Position Title: Reforestation Pipeline Cooperative Coordinator 

Host Site: American Forests

Site Supervisor: Shelley Villalobos; Manager, California Reforestation Pipeline Partnership

Term: Partial Term Fellow, 1,440 hours (approximately 9 months at 40 hours/week)

Position Location: Within the state of California 

Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program Background: 

Sierra Corps is a Forestry Fellowship program implemented by the Sierra Nevada Alliance that aims to increase workforce capacity for forest health restoration, biomass utilization, and wildfire resilience projects in the Sierra Nevada. The Alliance places Fellows with partners throughout the region for forest-health related employment. Fellows bring their education, skills, and expertise to engage in fellowships that provide assistance in assessment, planning, permitting, project management, and other essential forest restoration and wildfire resilience work. The Sierra Corp is a program that allows you to advance your career in environmental conservation by working as a forest health project specialist developing skills in project management and contributing to the increase in pace and scale of forest restoration at a time when it is critically needed. 

For this position, you will be a Fellow for Sierra Nevada Alliance, completing your fellowship and working under direct supervision by American Forests.

Compensations and Benefits: 

• $27.50/hr, full-time, paid at 1.5x rate for overtime hours
• Employer-provided Health Insurance, paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave as identified in the Sierra Nevada Alliance Employee Handbook
• A total of $2,986 stipend to be used during the Fellowship term, itemized as follows:
• $1023 travel stipend
• $409 supplies stipend 
• $409 equipment stipend
• $1145 training stipend 

Time Commitment: Fellows are required to complete project specific work, professional development activities, and trainings over 1,440 hours (approximately 9 months, working 40 hours/week). All Fellows are required to commit to the full term of their Fellowship position.  Paid holidays, accrued vacation, and sick leave are also included in this time commitment. The position starts no earlier than 1 March 2025 and will conclude upon completion of 1,440 hours, approximately November – December. 

Host Site Description:
American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to wilderness, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restore urban forests and forested landscapes. 

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible (DEIA) workplace. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member.

Position Description:
The Reforestation Pipeline Partnership (RPP) is a strategic collaboration between the United States Forest Service Region 5, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and American Forests created to address challenges to post-burn reforestation activities on public and private lands. As part of the RPP, the Reforestation Pipeline Cooperative (Cooperative) brings together the perspectives and needs of the many stakeholders involved with post-fire restoration. The Cooperative aims to increase coordination amongst the stakeholders involved in the forestation pipeline and develop strategies to address key bottlenecks thereby ensuring sufficient seed supply and capacity for reforestation activities across all lands.

The Reforestation Pipeline Cooperative Coordinator will advance all aspects of the Cooperative and contribute to the overall success of the RPP program. Key duties include assisting in the planning and delivery of several events (group meetings, trainings, field trips); facilitating Cooperative work group(s); conducting educational outreach about California’s reforestation needs at assigned industry events around the state; synthesizing and summarizing research and developing content for newsletters and other program communications; and providing administrative support for project work. The Coordinator will work closely with American Forests’ California Reforestation Pipeline Partnership Manager to complete these activities and may also interface with staff from USFS, CAL FIRE, California Cone Corps, and other partner organizations and efforts as appropriate. The Coordinator may spend some portion of their time in the field assisting with implementation projects managed by American Forests or partners, as assigned. 

This position is a great opportunity to build your career in natural resource management, directly contribute to cross-boundary solutions, and gain highly in-demand skills including event delivery, facilitation, professional writing, and consensus-building. We look forward to the opportunity to work with someone who is interested in mentorship and aspires to grow their career.  

Responsibilities:

Collaborative Project Support (25%)  

• Schedule and prepare for regular and ad hoc meetings, including developing presentations and agendas. 
• Facilitate meetings with external stakeholders. 
• Conduct note-taking and coordinate action items, both internally and externally. 
• Produce concrete deliverables identified as part of collaborative projects (i.e., training materials, needs assessments, etc.). 

Event Coordination (25%) 

• Develop and execute plans for events, including logistics, timelines, and budgets. 
• Support the delivery of 1-3 seed collection trainings (typically 30-50 attendees each), and 1-2 Cooperative Gatherings and/or field trips (~60+ attendees). 

Writing, Research, and Administration (15%)

• Conduct literature and interview-based research on assigned topics. 
• Produce summaries and reports for use by Cooperative staff and stakeholders. 
• Support development of content for quarterly program newsletters and other program communications. 

Educational Outreach (10%)

• Table and/or present on relevant work at ~3-5 events throughout the state. 

Special Projects and Field Support (10%)

• Support American Forests staff and affiliates in the field at various forested locations in the state of California via logistics and implementation support; cone collection and transport; field survey data collection; or other tasks as assigned. 

Professional Development and Sierra Nevada Alliance (15%) The Fellow will have an average of approximately four hours per week to plan and participate in professional development opportunities that align with their goals as well as directly support their success at their host site. If there are professional development opportunities that are longer than 4 hours, the excess time will be subtracted during another week. One full workday per month (8 consecutive hours) to attend to Sierra Corps responsibilities, including our monthly meeting and a Fellow(s) respective professional development. These will most likely be scheduled as the last Wednesday of each month. The Fellow will develop monthly reports and participate in monthly fellow meetings and check-ins with Sierra Nevada Alliance supervisors. They will also plan and budget their use of professional development stipend and complete timesheets.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Environmental Science, Journalism, Communications, or other natural resources or communication-related field. 
• Minimum one year of professional work experience.
• Ability to conduct original, qualitative research and produce concise summaries. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to work independently, self-manage and communicate effectively. 
• Ability to think creatively, problem solve, and a willingness to find innovative solutions.
• Proficiency with Outlook, Excel, Word and email marketing software. 
• Possess a valid driver’s license, and a clean driving record to operate a work vehicle.
• Ability and willingness to travel overnight.
• On occasion, ability to work 10-hour days in the field or other irregular schedules as assigned (note: field work shall not be assigned to be completed alone). 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Basic working understanding and willingness to learn forestry practices, climate science, genetics, soil science, and/or forestry supply chain/economics.
• Proficiency with collaborative communication platforms (e.g. Slack, Podio), event management (e.g. Eventbrite), and live polling/survey software (e.g. Slido).
• Public speaking experience. 

Location and Working Conditions

The Coordinator will work remotely when not participating in in-person events, and can be based anywhere in the state of California. Regular (i.e., 4+ times per year) travel to the Sacramento area is anticipated. Overnight travel may be required based on location. Mileage and per diem support will be provided by American Forests. Work performed in a field setting (as assigned, up to 10%) could include: 1) Varied terrain, dense vegetation (with possible exposure to poison oak, ticks, and mosquitos), and hot, cold, and wet conditions; 2) Severely burned landscapes with standing dead trees and little to no shade. 

Physical Requirements:

• Lift 40 lbs. and carry the load in a pack or vest.
• Repetitive tasks with few breaks.
• Drive lengthy distances (up to 10 hours in a day).
• Work in adverse weather conditions including but not limited to high heat, rain, snow, smoke, dust, and cold temperatures (within reason).
• Walk, hike, or stand for extended periods of time with others and alone in steep, rugged, brushy, and/or remote terrain under adverse weather conditions. 

American Forests: https://www.americanforests.org/place/california/ 

Sierra Nevada Alliance Website: www.sierranevadaalliance.org 

Sierra Corps Website: www.sierranevadaalliance.org/sierra-corps-forestry-fellowship-program/