Fisheries and Wildlife Bio Scientist IV- Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Contracts Manager

The Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program within the Wildlife Impact Management Section of the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation (HSC) is seeking an energetic and motivated candidate to serve as the Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Contracts Manager. The incumbent is expected to effectively manage contracts, grants, and no-cost agreements such as MOUs, MOAs, or LOAs, etc. to ensure the conservation mission of the agency and Section are achieved. This position provides contract and project oversight regarding innovative research, control tools and techniques, competitive bid agreements, and other agreements within the Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program. This program provides statewide leadership, including monitoring of new species introductions, assessing nonnative species impacts, providing leadership on nonnative fish and wildlife management and research, developing and implementing policies and regulation, and coordination with partners and stakeholders on nonnative fish and wildlife issues. This position will have the opportunity to work on challenging nonnative species issues as part of a dedicated and collaborative team.

The mission of the Wildlife Impact Management Section is to minimize adverse impacts of fish and wildlife on Florida’s environment, economy, and human health and safety.

Primary duties will include:

Develops scopes of work for university research task assignments and competitively procured services to address nonnative fish and wildlife;

Responsible for the timely and accurate processing and/or approval, as appropriate, of project deliverables and invoices for payment of goods or services rendered to avoid automatic interest penalty payments to said vendors/contractors;

Effectively communicates with vendors, project investigators, and contractors to ensure deliverable completion within timeframes established with project specific scopes of work;

Processes change order, amendments, and other supporting contractual documentation in a timely manner to ensure projects continue without lapse;

Act as project manager on research or other contracts pertaining to nonnative fish or wildlife species as assigned by supervisor;

Ensures regular communications with contractors and conducts site visits per agency and Section policy;

Reviews and approves progress and final reports, data submissions, and other documents as proof of completed deliverables;

Provides day-to-day supervision of any assigned OPS staff;

Monitors workload of direct reports and provides oversight for projects and agreements managed by direct reports.

Identifies and assesses staffing needs as appropriate.

Works closely and effectively with internal and external stakeholders and partners on contracting-related issues;

Works with partner agencies and appropriate agency staff to implement any necessary training and education.

The incumbent will be required to travel throughout South Region and possibly other FWC regions to provide project oversight and to interact with partners and staff engaged in management and research of nonnative species. The incumbent should be able to work independently, and have an ability to effectively communicate with a variety of stakeholders with varying perspectives and management needs.

Additional duties will include:

Providing presentations to land managers and wildlife professionals;

Conducting other activities and tasks as necessary to support other HSC staff in the region;

Responding to other wildlife conflict issues as needed.

The incumbent is also responsible for other miscellaneous duties as assigned by supervisor.

In carrying out duties of this position, the incumbent is expected at all times to be aware and abide by the Commission's standards of conduct, as well as any and all Commission rules, directives, policies, procedures, and/or general orders applicable to performing the duties of this position.

Responsible for the timely and accurate processing and/or approval, as appropriate, of vendor invoices and warrants for payment of goods received or services rendered to avoid automatic interest penalty payments to said vendors.

Responsible for adhering to the provisions and requirements for Section 215.422.F.S., related State Comptroller's rules and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation invoice processing and warrant distribution procedures.

Courteously assists Commission constituents to resolve questions or problems they may have in matters relating to the Commission, its programs or fish and wildlife conservation generally. Seeks to garner public support for agency objectives and programs by serving Florida's citizens in a positive and proactive manner.