Project Manager

Trust for Public Land; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Trust for Public Land seeks a conservation real estate / land protection Project Manager to advance the Colorado & Southwest Program’s commitment to connecting everyone to the outdoors. The role focuses on strategic land acquisitions across urban, suburban, and rural parcels to strengthen local economies and expand access to outdoors.

The position requires collaboration with regional staff, public agencies, and private partners, with travel across Colorado and occasional weekends.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of land conservation real estate transaction experience.
• Familiarity with the Colorado market and land transaction tools.
• Ability to manage projects from concept to completion, including budgets, contracts, vendor administration, and partner communications.
• Willingness to travel across Colorado up to 30% and occasional evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Oversee multiple concurrent real estate transactions, including acquisition and conveyance, negotiating agreements, reviewing appraisals and environmental assessments, and preparing documents.
• Develop and advance a project pipeline across Colorado (and potential Southwest, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico).
• Coordinate with philanthropy staff to support fundraising and reporting.
• Prepare grant applications, budgets, and deliverables.
• Serve as regional liaison and spokesperson to highlight outdoor recreation and conservation investments and their impact.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Budget management

Grant management

Communication

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Land transaction tools

Job description

Who We Are

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is the leader of a movement to connect everyone in America to the outdoors. A national nonprofit, TPL partners with communities to create high-quality parks and protect public lands—especially in communities that need them most—to improve public health, create social cohesion, strengthen historic and cultural connection to place, and increase climate resilience. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, generated over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

Position Summary

Trust for Public Land (TPL) seeks a conservation real estate / land protection Project Manager to further TPL’s Colorado & Southwest Program’s commitment to connecting everyone to the outdoors.

The Project Manager will play a central role in advancing strategic land acquisitions — including urban, suburban and rural park and open space parcels and other catalytic conservation real estate opportunities that strengthen local economies, honor cultural heritage, and expand close-to-home access to the outdoors.

This position will work in close collaboration with Colorado & Southwest Program staff, including the Mountain West & Central U.S. Regional VP and Colorado & Southwest Director, the Colorado & Southwest Director of Land Protection, and public agencies, both federal, state, county and local, and private community partners and funders to deliver measurable high-impact, priority land acquisition projects.

This position will be based in TPL’s Denver, CO office with the potential for hybrid work across Colorado. This position requires travel across the state, including work in the field and occasional evening and weekend work.

Essential Functions

• Oversees all aspects of multiple concurrent real estate transactions including but not limited to acquisition and conveyance of property, including negotiating purchase agreements and contracts, reviewing appraisals and environmental assessments, assisting with legal document preparation, managing public review processes, organizing grassroots political support, completing internal approval documents/procedures, maps and photos; and related administrative tasks. (65%)
• Develops and advances a project pipeline that delivers TPL’s mission, across Colorado with possible work in the Southwest Region, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, through engagement with landowners, nonprofit organizations, Tribal Nations, and public agency officials.(20%)
• Coordinate with TPL philanthropy staff to support fundraising and reporting. (5%)
• Prepare and write grant applications, project budgets, and report deliverables. (5%)
• Serve as a regional liaison and project spokesperson as needed, helping to highlight how outdoor recreation and conservation investments improve health, equity, resilience, and local economies. (5%)
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Strong commitment to TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization.
• Minimum of five years of land conservation real estate transaction experience required.
• Familiarity with the Colorado market, land transaction tools, and funding sources are a plus
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects from concept to completion, including budgets, contracts, vendor administration, and partner communications.
• Familiarity with public funding sources for conservation and recreation and experience managing grant-funded projects.
• Comfortable building relationships with partners, government agency staff, elected officials and individual donors to support TPL’s work.
• Strong skills in building partnerships and engaging the community. Experience working across multiple juridictions and diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to travel across Colorado and, occasionally, neighboring states as assigned (up to 30%, including some evenings and weekends).
• Bachelor's degree desired but not required

Special Knowledge or Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Capability to build philanthropic relationships in collaboration with TPL philanthropy staff to support TPL’s work with landowners, individuals, and institutional donors.
• Excellent working knowledge of the processes for obtaining public and private funding for land acquisition and nonprofit budget management.
• Sound understanding of real estate principles and economics.
• Expert knowledge of the real estate due diligence process and government real property acquisition review process.
• Familiarity with navigating government land acquisition policies, procedures, funding application processes, and the role of TPL policy staff at the state and federal levels. Strong negotiator, able to build landowner and public partner trust/rapport to secure complicated real estate deals.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with senior program staff and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Proven ability to organize and manage multiple projects with diverse and numerous public and private partners and processes to develop programs and use resources of the organization to accomplish larger initiatives

Compensation

Trust for Public Land offers a hybrid work environment, and this role is located in Trust for Public Land Denver office. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% organizational match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $83,000-$95,000 per year.

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria.