The National Coral Reef Management Fellowship is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nova Southeastern University (NSU), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee (AIC). There are seven (7) U.S. states and territories participating in this program: American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Coral Reef Management Fellows are placed in state and territorial natural resource management agencies (the host agencies) in each of these jurisdictions every other year, where they work on specific projects related to coral reef conservation. Although fellows are employed through NSU, they are essentially working for the host agencies and should consider their on-site fellowship supervisors to be their direct managers.
The host agency for the 2026-2028 Guam National Coral Reef Management Fellowship is the Guam Coral Reef Initiative (that’s us!), which is part of the Guam Department of Agriculture (DOAG), located in Mangilao, Guam. The 2026-2028 Fellow’s work will focus on developing a stewardship partnership, developing Guam’s coral reef action plan (C-RAP), and broadly enhancing collaborative efforts among coral reef-related organizations in Guam. The Coral Fellow will also support ongoing Guam Coral Reef Initiative (GCRI) activities and projects while working closely with GCRI staff to implement program goals.
The four goals of this 2-year coral fellowship are to:
1. Coordinate stewardship partnership to facilitate Coral Reef Action Plan (C-RAP) development, and cultivate and support collaborative work with non-profits, government agencies, businesses, universities, and other organizations
2. Work with tourism-related businesses to reduce recreational impacts on corals by conducting outreach on GCRI resources
3. Organize two collaborative coral-focused outreach events with partners to provide meaningful education and volunteering opportunities to the public
4. Work with Guam’s village mayors’ offices, through meetings or community events, to bring awareness to coral restoration and ensure communities are involved.
Job Category: Non-Exempt
Hiring Range: $25.128205
Pay Basis: Hourly
The fellowship also includes vacation, health insurance, professional development funding, and other benefits.
Essential Job Functions
1. Organizes meetings with stewardship partners and helps them to develop or review any documents needed for C-RAPs.
2. Assists an anticipated new non-profit (Friends of Fish Eye) with developing their new stewardship partner activities, identifying mutual goals, and facilitating support between the non-profit and GCRI coral restoration and outreach work in Piti.
3. Responds to partnership requests and identifies new partnership opportunities with local or off-island organizations, such as the Aquarium of Guam, SCUBA diving shops, and the Coral Restoration Consortium.
4. Reviews data from the Guam Visitor’s Bureau on tourism, the NOAA NCRMP socioeconomic survey report, the Guam Tourism Recovery Plan, or other sources to inform any discussions and collaborative efforts on reducing recreational impacts.
5. Meets with tourism-related stakeholders, such as hotels or recreation operators, to share GCRI resources, gather ideas and feedback, and develop collaborations.
6. Leads the planning of at least two coral-focused outreach events for Earth Day and World Oceans Day.
7. Engages with mayor’s offices by providing updates on GCRI’s work and providing communities with the opportunity to engage with the work or provide input and planning educational events with village mayor’s offices.
8. Participates in public marine education snorkels, trainings, or other events.
9. Works with GCRI to post on GCRI social media and highlight partner activities
Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:
1) Professional experience in marine science, natural resource management, environmental education, or other related fields
2) Previous experience related to organizing and facilitating meetings
3) Comfortable swimming and snorkeling
4) Ability to work collaboratively in a team and with groups of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds
5) Strong oral and written communication skills that, on request, can be supported by examples of experience in writing, reviewing, and editing (grammar and punctuation) information of a scientific and/or technical nature
6) Skills in public speaking, networking, and building partnerships
7) Proficient with word processing software, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
8) Experience working in an island community, preferably on Guam
9) Flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and the ability to overcome challenges
10) Ability to succeed in a hybrid in-person/office/fieldwork environment
Required Certifications/Licensures:
Required Education: Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences or Resource Management
Required Experience: Bachelor’s degree in biological science or resource management with experience that correlates with aptitude and interest for marine management and at least two (2) years of relevant experience in marine science, natural resource management, environmental education, or a related field.
--OR--
Master's degree in a related area of study and at least one (1) year of experience.
Applications must be submitted through the online portal for consideration: Applicants may apply for more than one position (for example, you may apply for the Guam fellowship along with the CNMI, Florida, and American Samoa fellowship), but need to submit a separate application for each position. Click here to view job descriptions for the other Coral Fellow positions outside of Guam. Prospective applicants should note that this is a management and policy-focused fellowship, and that SCUBA diving will not be permitted.
Applications due November 2nd, 2025
Learn more and apply at: https://nsucareers.nova.edu/jobs/coral-reef-management-fellow-guam-992774-remote-flexible-florida-united-states#apply
