Title: Corps Director – Southeast Conservation Corps
Starting Salary Range: $90,300 to $93,000
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Status: Full-Time, Exempt, Part-time Remote Eligible
Benefit Eligible: Health, Vision, Dental, Long-Term Disability, Retirement, Paid Time Off per Personnel Policies
Reports to: Senior Vice President of Programs
Organizational Summary:
Conservation Legacy is a nationwide non-profit. The Corps programs within the organization engage participants in diverse conservation and community projects that benefit public and private lands. These projects provide opportunities for personal and professional development and strive toward a high priority of needs for public land managers and community partners. Through the mission of engaging future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service; Conservation Legacy works toward a world with healthy lands, air, and water; thriving people, and resilient communities.
Program Summary:
The Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC) is a non-profit service organization built on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that operated from 1933-1942. SECC provides recent-era military veterans, young adults, and teenagers opportunities to complete conservation projects on public and private lands throughout Tennessee and the Southeast region. While serving with SECC, members learn natural resource management practices and teamwork though completing high quality projects such as prescribed burning, fuels management, land restoration, trail construction, and invasive plant management. Programs are structured using a stepladder approach to provide a progression of development related to personal, professional, and project skills. SECC operates field programs nearly year-round from January – November, with the peak season being January – August. During peak season, up to 10 crews can run simultaneously. SECC engages approximately 120 members per year throughout youth, adult, and veteran crews, as well as internships. SECC has a staff of seven full time employees and two seasonal staff and is operating with $2.7M budget for 2024.
Position Summary:
The Corps Director is responsible as the leader for developing and maintaining local partnerships within their service communities and surrounding geographic area. This includes identifying, developing, and maintaining relationships with local project partners. This position also collaborates with other Conservation Legacy staff to develop and maintain regional and national partnerships. Under their leadership, they will operate a team of program staff members at various levels to be high-functioning, effective and lead the corps industry in day to day and strategic decisions, innovation, and programmatic outcomes and operations.
Outcomes & Functions of Position:
Business Leadership
- Administers long-term strategic plans for the growth of the program.
- Manages day to day activities in the program business development and corporate planning functions.
- Oversees the strategies and success of fundraising efforts within SECC.
- Cultivates an environment to stay aligned with changing internal and external environments.
- Lead business and government relations with public land agencies, community leaders, and local non-profits in cooperation with senior Conservation Legacy staff.
- Develop and maintain relationships favoring sustainability and leveraging innovative funding opportunities.
- Identify, develop, and steward high-quality relationships that align with Conservation Legacy’s mission and vision.
- Identify and lead local, and external communication.
- Prepare and manage an annual Corps budget with a full understanding of allocations and modifications.
- Align priorities with requirements and standards set forth by all-organization standards and strategies.
- Gathers and analyzes data evaluating new business opportunities or assessing potential markets, to assist executive teams in decision-making and planning.
Corps Programming
- Develop and administer a program plan that aligns with organizational objectives.
- Develop and maintain local systems and processes, aligned with those org-wide, to ensure local staff members can achieve and be held accountable to outcomes and policy.
- Lead accountability of operations by following policies and procedures and providing leadership and accountability to other staff that influence organizational policies and operations.
- Address and manage operational issues with integrity to maintain positive relations and trust across the organization and industry.
- Be accountable for Corps Staff’s operating practices and expectations; not limited to but including communication, supervision, collaboration, succession, growth and field operations.
Organizational Advocacy
- Aligns SECC priorities with other Conservation Legacy Corps through continuous, effective communication, collaboration, and consensus building; internally and externally.
- Successfully engages, leads and supports an inclusive work environment for those of underrepresented populations within the organization and the communities we serve.
- Leads and/or participates in organizational-wide teams, projects and initiatives that support the work of the Strategic Plans goals.
- Reports any potential complaints within the organization as identified in the Personnel Policy Manual.
- Assists or leads other responsibilities, as assigned.
Physical Requirements:
Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.
Qualifications:
- Exhibits the ability to effectively work on diverse teams or with a variety of populations, including those underrepresented in our organization and those of BIPOC communities.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in youth development or corps field.
- Minimum 3 years in a leadership role of a non-profit or similar organization with budget management experience.
- Ability to exhibit past success(es) of leading a program or organization toward its respective outcomes and mission.
- Flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to work in a fluid, changing work environment.
- Competent in carrying out assigned work independently or with minimal supervision.
- Ability to communicate effectively, manage complexity, cultivate innovation, drive and influence results.
- Ability to lead and work well with others, while seeking assistance when needed to carry out responsibilities.
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs and applications, or similar platforms.
- Ability to keep others, in remote locations, accountable to expectations.
- Must be able to pass the organization’s criminal history background check requirements.
- Valid driver’s license and insurable driving record is required.
Other Competencies Desired for this Position’s Success: Manage Complexity, Resourceful, Effectively Communicate, Cultivate Innovation, Drive and/or Influence Results, Plans & Aligns.
Starting Salary Range: $90,300 to $93,000
Status: Full-Time, Exempt, Part-time Remote Eligible
Benefit Eligible: Health, Vision, Dental, Long-Term Disability, Retirement, Paid Time Off per Personnel Policies
To Apply:
- Send a Cover letter and resume to Nia Williams: [email protected]
- Cover Letter Must Include:
The subject line includes “Applicant_(Your Name)”.
Cover Letter must include a response to the following: Provide some examples of your experience effectively working with diverse communities, including those specific to Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and other underrepresented populations, in personal or professional context.
Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, political affiliation, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.