Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit conservation organization 501(c) with a mission to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl.  This mission closely parallels the goals and mission of one of DU’s biggest partners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and specifically their conservation easement programs administered through the Farm Bill. The NRCS’s Wetland Reserve Easement’s (WRE) restore and conserve thousands of acres of wetland and grassland habitat each year. In partnership with NRCS, DU is assisting NRCS with the delivery of conservation easement programs to increase NRCS’s capacity to meet growing funding levels. This position will be based out of the USA-NRCS Illinois State Office in Champaign, IL. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Realty Specialist position will be responsible for providing support to NRCS in coordination with their Easement Programs Division (EPD) staff to assist with the implementation of easement projects in Illinois they are assigned. Position will provide service to Illinois by working with the IL team, EAB and their DU team leader. This position requires someone that is detail oriented, highly organized, has experience working with real estate transactions, possesses exceptional communication skills, and is highly motivated to be a part of a large-scale conservation effort. 

As part of the ACEP acquisition process, preliminary and final title reviews are used to determine if title issues exist that may (1) affect valuation or the ability of the land to meet program purposes, and (2) may preclude or delay enrollment, closing, or restoration of the land.  For US-Held easements, NRCS secures preliminary and final title services from qualified vendors.  For Entity-Held easements, the eligible entity provides NRCS with preliminary and final commitments and associated documents.  NRCS staff must review title commitments prior to both obligation and closing.  The final responsibility of providing a clear title falls on the landowner for US-Held easements and the landowner and eligible entity for Entity-Held easements.   This position will provide technical services to assist NRCS IL staff in procuring due diligence services and title investigations as described below.

• Assist IL NRCS State Office Staff with providing easement program implementation 
• Use easement business tools (e.g., National Easement Staging Tool) to document reviews and store electronic files.
• Assist State staff with populating and maintaining a tracking document associated with assigned projects and provide written and oral status updates to State staff as requested for assigned projects. 
• Assist State staff with the preparation of Internal Controls review requests for pre-obligation, closing, and post-closing.   
• Coordinate with appropriate State Office staff and/or eligible entity to address additional needs and/or corrections associated with easement program documents. 
• If applicable, prepare packages, including market research, to obtain title search/commitment, closing services, appraisals, and other acquisition related services according to NRCS’s Scope of Work. 
• Review title documents and assist IL NRCS State Office in drafting and communicating recommended actions to clear title issues.
• Prepare and/or review easement closing packages for assigned projects. 
• Assist NRCS with the assembly of preliminary title opinion and final title opinion packages for submission to the Office of General Counsel.
• Review the land eligibility, easement valuation and ranking documentation for easement applications. 
• Ensure there is a preliminary restoration plan documented in Conservation Desktop and Wetlands Reserve Plan of Operations (WRPO) and the plans align with the enrollment purposes. 
• Ensure the land eligibility criteria aligns with conservation easement deeds. 
• Provide recommendations for post-closing restoration and stewardship needs 

The applicant should be highly motivated to be a part of a large-scale conservation effort.  

Minimum Qualifications: 

Candidates must, at a minimum, have an associate degree and no less than a combined three years of education or work experience in real estate title review or real property or contract law. A bachelor's degree is preferred.  The successful candidate will be able to problem-solve and troubleshoot and work independently but collaboratively in a dynamic team.  A demonstrated ability to work in a high pressure, fast-paced environment with multiple projects along with a commitment to the mission of Ducks Unlimited is also desirable.  The candidate must be able and willing to travel as needed, including some overnight travel. This position will consist of office work; no biological fieldwork will be required. 

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of federal conservation easement programs is preferred.
• Significant knowledge of real estate transaction processes and contract law and a strong understanding of land conservation tools and objectives.  
• Computer literacy with a proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet, and database management programs
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as a member of a team.
• Ability to effectively plan, organize and prioritize work activities and complete tasks to meet deadlines.
• Possess strong personal skills to effectively communicate with USDA staff, DU staff and entities working with USDA on conservation easement projects.
• Possess good verbal skills to communicate project status and updates as needed.

These positions will report directly to DU’s Manager of Conservation Programs. This position is for a 3-year term with the opportunity to extend based upon funding availability.