Sr. Conservation Manager, Conservation Campaigns

The Wilderness Society; United States; Remote; USD 92,000 - 108,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wilderness Society seeks a Full-Time Sr. Conservation Manager to lead campaigns across the country, coordinating with policy, outreach, and communications teams to advance conservation priorities.

Reporting to the National Campaign Director, you will build coalitions, engage decision makers, and represent TWS in media while traveling to key states.

This role can be done remotely or from a TWS office in specified states, with a salary ranging from $92,000 to $108,000 depending on location.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive experience in issue advocacy, campaigns, or public policy.
• Proven ability to build and maintain collaborations and diverse stakeholder networks.
• Strong knowledge of public lands, environment, or conservation.
• Strategic thinker with campaign and landscape conservation goals in dynamic settings.
• Experience managing complex processes, balancing priorities, and meeting deadlines with high-quality work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for diverse audiences.
• Ability to adapt based on ongoing information evaluation.
• Inclusive leadership across diverse audiences and colleagues.
• Self-starter who can work independently with minimal supervision.
• Willingness to travel across target states and beyond as needed.

Responsibilities

• Support development and execution of strategic program priorities across the country.
• Build and lead coalitions; guide local partners to deliver shared goals.
• Educate and influence decision-makers, media outlets, and opinion leaders.
• As needed, work with Tribal Leaders and diverse interests nationwide.
• Serve as a credible spokesperson for media in coordination with Internal Affairs staff.
• Plan and represent TWS at public and private events; raise priority awareness.
• Possibly manage staff and contractors and lead internal teams.
• Collaborate with government relations, research, policy, legal, and fundraising teams.
• Travel up to 3–5 days per month to gain site knowledge and build relationships.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

Skills

Seven+ years experience

Coalition building

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Public lands knowledge

Leadership

Travel readiness

Job description

Full-Time Sr. Conservation Manager, Conservation Campaigns

The Wilderness Society 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 National Campaign Director and working with programs across the organization, the Conservation Manager will develop and execute organizational projects and initiatives throughout the country. 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 public lands work reflects fairness, representation, and accessibility. This leader will carry those commitments into our conservation campaign 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.

Support TWS' mission to unite people to protect America's wild places and ensure that TWS' public lands work is rooted in community and demonstrates fairness, representation, and accessibility for all in both our approach and its impact.

• Support the development and execution of strategic program priorities to advance TWS’ overarching goals and vision in across the country, including engaging in conservation designation campaigns and land planning and stewardship activities, , as well as participating in state-specific policy efforts.
• Build new and lead existing 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 across the country, with a focus on our target states.
• As needed, work effectively with Tribal Leaders and communities and a wide range of interests, includes, but is not limited to, elected officials and their staff, non-profit partners, agency staff, lawyers, scientists, members of industry (e.g., timber, mining, etc.), public land user groups (e.g., recreationalists, ranchers etc.) and grassroots activists.
• Serve as a credible and trusted spokesperson for relevant media outlets, in coordination with the relevant State Directors and TWS External Affairs staff when appropriate.
• Plan and represent TWS at public and private gatherings and educational events, raising awareness of national and local organizational priorities and programs.
• May manage staff and contractors and, when appropriate, provide leadership to internal multi-disciplinary teams.
• In coordination with the National Campaign Director, effectively engage with government relations, research, agency policy, legal, communications, and fundraising experts at TWS to ensure our work is well-integrated with organizational and state-specific 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 and near protected public land.
• Working in partnership with Giving & Impact staff, support efforts to raise funds and deepen donor engagement. This includes, but is not limited to, contributing to written proposals and reports, developing key funder relationships, and representing TWS at donor events (virtual & in person).
• 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 3‑5 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, occasionally in Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

The Wilderness Society’s conservation campaigns program has established clear goals for protecting public lands, defending bedrock conservation laws from attack, and ensuring that all Americans equitably benefit from our public lands. We value strong communicators, research skills, and interest in developing policies and programs that can achieve lasting protections for our public lands and positive change for our communities. We pride ourselves on having staff that know the communities in which they work and can organize and work with everyone across multiple states.

Experience & Competencies

• Minimum 7 years of progressively more complex professional experience working on issue/advocacy or political campaigns, natural resource management issues, or public policy.
• Proven track record of building and maintaining strong collaborations, relationships and networks among diverse stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of public lands, environmental, and/or conservation.
• Ability to think and act strategically to achieve campaign and landscape conservation goals in a dynamic environment.
• Experience managing complex processes involving a wide range of interests, strategically balancing multiple assignments and priorities, and meeting deadlines with consistently high-quality work.
• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to write and speak concisely and persuasively to diverse audiences.
• Ability to evaluate information on an ongoing basis and modify approach to the work to adapt to changing circumstances.
• 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.
• 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.
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout our target 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 can be done remotely or TWS office (where applicable) in the following states: CO, NM, AZ, NV, CA, UT, ID, WA, or OR. The salary range for this position is $92,000- $108,000 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.