The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority seeks a Real Property Coordinator to provide critical support to protect the Santa Clara Valley’s most important landscapes. This position will support key land acquisitions, strategic land protection initiatives, and provide general support related to the Authority’s properties.

Our mission is to conserve the natural environment, support agriculture, and connect people to nature by protecting open spaces, natural areas, and working farms and ranches for future generations. Since 1993 the Open Space Authority has protected almost 30,000 acres of natural and working lands across the Santa Clara Valley. Our agency manages and conserves a network of open space lands and natural resources, while providing compatible opportunities for hiking, biking, and equestrian uses, with a focus on increasing equity of access to the outdoors for all our constituents.

We know our continued success depends on our employees and the work they do. We are committed to providing a collaborative and inclusive work environment that encourages growth and development; and acknowledges individual and team achievements.

The Ideal Candidate
You are passionate about conservation and have a desire to contribute your skills and experience to a mission driven organization like the Open Space Authority. You are a detail oriented and organized individual with demonstrated experience in real estate, conservation planning, or environmental science or policy. You are proficient in ArcGIS Pro, making simple maps and analyzing spatial data. You are skilled at analyzing and conveying technical information through comprehensive reports and presentations.

You are a systems thinker who can connect the day-to-day work to the bigger picture of the Authority’s conservation goals and priorities. You thrive in a dynamic work environment, where each day is different. You can easily flow between conducting in-depth analysis, drafting communications for a variety of audiences, and building relationships with Authority partners. Following policies and guidelines is second nature to you; you can meet expectations and comply with applicable processes and policies.
You bring experience with supporting all aspects of conservation real estate from start to finish including landowner engagement, supporting due diligence, drafting agreements and board reports, and closing land transactions. You have worked with conservation easements, deed restrictions, grant requirements, and other property encumbrances. You also have familiarity with land use and planning in California, including zoning and general plans and appropriate environmental policy, such as CEQA. You are able to conduct thorough research and accurately summarize information. You can read maps, surveys and other property documentation.

Qualifications
The ideal candidate will possess any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• Equivalent to at least two (2) years of college-level coursework focused on real estate, real estate law, business, environmental science/policy, conservation planning, or related field; and
• The completion of at least one college-level GIS course; and
• Two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in real estate that includes experience with GIS, preferably with a public agency or land trust.
• Proficient with Esri ArcGIS software products.
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite.

Note: This position is required to take and pass a pre-employment background check.
If you are excited by the opportunities and challenges offered in this position, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience is non-typical or if you are not sure you meet every one of the qualifications described.

Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this full-time, non-exempt position is $49.20 to $59.80 hourly, depending on experience and qualifications. To complement this salary, we offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents – we cover 100% of the cost for these premiums. We participate in CalPERS retirement programs as well as offering a separate 457 Plan for tax deferred retirement savings. A basic life insurance policy is provided to all eligible employees with the option to purchase additional personal insurance benefits. The Authority supports a hybrid work place and this position may be afforded opportunities for remote work.

Application and Selection
All application materials must be received prior to May 5, 2025, at 5:00 PM. To be considered for this opportunity, submit your application materials including cover letter and a self-prepared resume at the application link provided below. The Open Space Authority utilizes a robust process that will ask qualified candidates to engage in multiple steps leading up to a final panel interview. We encourage applicants to closely monitor email communication from the Authority’s hiring team. Final panel interviews are tentatively set for May 21, 2025.

Go here to apply for the job: https://bit.ly/3EfUerg 

Workplace Culture Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
The staff of the Open Space Authority are passionate about conservation and driven to make an impact in the community through their work. Everyone brings a unique skillset to their role and the creative collaboration of all staff maximizes talent to realize the Authority's mission. We have established values and defined supporting behaviors that are shared and demonstrated by every employee at the Authority. Together all of these reflect the culture that makes the Authority the high performing agency that it is. We are Intentional, Respectful, Accountable, Empowering, Innovative, Collaborative, and Inclusive. You can learn more about the staff of the Authority and how everyone works together on our website here.

The Open Space Authority envisions the Santa Clara Valley as a region dense with beautiful natural areas, where a vibrant network of interconnected open spaces, trails, wildlife habitats, and thriving agricultural lands enrich our communities. Learn more about the Authority tackles these goals.

The Authority values Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access in our work to preserve the natural environment, support agriculture, and connect people to nature:

• We have Accessible, Collaborative, and Accountable processes to engage the diverse communities we serve in our programs, projects, careers, and governance opportunities.
• We have Respect for the land and all people in our community.
• We are Inclusive and acknowledge current and historic land stewards.
• We Empower future generations of conservation leaders.
• We invite everyone to join and connect to nature with us.

The Authority is committed to the principles of equal employment. We are earnest in our efforts to comply with all state and federal laws providing Equal Employment Opportunities, and all other employment laws and regulations. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability. We are committed to creating a safe environment where people are treated with respect and appreciated for their unique differences, where issues are promptly raised and resolved and where communication flows across all levels of the agency.