Overview of Urban Waters Coordinator
The Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership Coordinator acts as liaison and neutral convener for a coalition of nonprofit, government and non-governmental organizations that work on surface water-related (rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands) issues and projects in northwest Indiana. The Coordinator must excel at relationship building, managing multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, and working independently. Expertise and experience in watershed management and/or water quality issues is strongly preferred. Strong communication skills are a must, including writing and public speaking. The coordinator facilitates effective communication, collaboration, and project development between local, state, federal, educational, business, and non-profit partners who work on waterway-related projects in northwest Indiana. The coordinator is expected to attend in-person meetings at various locations around Lake and Porter Counties on a regular basis. Funding is also available for local travel (mileage reimbursement), cell phone work costs, and other position-related expenses.
This position does have the opportunity for a flexible work schedule but does require a strong in-person presence.
Schedule:
- Full-time (40 hours/week) or Part-time (32 hours/week) is available
- Some evening and weekend meetings
- Flexible when non-meeting work takes place
Pay:
- $41,600 - $54,912 (32 hours/week)
- $52,000 - $68,640 (40 hours/week)
Note: This is a grant funded position with a finite end date depending on funding status
Duties and Responsibilities of Urban Waters Coordinator
- Build and maintain good relationships with people and organizations that participate in partnerships or join in the future.
- Encourage and facilitate collaboration between partner organizations.
- Identify state and local partners’ needs for technical assistance from Federal partner agencies.
- Organize and facilitate quarterly full partnership meetings. Includes developing agendas, arranging guest speakers, securing meeting space, setting up A/V equipment or virtual meeting technology, taking, and disseminating meeting minutes, facilitating the conversation, and ensuring follow up to priorities and tasks agreed upon during the meetings.
- Send out a monthly e-newsletter (via Constant Contact) to the 400+ contacts in the NWI Urban Waters database. The newsletter includes relevant local activities, funding opportunities, training opportunities, and other information that may assist local partners via a monthly partnership newsletter. Collect news items, training and funding announcements, and other newsletter items throughout each month.
- Identify opportunities to assist local partners, such as field work, data analysis, technical writing, education and outreach, meeting assistance, project development, grant application development, and so on. Connect federal partners to these needs and provide direct assistance as appropriate.
- Work with all active partners to develop and update a Work Plan document.
- Attend local meetings of watershed groups and other partnership organizations to keep on top of and help advance local waterway-related issues. Assist with priority projects as requested and as capacity allows.
- Arrange and facilitate meetings for special work groups, or federal partner (‘fed-to-fed’) meetings, as needed.
- Coordinate and engage with CommuniTree planning and projects.
- Develop and make presentations about the northwest Indiana Urban Waters partnership.
- Communicate local watershed activities to core federal partners locally and nationally.
- Participate in national Urban Waters conference calls to stay informed about the program and provide updates about the Northwest Indiana partnership.
Benefits of Urban Waters Coordinator
- Full benefits – Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Retirement, Life Insurance and more
- Accrue 15 days’ vacation your first year, then 22 days’ vacation your 2nd year plus rollover
- University contribution of 10% to retirement (3 year waiting period)
- University contributions to Health Savings Account –
- Plus a chance to earn more through participating in University Wellness Initiatives
- 10 paid holidays
- Employee Wellness Programs
- Paid Parental Leave after one year of service
- Tuition remission for you, your spouse and dependent children at any Purdue campus
For more information on our excellent benefit package, please visit: https://www.pnw.edu/human-resources/benefits/
Education of Urban Waters Coordinator
- Bachelor's degree required. A combination of education and experience may also be considered.
Experience of Urban Waters Coordinator
- One-year professional experience involving water quality.
Core Competencies of Urban Waters Coordinator
- Must excel at relationship building, managing multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, and working independently
- Expertise and experience in watershed management and/or water quality issues is strongly preferred
- Strong communication skills are a must, including writing and public speaking
- Must be able to push, pull, lift, carry 10 lbs. frequently, and up to 20 lbs.
Additional Information
Professional references will be verified prior to any offer of employment. Employment is contingent upon completion of successful background check. Purdue University Northwest is an equal opportunity/equal access university.
For full consideration, please attach a cover letter, resume, and three references. Please detail how your experience addresses the criteria listed in this job announcement.
The review committee will promptly review applications and solicit interviews after the application deadline of March 5, 2026. If you have job specific questions, please contact brent.a.hart@usda.gov
Funding for this position has been provided since 2013 by USEPA and US Forest Service through a cost-share agreement with Purdue University Northwest.
About Urban Waters
Urban Waters is a federal initiative that seeks to break down siloes between federal agencies and state and local partners that have common projects or at least common interests on the same waterways. There are 21 Urban Waters partnerships located around the country. Northwest Indiana was one of the original pilot locations. Each partnership operates independently and chooses which local issues and challenges to work on. More info on the national program and the other Urban Waters partnership locations is available at https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters.
Since 2011, the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Partnership has brought together federal, state, and local government agencies as well as non-governmental organizations to share information, resources, and technical expertise. The main goals of the Northwest Indiana partnership are to improve equity and access to clean local waters by increasing collaboration among agencies and organizations working in the region, and to attract needed resources to waterway-related projects that local partners identify as priorities. Over time, the partnership has helped find needed funds and other resources for a variety of projects while encouraging collaboration among the 60+ participating agencies and organizations.
The partnership’s ‘territory’ is flexible and, by consent of the local partners, covers the Lake Michigan sub-watersheds of Trail Creek, the East Branch of the Little Calumet River, Salt Creek, Deep River, and special locations within the Grand Calumet Area of Concern. The partnership also discusses projects and issues on the West Branch of the Little Calumet River as needed. Projects and issues that directly or indirectly impact the Lake Michigan shoreline in Indiana are also included.
All agencies, organizations, businesses, and residents that have a shared interest in northwest Indiana waterway projects can be on the email list and attend and participate in meetings. No formal commitment to belonging to the partnership is required.
The partnership has had a dedicated Coordinator since 2013 to organize partnership activities, convene meetings, keep federal partners apprised of local events and project progress, and help match available resources to local needs. Since 2014, this position has been hosted with office space on Purdue University Northwest - Hammond campus.
About Purdue University Northwest
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a student-centered university that transforms lives through innovative education, impactful research and community engagement. Located in Northwest Indiana in the greater Chicago area and near the Indiana Dunes National Park, PNW serves approximately 9,000 students, including 6,000 core students, in a wide range of academic programs at the baccalaureate, master’s and applied doctoral levels.
Purdue Northwest employs more than 1,000 faculty and staff members for operations at its main campus in Hammond, Ind., and its branch campus in Westville, Ind., plus additional sites in Northwest Indiana including the Gabis Arboretum near Valparaiso, Ind. PNW’s values reflect the university’s commitment to respect, innovation, a student-centric university, and excellence.
PNW is consistently ranked among the best public regional universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges report and is recognized as a First Scholars institution as well an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. With its vision to cultivate leaders, inspire excellence, and impact our world, PNW advances the socioeconomic mobility of its students and positively impacts regional development.