Office Assistant, Cuba Oceans Program Environmental Defense Fund
Location: Austin, TX
Term: February – May 2016
Hours: 100 hr. flexible week to week Pay: $9.00/hr
Position Description:
EDF’s Cuba Oceans Program is looking for a part time Office Assistant to support the Manager in weekly administrative work. The office assistant would work a total of 100 hrs. over the Spring semester with flexible hours depending on work load and availability with a maximum of 10 hrs. in 1 week. This is an opportunity for a student interested in marine conservation and U.S.-Cuba relations on the environment to learn about EDF’s work and provide administrative support.
Tasks include:
- Creating and managing an excel database of contacts and partners
- Managing document library using an online platform
- Reviewing U.S.-Cuba news
- Organizing supplies and handling printing and mailings for trainings/ workshop events
- Other administrative duties dependent on needs and candidate’s skills and interests
Qualifications:
- Exceptional organizational skills
- Trustworthy and able to use guidance to work independently at times
- Able to work from EDF office or from home/campus when needed
- Proficiency in Spanish desired, but not required
To apply please send resume and cover letter to Valerie Miller at vmiller@edf.org with “Office Assistant” and your name in the subject line.
Background Information: With world attention focused on both the environment and the economy, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is where policymakers and business leaders turn for win-win solutions. This leading green group, with programs from Boston to Beijing, has tripled in size over the past decade by focusing on strong science, uncommon partnerships and market-based approaches. You can be part of a vibrant workplace that welcomes diverse perspectives, talents and contributions, where innovation and a focus on results are a way of life.
EDF Oceans Program: The Oceans Program works to find constructive solutions to the most critical problems threatening the world’s marine environments. At the national, regional, and international levels, our team of scientists, attorneys and economists are working with fishermen to establish fair and sensible limits on their catch that will allow fisheries to recover. EDF’s Oceans Program works to improve the health of the oceans via innovative and durable solutions to today’s toughest fishery management challenges. Our Oceans Program has focused on fisheries in the waters of the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean and Europe and is beginning to implement its strategy to influence fisheries reform globally to ensure more fish in the water, more food on the plate, and more prosperous communities.
Cuba Oceans Program Description:
Since 2000, EDF has become a trusted partner and resource for Cuban policymakers, managers, scientists, fishermen, community leaders and NGOs. We have successfully worked with Cuban experts to protect Cuba’s coastal and marine resources, which are among the most vibrant in the Caribbean. When Cuba committed to establish a network of marine parks several years ago, EDF helped Cuban scientists identify priority habitat areas for protection; since then, Cuba has set a goal to protect 25% of its coastal waters. Our projects have also included developing strategies to implement new coastal laws and policies, supporting ecological and economic research in the Jardines de la Reina National Park, and assessing the feasibility of developing renewable ocean energy projects off the northern coast of Cuba.
Our current projects focus on improving fisheries management, implementing a national strategy for conserving shark populations that EDF helped design, and training scientists on tools for assessing and managing fish stocks when data is limited. Since 2013, EDF has been a partner in SOS Pesca, a community-based project to protect coral reefs, end overfishing and improve the livelihoods of residents along Cuba’s south coast. This past year, EDF also facilitated a dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba on protecting shared marine resources, which has resulted in an unprecedented agreement between NOAA and the Cuban National Center for Protected Areas to collaborate on the science and management of coral reef ecosystems. EDF also helped broker a broader U.S.-Cuba environmental agreement that will expand opportunities for sharing knowledge and technology between the two countries.
EDF is poised to expand on the foundation we have built in Cuba over the past 15 years and help ensure the country can preserve its extraordinary natural heritage and create new economic opportunities for coastal residents in the face of a changing climate and a more open society. We share a vision with our Cuban partners that Cuba can thrive, with resilient, productive and sustainable coastal ecosystems that support a growing economy and a more prosperous population.