STRATEGIC CONSERVATION PROJECTS DIRECTOR

Position Type: Full-time 

Reporting: Chief Conservation Officer

Location: Negotiable within the Coastal Plain of South Carolina

POSITION SUMMARY

The Strategic Conservation Projects Director is a senior-level, mission-driven, and highly motivated land protection staff member who plays a key role on the Lowcountry Land Trust Conservation Team. This person is instrumental in ensuring the Land Trust’s long-term success by focusing on catalyzing and leading large, complex, and/or highly strategic land protection projects across South Carolina’s coastal plain. Central to this effort is the building, nurturing, and maintenance of strong relationships with key stakeholders, including but not limited to landowners, nonprofit and government partners, and funders. This position regularly engages with a portfolio of owners of strategically important unprotected land; cultivates Lowcountry Land Trust’s use of new, untapped, and/or complex sources of land protection funding; leverages impact capital and conservation investor capital for land protection; develops innovative partnerships and methods for leveraging protection by other entities; provides guidance to other Lowcountry Land Trust project managers; and otherwise contributes to Lowcountry Land Trust’s collective conservation strategies. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Proactively cultivate, develop, negotiate, and actively manage all aspects of land protection projects, quarterbacking a team of legal counsel, consultants, and fellow staff in accomplishing discrete project tasks necessary for successful completion.
• Collaborate with the Chief Conservation Officer and other Conservation Team members to identify and prioritize land protection prospects in alignment with the Land Trust’s conservation strategy.
• Regularly engage and educate prospective landowners on land protection opportunities.
• Identify and initiate new, untapped, and/or complex sources of funding for conservation easements and/or fee simple title acquisitions.
• Effectively and strategically utilize Lowcountry Land Trust’s Opportunity Fund to catalyze land protection projects.
• Manage the disposition of fee simple acquisitions to government entities or through a buy/protect/sell strategy.
• Present and represent Lowcountry Land Trust at focus area task forces, public events, conservation initiatives, trainings, and similar convenings; assuming leadership roles within them when strategically beneficial to the Land Trust’s goals.
• As a fellow Conservation Team member, attend all team meetings and provide feedback and guidance to other Lowcountry Land Trust land protection staff regarding project strategies and resources.
• Obtain Lowcountry Land Trust Committee and Board approvals for land protection projects.
• Assist Conservation Team staff on special projects as assigned by the Chief Conservation Officer.
• Support the organization’s philanthropic efforts by participating in events, communications, and gift solicitations; and identify and cultivate philanthropic and entrepreneurial opportunities that contribute to the Land Trust’s general operating revenues.
• Support the promotion and communication of land preservation projects by assisting with the creation of press releases, outreach, and development materials.
• Assist the Stewardship Director in providing information to landowners about conservation matters related to land management, connecting them to technical and financial resources as appropriate.
• Undertake all work in accordance with Lowcountry Land Trust’s policies and standard operating procedures, and the Land Trust Alliance Standards & Practices and Accreditation requirements.
• Travel within/to South Carolina’s coastal plain and state capitol as needed to effectively accomplish Lowcountry Land Trust’s land protection and partnership goals. 

Other Duties as Required:

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work an employee assigned to this position performs. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. All staff members may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time.

Onboarding is in-person, and employees meet in person once per month for a staff meeting and occasionally throughout the year for group events.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher
• Minimum 3 years of land protection project management or equivalent real estate transaction and business experience 
• Ability to work collaboratively and creatively with staff across departments   
• Strong interpersonal skills, including written and verbal communication, and demonstrated ability to cultivate relationships 
• Ability to manage multiple projects or assignments with defined requirements to achieve specific, timely outcomes
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong self-direction and initiative; demonstrated commitment to making things happen
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to interpret and understand legal documents, maps, survey plans, natural resource inventories, and other related materials
• Empathetic and observant listener able to work with a wide range of personalities and opinions to reach a common goal
• Ability to learn new software tools quickly

Desired:

• 8 or more years of land protection project management or equivalent real estate transaction and business experience
• Degree in a natural resources-related field (wildlife, ecology, forestry, conservation biology, environmental/land use planning, land use law, or related fields) or a degree in finance/business with a strong background in land conservation and land management
• Conservation, not-for-profit organization, and/or public agency experience
• Demonstrated use of multiple funding sources in conservation projects
• Experience working with communities underrepresented in land conservation
• Experience monitoring properties protected by conservation easements
• Experience using the Landscape conservation database and/or ArcGIS

Lowcountry Land Trust is committed to the principles of diversity and equal employment opportunity, and to comply with all federal, state, and local laws that are applicable to equal employment. It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote individuals, as well as administer any and all personnel actions, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation or identity, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital status, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran, service in the federal or state military, union affiliation, pregnancy or breastfeeding, medical or genetic information, atypical hereditary cellular blood trait, refusal to submit to a genetic test or make test results available to the Company, or status as a qualified individual with a disability, in accordance with applicable laws.  The Land Trust also complies with the South Carolina Pregnancy Accommodation Act.