Department: Research and Evaluation (R&E)

FLSA Status: Exempt

The Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (SSRAA) is recruiting for a full-time Research and Evaluation (R&E) Manager in Ketchikan, Alaska. SSRAA is a private non-profit hatchery association whose mission is to enhance and rehabilitate salmon production in southern Southeast Alaska. The R&E Manager acts as the lead fisheries biologist for the association and is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all aspects of data collection and management. This is a senior management position that reports directly to the General Manager.

The primary duties of this position include overseeing the port sampling and coded wire tagging program of chum, coho, and Chinook salmon produced by SSRAA hatcheries. This role involves developing statistical protocols for research and evaluation, forecasting returns, analyzing data, and preparing reports for the SSRAA Board of Directors, as well as state and federal agencies. As a member of the senior management team, the R&E Manager will represent SSRAA at relevant planning, technical, and resource management meetings. This position supervises three full-time employees and up to six seasonal employees and is responsible for developing and maintaining the annual budget for the R&E department, as well as overseeing the otolith, pathology, and DEC water analysis labs. The ideal candidate must hold at least a bachelor's degree in biology, fisheries, or statistics, with a master's degree preferred. Desired skills and experience include a strong understanding of statistical protocols, familiarity with Alaska salmon fisheries, excellent verbal and written communication abilities, and proficiency in software programs such as R, Excel, Access, and Word.

The benefits package includes health, dental, life and long-term disability insurance, a competitive retirement plan, and accrual of personal and sick leave. SSRAA is an equal-opportunity employer. This position will be posted from February 10th through March 14th, with an anticipated start date of June 2025.

Reports to: General Manager

Location: Ketchikan, Alaska

Summary of Position: The Research and Evaluation (R&E) Manager serves as the lead biologist for SSRAA and acts as a member of SSRAA's senior management team. This position is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and evaluating data collection of chum, coho, and Chinook salmon returning to SSRAA hatcheries and release sites. The R&E Manager reports to the General Manager for in-season management of broodstock and cost recovery based on evaluation of the common property fisheries. Additional duties include overseeing the R&E lab and staff, programmatic budget, serving as the main fish pathologist, reporting data to state and federal agencies, and representing SSRAA at meetings. Successfully performs other duties as assigned.

Responsibilities & Duties:

Support SSRAAs mission and values by overseeing and fulfilling the research and analysis functions of the organization.
Compile tag recovery information, analyzes data, and prepare reports and graphics primarily for the SSRAA Board of Directors, web page, state managers, and the General Manager. Analysis is often used to make program decisions.
Develop statistical protocols for research and evaluation activities including, but not limited to: tagging rates for release groups, otolith sampling for contribution estimates, estuary sampling, water chemistry evaluations, harvest tag recovery sampling, and SSRAA fish culture research experiments.
Serve on the senior management team and also directly supervises the assistant R&E manager and Lab Supervisor.
Represent SSRAA or assist the General Manager at appropriate planning, technical and resource management meetings including, but not limited to: U.S. Forest Service, ADF&G, other scientific groups and conferences.
Assist with SSRAAs communication and outreach efforts including, but not limited to, writing occasional articles for SSRAA publications and providing weekly update of salmon catch statistics for the web page during harvest.
Stay current in technical aspects of fish identification (tagging), fish disease, and the life history of salmon as it affects the survival of fish and forecasting returns.
Provide in-season salmon return information in real time, to the General Manager and ADF&G resource managers to quantify the harvest of SSRAA fish in common property fisheries including assessing pre-season run forecasts, return timing, and run strength.
Responsible for developing and maintaining the R&E department annual budget, including coded wire tagging, the otolith lab, pathology, and the DEC water analysis lab
Applying for grants to support SSRAA's mission and develop research related to SSRAA releases and returns
Responsible for developing and maintaining a forecast model for predicting SSRAA returns by species to each release site every year.
At the direction of the General Manager, provide technical evaluation of ongoing issues, such as the allocation of enhanced fish, seine and gillnet task force meetings, and other situations requiring knowledge of salmon life history and applied statistics, some of which are designed to resolve controversy.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Skills & Abilities Required:

Bachelor Degree in some combination of Biology, Fisheries, and/or Statistics
Knowledge of statistical protocols
Familiarity with Alaska fisheries
Experience in public speaking
Experience working in Excel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint

Preferable, but not required skills and experience:

Advanced degree in biological field with statistical modeling experience
Knowledge of the salmon fisheries in SE Alaska
Experience with CWT and otolith marking
Demonstrated history of technical report writing
Experience with web databases pertaining to salmon

Core Competencies:

Belief in SSRAA's mission statement
Self-motivated and directed
Ability to work as a team and be a problem solver
Maintain confidentiality when appropriate

Reporting to this position: Assistant R&E Manager, Lab Supervisor

Physical demands: Some field work is occasionally necessary. Requires long hours working at the computer.

Work environment: Most often work alone. Interact and collaborate with government agencies and other fisheries organizations and associations. Some travel to fisheries meetings is required.

NOTES: SSRAA is a growing organization changing as needed to best address its goals. Any description of work is a picture of the major responsibilities of a position at a given point in time. Jobs are dynamic and assignments/priorities may change. This position description is not intended or implied to be an employment contract but is a communication tool to explain the responsibilities, advertise the job, and identify performance measures and potential training needs. SSRAA is an at-will employer.

Salary Description

$82,255 - $92,579 DOE

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