Port Policy Manager

Overview

Job Title: Port Project Manager

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is a dynamic non-profit working to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. With offices on the Boston Fish Pier overlooking Boston Harbor, Save the Harbor is the region’s leading voice for clean water and continued public investment in Boston Harbor, the region’s public beaches, and the Boston Harbor Islands, providing 3-season programming that works to connect youth, teens and families to our spectacular, urban natural resources. Save the Harbor has a committed and collegial full-time staff of eleven, as well as enthusiastic and engaged interns, volunteers and consultants.

We currently adhere to a hybrid work model. Position Summary The Port Project Manager will lead a two-year, Barr Foundation–supported initiative to reimagine Boston’s working port areas and chart a bold, actionable vision for the future of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts’ Designated Port Areas (DPAs).

This role combines strategic planning, community engagement, and policy development to advance economic innovation, climate resilience, and environmental justice.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Leadership & Coordination

• Manage the Boston Harbor and Ports Action Plan project from inception to completion, ensuring milestones and deliverables are met.

• Oversee research and synthesis of more than 30 years of harbor-related plans, economic analyses, and policy studies.

• Coordinate visual renderings, outcome models, and alternative port development visions. Community & Stakeholder Engagement

• Design and facilitate inclusive engagement processes with environmental justice communities, maritime industry representatives, developers, municipal and state agencies, and other key stakeholders.

• Track and report stakeholder input to shape consensus around port visions and strategic recommendations. Strategic Planning & Policy Development • Collaborate with Save the Harbor leadership to craft a shared vision and strategic roadmap for Boston Harbor and statewide DPAs.

• Develop recommendations for policy, governance, and investment reforms to modernize DPA regulations and strengthen the maritime economy.

• Support the launch of the first Massachusetts Port Action Summit and related advocacy efforts. Organizational Capacity Building

• Contribute to SHSB’s broader strategic planning process, helping to grow the organization’s policy capacity and long-term sustainability.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, public policy, environmental studies, or a related field (Master’s preferred).

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in project management, community engagement, or policy development—ideally in maritime, climate resilience, or urban planning contexts. • Strong facilitation, communication, and coalition-building skills across diverse stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex technical and policy information into actionable plans.

• Commitment to environmental justice, equity, and inclusive decision-making.

• Familiarity with Massachusetts waterfront policy (e.g., Chapter 91, DPAs) a plus.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range for this position is $60,000-$80,000/year based on experience and qualifications, plus benefits including 100% health and dental insurance; vacation, personal, holiday and sick time; 401K retirement plan contribution.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals. We will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Flexible, hybrid work environment with opportunities for professional development.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and resume to williams@savetheharbor.org with the subject line “Port Project Manager Application – [Your Name]”. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

About Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

Save the Harbor is an ambitious organization that has enjoyed tremendous success and earned the regard and friendship of a broad-based constituency. Since 1986 we have been the region’s leading voice for clean water and the completion of the $5 billion Boston Harbor Clean-Up, which has transformed Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest harbors in the nation into a source of educational, recreational, and economic opportunity for all Bostonians and the region’s residents. Our mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. Though clean water and environmental advocacy remain at the core of our mission, since 2001 Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has increasingly focused our attention on finding new ways to connect the nearly one million residents who live within half an hour of the coast, with the harbor, the beaches, and the islands.

Today, Save the Harbor:

• Leads and manages the Metropolitan Beaches Commission for the Massachusetts Legislature, charged with improving quality and equitable access to the Boston Harbor Region’s public beaches from Nahant on the North Shore to Nantasket on the South Shore.

• Strengthens Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods and the region’s beachfront communities by hosting and sponsoring 870 free Better Beaches events and programs on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket since 2008.

• Connects over 20,000 youth and families each year with free Youth Environmental Education Programs that have introduced more than 300,000 underserved and low-income young people to the spectacular harbor we have worked so hard to restore and protect since we began in 2002.