The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, a program of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and its One Health Institute, is currently recruiting for an Associate Director of Operations to help lead the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) and its readiness, research and response activities for oiled wildlife in California.
Full Job Description + Application
Job Summary
Under the direction of the Director of the OWCN, this position is responsible for running day-to-day activities of the OWCN’s Management Team at its headquarters (located at UC Davis). This position focuses on the coordination of subject matter expertise and content related to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of oiled wildlife; management of physical assets for the program; coordination of the initial deployment operations for emergency response efforts. This role works in close coordination with the Director of the program and with the Associate Director of Network Management, who leads the management of the 45 Member Organizations and 1600 responders who empower the OWCN to deliver world class emergency response efforts to oil spills in state waters of California. This role supervises content experts in the roles of animal health and care, as well as field operations and a logistics unit.
Essential Responsibilities
- Leadership & Administrative (40%)
- Content Management and Training Support (30%)
- Asset Management (15%)
- Other (15%)
Leadership & Administrative
- Contribute to strategic visioning of the overall program as senior leadership.
- Represent OWCN
- Ensure administrative aspects of the program related to operations are successfully tracked and met.
- Review and monitor budgets and expenditures for the operations portion (including equipment, supplies, and facility improvement efforts) of the program and ensures appropriate allocation of these resources.
- Supervise the daily activities of OWCN Management Team personnel assigned to operational areas.
- Lead the initial operational efforts for rapid mobilization for oil spill activations, in close coordination with the Associate Director of Network Management for activation of member organization responders. Specific duties will vary based on the response, but include implementing agreed-upon mobilization strategies to determine most rapid and effective deployment.
- Respond to spills, filling any management and staff roles required by the response, including potentially higher-level leadership roles as necessary, and coordinate with outside stakeholders and member organizations. This includes working within the Incident Command System (ICS) to serve as a group supervisor level.
- Supervise operational activities during responses and interface with a diverse group of individuals and agencies including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the US Coast Guard, US Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, State Parks, local governments and law enforcement, the responsible party, wildlife organizations, and volunteers.
- Provide depth in coverage for the Director and Associate Director of Network Management, as needed, in preparedness and response times.
Content Management and Training Support (30%)
- Manage development and review/maintenance of best practices content (including field operations and animal care activities) for the OWCN, ensuring that protocols and information generated is being collaboratively created by subject matter experts inside and outside of the Network.
- Identify gaps in subject matter areas related to best practices in oil spill responses and identify paths to address and disseminate new information, including through internal and external research opportunities and collaborations, publications, and conferences/meetings. This includes supporting the Director with the OWCN Scientific Advisory Committee and external research grant calls.
- Support Network training needs identified by the Associate Director of Network Management and create and deliver content to address these needs, including in person and virtual workshops, webinars, asynchronous learning, and other modalities as required.
Asset Management (15%)
- Oversee the acquisition and maintenance of all large-scale physical assets and supplies across the Network, including vehicles, trailers, supply caches, and temporary/permanent facilities.
- Ensure the accurate and updated inventory of supplies necessary for emergency response activities, including items stored at the OWCN Headquarters as well as throughout the Network.
Other (15%)
- Take shifts (rotating through the team) on the 24-hour hotline to receive and act on calls for oil spill notifications.
- Support requests for mutual aid as needed from entities within and outside UC Davis and California.
- Represent OWCN on a national and international level as needed.
- Takes on other duties and projects as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with 4 or more years of experience in emergency response, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife field research, or related field
- 4+ years of demonstrated supervisory experience
- Collaborative and team-oriented, detail-oriented and able to set priorities and meet timelines; capable of making decisions in a fast-paced and rapidly changing work environment
- Ability to travel on a monthly basis around California for routine partner visits and to deploy with limited notice for emergency response activations; comfortable with flexible working hours
- Exceptional writing and communication skills with basic financial analysis and budgeting skills
- Experience with incident command/emergency response
- Experience teaching and conducting training in informal or formal settings
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree (DVM/PhD)
- Experience working in an academic or state/federal government setting
- Experience in wildlife care operations or wildlife field operations, ideally in emergency situations
Salary/Pay Range
$94,700 - $130,000/year
Contact
Victoria Hall - vichall@ucdavis.edu or +1 530 600 1010
Apply by November 5, 2025 11:59PM Pacific Time