Southeastern States Conservation Manager

Latino Outdoors; Georgia; Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wilderness Society seeks a Conservation Manager to report to the Southeast States Director and advance campaigns and partnerships across Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The role engages in coalition building, outreach, communications, and policy work to protect public lands and connect communities with wild places.

You will represent TWS in coalitions, with officials and media, supervise contractors as needed, and help raise funds.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience working on or leading issue advocacy or political campaigns and/or advancing public policy changes, including community organizing.
• Proven ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders in an inclusive, transparent, and effective manner.
• Knowledge of public lands, environmental or conservation issues in Southeast states preferred.
• Strategic thinker with ability to achieve campaign and conservation goals in a dynamic environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences.
• Inclusive leadership and collaboration with diverse teams.
• Ability to evaluate information and advise the State Director on strategy.
• Self-starter able to take initiative and work independently.
• Demonstrates integrity, trustworthiness, transparency, tact and discretion.
• Willingness to travel within the Southeast and to Washington, D.C. as needed.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic program priorities to advance Southeast States goals, including campaigns, land planning, stewardship, and funding efforts.
• Assist in building coalitions and guiding local partners to achieve shared goals.
• Ensure work reflects fairness, representation and accessibility in approach and impact.
• Expand relationships and influence decision-makers, media, and stakeholders about TWS priorities.
• Engage with Tribal leaders and a range of interests, including officials, agencies, scientists and community groups.
• Represent TWS at public and private events to raise awareness of priorities.
• Supervise contractors when appropriate and support internal multi-disciplinary teams.
• Coordinate with the Southeast States Director to align with organizational priorities and resources.
• Prepare fact sheets, blogs and action alerts to communicate the importance of community-based conservation.
• Support fundraising and donor engagement efforts.

Skills

Advocacy experience

Coalition building

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Communication

Travel readiness

Policy analysis

Independent work

Integrity & discretion

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

ABOUT THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

The Wilderness Society (TWS) is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild places since 1935. Our mission is to unite people to protect America’s wild places. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communitiesand policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit www.wilderness.org.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Southeast States Director and working with programs across the organization to protect public lands and connect communities across the region to our wild places, the Conservation Manager will support, develop and execute organizational projects and initiatives throughout the mountain and piedmont regions of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. They will engage in a range of campaigns through partnerships, coalition building and coordination, campaign planning, outreach activities, communications, and other efforts. They will represent TWS in coalitions, in communications with elected officials, agency officials, and other decision makers and their staff, and in the media.

This position plays a critical role in fostering an organizational culture where people feel respected, included, and accountable to shared goals and outcomes. TWS has made it a priority to ensure that our work reflects fairness, representation, and accessibility. This leader will carry those commitments into our SoutheastStates work—expanding partnerships, strengthening community connections, and ensuring our work is responsive to a broad range of perspectives and needs. Across our team, we aspire to be campaign-oriented, collaborative, innovative, transparent, and supportive of staff – our greatest asset.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the development and execution of strategic program priorities to advance TWS’ overarching goals and vision in the Southeast States region including engaging in conservation designation campaigns, land planning and stewardship activities, and conservation funding efforts, as well as participating in national policy efforts.
• Assist in the development and cultivation of coalitions where needed, provide strategic guidance to local partners to help deliver shared organizational goals, and position TWS as a trusted collaborator among partners and decision makers.
• Support TWS’ mission to unite people to protect America’s wild places and ensure that TWS’s public lands work is rooted in community and demonstrates fairness, representation, and accessibility for all in both our approach and its impact.
• Foster existing relationships and further build a network to educate and influence decision-makers, media outlets, and opinion leaders on TWS’ priorities in the state.
• As needed, work effectively with Tribal leaders and communities and a wide range of interests, including, but not limited to, elected officials and their staff, non-profit partners, agency staff, scientists, members of industry (e.g., timber, mining, etc.), public land user groups (e.g., recreationists etc.) and grassroots activists.
• Plan and represent TWS at public and private gatherings and educational events, raising awareness of national and local organizational priorities and programs.
• May supervise contractors and, when appropriate, provide support to internal multi-disciplinary teams.
• Assist the Southeast States Director to effectively engage with government relations, research, agency policy, legal, communications, and fundraising experts at TWS to ensure our work in Southeast States is well-integrated with organizational priorities and fully utilizes TWS’ expertise and resources.
• Prepare written and visual materials such as fact sheets, blogs, and action alerts that demonstrate the importance of community-based conservation to the health, economic vitality, and quality of life of the people living in the Southeast States.
• Support the Southeast States Director and Giving & Impact staff efforts to raise funds and deepen donor engagement.
• Adhere to all policies and procedures set forth by TWS (including, but not limited to, finance, human resources and legal) to maintain a compliant and efficient work environment.
• Travel as needed in support of mission-critical activities (expected to be irregular, but up to 5-7 days per month on average, and may depend on location) to gain first‑hand knowledge of public lands, plan and host events and site visits, and develop relationships with partners and key stakeholders throughout the Southeast states occasionally in Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 5 years of experience working on or leading issue advocacy or political campaigns and/or working to advance public policy changes at the local, state or federal level, including through community organizing.
• Successful track record of building relationships and collaborating with diverse stakeholders in an inclusive, transparent, and effective manner.
• Knowledge of public lands, environmental, and/or conservation issues in Southeast states preferred but not required.
• Ability to think and act strategically to achieve campaign and conservation goals in a dynamic environment.
• Solid communication skills, with an ability to write and speak concisely and persuasively to diverse audiences.
• Strong leadership qualities, rooted in inclusion, capable of operating effectively with diverse audiences and colleagues, and committed to working with others in accomplishing our goals in an inclusive manner.
• Ability to evaluate information on an ongoing basis and make recommendations to the State Director on whether and how to modify approach.
• Motivated self‑starter with the ability to take initiative, develop ideas, and see them through implementation, and who is comfortable working independently with minimal supervision.
• Must exhibit integrity, trustworthiness, transparency, tact, and discretion.
• Willingness and ability to travel largely within the Southeast states but also to Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of this position and it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of experience, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

This position is able to be done remotely or in a TWS office (where applicable) in the following states: Virginia, North Carolina & Georgia. The salary range for this position is $75,000-$85,000 depending on location.

The Wilderness Society offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and pet insurance; sick and vacation leave; a sabbatical program; and a retirement plan with employer contribution subject to certain limits and requirements. TWS is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair treatment of our employees and constituents across culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, veteran status or sexual orientation.

As an organization, we aspire to being inclusive in the work that we do, and in the kind of organization we are. Internally, this means working as a team that listens to different points of view, recognizes the contributions of every employee and empowers each employee to bring their whole selves to work every day. Externally, this means ensuring that public lands are inclusive and welcoming, so that our shared wildlands can help people and nature to thrive. We are committed to equity throughout our work, which we define as our commitment to realizing the promise of our public lands and ensuring that all can share in their universal benefits.

To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society

Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, TWS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

TWS complies with federal and state disability laws and is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. If you require accommodation to complete the application process or to perform the essential functions of the position, please contact [e-mail]. TWS only accepts resumes submitted for positions that are currently open. Unsolicited resumes or resumes for posted positions that are not submitted via the online application process (where applicable), will not be reviewed or retained.