Preservation Manager (Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument)

Great Basin Institute, founded at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1998, is a mission-driven non-profit organization headquartered in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. GBI has been a leader in the conservation stewardship field for over two decades, supporting thousands of individuals pursuing a career in public land management or advancing their academic standing. In partnership with Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (PARA), GBI seeks to hire one Preservation Manager to oversee rehabilitation of the historic Tassi Ranch's maintenance.

The rehabilitation will improve accessibility and drainage throughout the approximately 9,000 square yards of maintained landscape by trimming and clearing vegetation, improving the drainage system through the replacement of the existing failed French drains, and the creation of swales to direct groundwater away from the ranch structures. The deconstruction and reconstruction of the historic shed will provide for its long-term preservation. Managing the vegetation will help maintain the appearance of the site as well as maintain the habitats for threatened and endangered species that reside on the landscape. Improving the drainage system with 23 cubic yards of gravel-free French drains and creating swales will help reduce the damage caused by recurring groundwater intrusion. These measures will provide for the long-term sustainability of this historic site.

The Preservation Manager will provide expert oversight to an AmeriCorps conservation crew throughout the process of dismantling and storing the historic Tassi Ranch shed, conducting landscape maintenance and rehabilitation, re-excavation and reconstruction of the French drains surrounding the shed, and reconstruction of the historic shed upon completion of landscape and drainage maintenance.

Essential Job Functions:

• Provide expert oversight to AmeriCorps crew conducting landscape maintenance and rehabilitation, drainage re-excavation, and the dismantling, storage, and reconstruction of a historic shed.
• Lead and collaborate with agency personnel and all other crew members to support field safety, communication, planning, logistics, quality assurance, field implementation, and reporting efforts.
• Works with NPS personnel to ensure repairs and renovations are historically accurate and preserve architectural integrity
• Applies appropriate restoration methods to historic buildings and features, following guidelines from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and other relevant agencies.
• Interprets and works from blueprints, sketches, construction drawings, and historic plans.
• Maintains inventory of specialized materials or custom-fabricated components and recommends materials and techniques for historical projects, including assistance with sourcing specialty components when necessary.
• Ensures all work complies with applicable building codes, agency policies, and historical preservation guidelines.
• Maintains accurate records, including project logs, timekeeping, and materials used and provides summary quarterly reports including quarterly objectives, approaches, and accomplishments.
• Participates in project review meetings and provides technical input to planning staff and supervisors.

LOCATION Offices are located in St. George, Utah

The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is a vast, biologically diverse, impressive landscape encompassing an array of scientific and historic objects. This remote area of open, undeveloped spaces and engaging scenery is located on the edge of one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Grand Canyon. Despite the hardships created by rugged isolation and the lack of natural waters, the monument has a long and rich human history spanning more than 11,000 years, and an equally rich geologic history spanning almost 2 billion years. Full of natural splendor and a sense of solitude, this area remains remote and unspoiled, qualities that are essential to the protection of the scientific and historic resources it contains.

A National Park Service cultural landscapes inventory completed in 2003 determined Tassi Ranch to be locally significant for its association with the development of cattle ranching in the Arizona Strip. It also found the ranch's structures and man-made landscape improvements significant as rare survivors of their type. Tassi Ranch illuminates the ways independent ranchers and homesteaders modified the natural landscape of the desert southwest to create sites for agriculture and settlement in a harsh and remote environment. There are multiple different natural springs on the ranch, which made this area a lifesaving water source, a comfortable place to rest, and an ideal place to make a desert home. Travelers were first documented as taking refuge at Tassi around the 1870’s, although archaeological evidence points to Native American use as early as 5,000 BP.

WORK SCHEDULE

Work will begin in January 2026.

This project will be conducted over the course of two 20-week sessions: the first 20-week session to occur during the 2025/2026 season, with the second 20-week session to occur during the 2026/2027 season. A portion of each season of work will be accomplished in 8-day hitches within each 20-week session.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Wage: $30/hour with overtime at 1.5x hourly rate. Full time, 40 hours per week.
• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance premiums 100% paid by GBI. Available on the first day of the month following the start of employment.
• Housing stipend of $100/week

To perform this job successfully, employees must be able to satisfactorily carry out each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelors or Masters degree in historic preservation or historic architecture.
• At least one year of demonstrated supervisory experience in addition to educational qualifications.
• Experience applying The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• Experience interpreting and utilizing Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) drawings and Historic Structure Reports (HSR).
• Familiarity with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and application of the requirements for listing under all relevant criteria (including Criterion D).
• Familiarity with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); archaeological site monitoring experience preferred.
• Experience preparing a Historic Structure Report (HSR).
• Experience in Landscape Architecture, Historic and/or Cultural Landscape Management strongly preferred

Successful applicants must complete a Department of Interior (DOI) Background Investigation (BI) or submit paperwork to NPS human resources indicating an active and fully adjudicated BI has already been completed prior to beginning position. If you already have a fully adjudicated BI, please let us know in your application

TO APPLY

Please submit an up-to-date resume, a one-page cover letter that details your interest in the position, and any qualifications not fully outlined in your resume, and contact information for three professional references. Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. For questions regarding this position, please contact isengupta@gbinstitute.org

PHYSICAL DEMANDS  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer equipment or tablets and other job/industry specific equipment. The noise level in the work environment may be high during periods involving the use of mechanical hand tools and heavy machinery operation.

The overall nature of the position involves long periods of standing, bending, and occasional lifting materials not to exceed fifty pounds. This work will be conducted largely outdoors, during the winter season, which will involve extended daily exposure to cold and sun. 

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the organization's ongoing needs.

NOTE: All offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Disclaimer: Although the organization has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, GBI reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the organization, at any time, with or without advance notice.