Southwest Forestry and Fuels Coordinator

Forest Stewards Guild; Santa Fe (NM); Hybrid; USD 37,884 - 42,361; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid and sick leave

12 paid holidays per year

Health and dental coverage

Short and long-term disability

403(b) retirement plan with employer match

Job summary

The Forest Stewards Guild seeks a full-time Southwest Forestry and Fuels Coordinator in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The role involves supporting forest contractors, implementing forest resilience projects, and engaging underserved landowners on private and federal lands.

The ideal candidate will have a degree in a relevant field or substantial experience, strong project coordination skills, and proficiency in GIS. Benefits include health coverage and a retirement plan with employer match.

Qualifications

• At least three years of professional experience in relevant fields.
• Proficiency in communicating complex information to the public.
• Strong mapping and marking skills for treatment.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and implement forestry and fire protection projects.
• Engage with landowners to improve forest health.
• Track budgets, metrics, and deliverables for projects.

Skills

Project coordination

Communication skills

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Budget tracking

Independent and team work

Interpersonal skills

Education

Certificate or degree in forestry, ecology, or natural resource management

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (desired)

Tools

GIS software

Asana

Slack

Microsoft Teams

Job description

Southwest Forestry and Fuels Coordinator

• Full-time
• Compensation: USD 27.5 - USD 30.75 per hour

The Forest Stewards Guild is a national organization of foresters and allied natural resource professionals dedicated to practicing and promoting responsible forestry as a means of sustaining forest ecosystems and the people who depend upon them.

The Guild has over 700 members who manage more than 42 million acres of forestland in the United States and Canada, with regional offices in several states. The Southwest office has a history of collaborating with local communities and Tribes on programs related to youth education, workforce development, fire‑adapted communities, and collaborative forestry.

The Guild is hiring a full‑time Forestry and Fuels Coordinator to support forest contractors and implement forest resilience projects on private and federal lands. This role leverages the 2‑3‑2 Cohesive Strategy Partnership and the Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) to promote forestry projects for small acreage and underserved landowners and build local contractor capacity.

Responsibilities

• Support contract outreach to landowners, conduct site visits, and develop site maps, forest management plans, and site‑specific treatment prescriptions.
• Coordinate implementation of resilient forestry and fire protection projects for private and federally managed lands.
• Provide regular oversight of contractors, inspecting completed work and ensuring project goals and quality standards are met.
• Facilitate contractor trainings, field tours, meetings, and other capacity‑building opportunities.
• Engage with small‑acreage and underserved landowners to build trust, improve forest health, and increase landowner participation in resilient forestry practices.
• Prepare and support grant proposals, budgets, cost estimates, Requests for Proposals, agreements, and reporting.
• Track budgets, metrics, and deliverables for projects and communicate with partner organizations.
• Maintain relationships with federal, state, and local partners, including the New Mexico State Forestry Division, Colorado State Forest Service, and U.S. Forest Service.
• Represent the Guild at professional conferences or events and conduct public speaking and presentations on project deliverables.
• Use software tools such as Asana, Slack, Microsoft Teams, GIS, Avenza, and Survey123 to coordinate tasks and maintain project documentation.
• Assist with prescribed fire operations as needed.

Qualifications

• Certificate or degree in forestry, ecology, natural resource management, or a related field, or at least three years of equivalent professional experience.
• Experienced in mapping and marking timber or fuels units for treatment.
• Strong project coordination skills and experience working with multiple contracts and deliverables simultaneously.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting and communicating complex scientific information to the public.
• Experience with Geographic Information Systems and field‑based applications.
• Budget tracking and report writing proficiency.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with emphasis on concise, technical writing.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Leadership and self‑direction skills.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Effective knowledge of common software applications.
• Valid driver's license.

Additional Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in forestry, land or natural resource management, ecology, or three years of relevant work experience.
• FFT2 Fire qualification or Basic Faller (FAL3) chain‑saw certification.
• Experience leveraging partnerships to secure resources and funding for cross‑boundary projects.
• Experience writing proposals and building budgets.Proficiency in project budget tracking.
• Forestry experience in Southwest forest ecosystems.
• Professional GIS certificate or experience, including data analysis and interactive map creation.
• Conversational Spanish.

Compensation and Benefits Package

The starting hourly salary ranges from $27.50 to $30.75, with potential growth based on performance. The position is full‑time and exempt.

Benefits include

• Paid and sick leave accrued hourly from the first day of employment.
• 12 paid holidays per year.
• Employer‑sponsored comprehensive health and dental coverage paid 80% of the employee’s share (40% for spouse, partner, and dependents).
• Short and long‑term disability, accidental death/dismemberment, life insurance, and family leave are paid by the Guild.
• Flexible Spending Accounts.
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 5% employer match.

Location

The position is based at the Forest Stewards Guild’s office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with additional sites in northern NM and southern CO considered. A hybrid schedule is acceptable, and remote work is evaluated case‑by‑case. Travel throughout northern New Mexico and southern Colorado is required, with overnight travel when distances necessitate.

How to Apply

Send a one‑page cover letter, resume, one‑page writing sample, three professional references, and earliest available start date to jmarshall at forestguild dot org by 5:00 PM on March 30, 2026.