Scope of Work

The director of Water Policy for the Nicholas Institute will focus on critical issues in water resource management with an eye towards identifying and addressing emerging issues. He/she will catalyze and lead high level policy discussions, network with the policy and business communities, public and private water industry, and bridge the worlds of corporate and policy decision-making, and academia. The ideal candidate will have knowledge, experience and interest in both global and domestic (U.S.) water issues.

The director will have broad latitude in designing a Water Policy program that engages and integrates well with other policy programs at the Institute and across Duke University. Of special relevance are environmental policy programs at the Institute that include a strong focus on ecosystem management – land, salt water (oceans and coasts) and freshwater. The interconnected and interdisciplinary themes of this work include: (1) using ecosystem services approaches (imbedding value) to improve management and outcomes, like nutrient and sediment reductions; (2) assessing the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation from natural systems and how to embed this in regulatory and voluntary programs for financing (agriculture, forestry, coastal and wetland); and (3) developing resilient biophysical, economic, and governance systems for freshwater management that can help reduce vulnerability or adapt to development processes (e.g. land use change and the evolution of demand for the services provided by water resources) and climate variability and change. 

Additional areas of work of interest to the Institute include:

• The role that water plays in our energy system and how adaptation to climate change may affect water availability and use.
• Water pricing, infrastructure financing, and valuation of both market and nonmarket improvements in water quantity and quality.

Our recent work on freshwater issues has focused on:

• Smarter water management using ecosystem services approaches and building resilience for adaptation - developing new approaches for bringing private and public water providers together to address common problems particularly in North Carolina and the Southeastern US. 
• Intrastate and interstate water allocation policy in the Southeastern US.
• Managing water for climate adaptation and agriculture in Nepal with WWF and in Laos with IWMI.  These projects and existing staff will fall under the management of the Director of the water program.
• A program on improving water, sanitation and hygiene in the developing world.