborative (CaDC) is a nonprofit organization and network of water professionals collaborating on the creation of open-source software, data, standards, and applied research that support the informed planning and analysis needed to ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply in California into an uncertain future. We build tools and community to empower local water suppliers on the ground and put their data to use for planning and policy.
You will be responsible for ensuring that all CaDC members have the best experience possible. You will do this by engaging Member Agencies, coordinating internal and external work groups, developing relationships across the California water sector, and supporting CaDC growth. This role will include internal and external stakeholder engagement, including trainings, events, and communications, as well as identifying and executing on funding opportunities, such as grant applications.
Responsibilities in this role will vary over time, but it will remain a member-facing role that requires strong problem-solving abilities, clear communication, and a genuine interest in helping people.
The CaDC has been around for six years, and while our brand and organization have grown, we still operate in many ways like a startup, so we are looking for people who are comfortable with ambiguity and having wide impact. You should be flexible and eager to dive in to help in any area that is needed.
This is not expected to be a technical role, but the ability to understand and communicate about data science, data management, water use and efficiency, and similar technical topics is important.
Role accountabilities: This is a role that covers a lot of ground and will likely evolve as we grow, but some of the expected accountabilities include: