The Manager of the Conservation Easement Stewardship Initiative (the Manager) will work with private landowners to address conservation challenges on eased properties within the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma. The Manager will directly assist landowners with activities that create ecological and agronomic benefits. The Manager will also use TNC preserves within the Flint Hills landscape to serve as “proving grounds” for new and innovative conservation practices. The Manager will be stationed at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Strong City, KS) and report to Flint Hills Initiative Director.
The Manager will work to improve ecological conditions on Conservancy-held easements in the Flint Hills as well as those held by other land trusts. Stewardship assistance may be in the form of technical assistance, development of grazing plans, prescribed burning, mapping and spot spraying of invasives and equipment loans. Implementation of stewardship activities will be based on the management needs and circumstances of eased properties, with an emphasis on biodiversity enhancements. This position will also have stewardship responsibilities at two Conservancy-owned preserves that total 13,000 acres.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE
- Influence stewardship on private, native rangeland in the Flint Hills, with emphasis on eased properties.
- Develop grazing plans
- Write prescribed burn plans.
- Natural resource management at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.
- Network with diverse groups, including landowners, conservation partners, government officials, and the public to recruit support for conservation in the Flint Hills.
- Develop and manage program budget.
- Contract with vendors.
- Comply with internal policies and external requirements.
- Able to work in variable weather conditions under physically demanding circumstances at remote locations and difficult terrain.
- May travel up to 15% of the time in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, with occasional travel outside the Flint Hills.
- Make independent decisions based on analysis, experience and context.
- May recruit and manage seasonal staff; responsible for performance management and training and development.
- Comfortable working on teams and independently.
- Maintain tools and equipment. Able to operate machinery.
- Relationship building with various stakeholders.
- Other duties as assigned.
- Experience explaining conservation practices to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Qualified as or able to meet and maintain, Fire Fighter Type 2 (FFT2) qualifications. See http://www.tncfiremanual.org/firefighter.htm.
- Able to achieve and maintain physical fitness standard as determined by local Fire Program Manager and the TNC Fire Manual.
- Experience in operating various types of equipment.
- Experience communicating with the public and/or media both in writing and verbally.
- Experience with office applications, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, video conferencing, and cloud-based tools for collaboration and file management.
- Experience completing tasks independently and on deadline.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Range management experience.
- Experience with ArcGIS, mapping, and databases.
- Experience negotiating complex agreements and developing partnerships (with land owners, community, or government, e.g.).
- Experience managing people.
- Familiar with Great Plains ranching culture and lifestyle.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience beneficial.
The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation, 401k or savings-plan matching for eligible employees, excellent benefits, flexible work policies and a collaborative work environment. We also provide professional development opportunities and promote from within. As a result, you will find a culture that supports and inspires conservation achievement and personal development, both within the workplace and beyond.