Stewardship Technician II

UST Logistical Systems; Santa Rosa (CA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical insurance

Retirement plan

Job summary

Sonoma Land Trust in Santa Rosa, California, is seeking a Stewardship Technician II to gain broad field-based stewardship experience. The role involves approximately 75% time in the field, focusing on preserve management, infrastructure upkeep, wildfire resilience, restoration, and natural resource management across SLT properties.

You will assist with coordinating with contractors, volunteers, and interns, document field conditions, and help maintain safety and quality standards while engaging

Qualifications

• Relevant work experience, coursework, and training in conservation land management or related field.
• Familiarity with infrastructure assessment, maintenance, and repair.

Responsibilities

• Assist with preserve management plans, including infrastructure maintenance and wildfire readiness.
• Lead contractors, consultants, and volunteers; monitor conditions and document field data.
• Coordinate with tenants, neighbors, and partners; ensure compliance with program standards.
• Maintain vehicles, trails, roads, and equipment; contribute to safety and records.

Skills

Conservation experience

Infrastructure maintenance

Wildfire readiness

Communication skills

Driver's license

Tools

UTVs

Trailers

Job description

Job Title: Stewardship Technician II

Reports to: Stewardship Program Manager

Want to play your part in protecting our local communities from the impacts of climate change? Ready to roll up your sleeves to help achieve tangible results? Ready to begin a career in conservation? Want to be part of a talented, deeply committed, and national award-winning conservation organization? Then please read on!

Overview

Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) is looking for a Stewardship Technician II who is interested in gaining a wide range of stewardship experience in anticipation of a land conservation career. This position will spend approximately 75% of time in the field.

Stewardship Technician II works with Stewardship colleagues to implement preserve management, infrastructure maintenance, wildfire resilience, restoration, and a broad range of natural resource management across SLT properties. This position operates with some independence, exercises sound field judgment, and helps lead contractors, volunteers, and interns in carrying out high-quality stewardship work. SLT serves a diverse audience with broad cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and orientations. We encourage applications from candidates who reflect and value the audiences and populations we serve.

You are encouraged to apply if you:

• Have relevant work experience, coursework, and training in conservation land management, agricultural land management, project management, natural resource management, or a related field.
• Have familiarity with infrastructure assessment, maintenance, and repair.
• Have experience assessing property infrastructure, wildfire readiness, defensible space, and vegetation management needs.
• Have strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to document field conditions, coordinate with colleagues and partners, and professionally represent SLT.
• Experienced using common hand tools, power tools, UTVs, including trailer towing and backing.
• Are innately curious about natural processes and conservation land stewardship.

Primary Responsibilities

Preserve Management

• Assist with all aspects of SLT preserve management plans, including infrastructure maintenance, wildfire readiness, natural and cultural resource protection and enhancement.
• Lead and provide direction to contractors, consultants, and volunteers.
• Inspect and monitor preserves and properties to assess conditions, including roads, gates, grazing infrastructure, natural resource conditions and buildings.
• Conduct facilities maintenance such as building repair, debris removal, and road clearing.
• Assist with the Living with Fire Program including pile burning, prescribed fire burn unit prep and participating in prescribed burns throughout the county.
• Implement wildfire protection plans including maintaining defensible space, building hardening and vegetation management projects across the preserve system.
• Lead Stewardship volunteer workdays, including planning, training, and recordkeeping, and assisting the Community Engagement Department when requested.
• Coordinate and assist the collection, management, and analysis of resource monitoring data and reporting.
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with tenants, contractors, grazing lessees, neighbors, vendors, partner organizations, and the community at large.
• Execute annual fee lands monitoring visits and reports according to program standards.

Conservation Easement Program

• Coordinate conservation easement monitoring visits with Conservation Easement Program Manager and Stewardship Program Manager; take detailed field notes; utilize most recent data collection tools using tablets and phones; and complete monitoring reports according to program standards.
• Work closely with conservation easement landowners to plan and schedule the annual monitoring visit.
• Review monitoring reports for potential easement violations and work with Conservation Easement Program Manager to determine appropriate solutions.
• Ensure that conservation easements and other legal requirements are adhered to on SLT preserves.
• Maintain all documentation per Land Trust Alliance and SLT policy standards.

Administrative and Project Support

• Work with Stewardship Program Manager and Stewardship colleagues to develop annual work plans for assigned projects. Maintain appropriate records, review project budget reports, and stay within budget.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation, both paper and digital, for assigned projects and preserves in accordance with our recordkeeping practices required by LTA accreditation.

Community, Communications, and Philanthropy Support

• Assist, as needed, with public recreational and educational activities in collaboration with Philanthropy, Community Engagement and Education teams.
• Work with the Marketing and Communications team to develop communications around current and ongoing Stewardship projects.
• Support donor and member engagement activities in coordination with Philanthropy, Community Engagement, and Marketing and Communications teams.

Other Duties

• Responsible for regular maintenance and cleanliness of SLT vehicles.
• Keep trails, roads, and parking areas open using a string trimmer and/or chainsaw.
• Conduct monitoring activities related to vegetation, wildlife cameras, invasive plants, and other stewardship priorities.
• Regular property visits and upkeep.
• Provide assistance as issues and incidents occur.
• Participation in professional development and training opportunities relevant to job duties.
• Participate in staff meetings, strategic planning, Stewardship team meetings, and similar SLT activities.

Essential Qualifications

• Relevant work experience, coursework, and training in conservation land management, agricultural land management, project management, natural resource management, or a related field.
• Familiarity with infrastructure assessment, maintenance, and repair, including buildings, ranch roads, fencing, and water systems.
• Experience assessing property infrastructure, wildfire readiness, defensible space, and vegetation management.
• Experience implementing natural resource and wildlife habitat management activities.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to document field conditions, coordinate with colleagues and partners, and represent SLT professionally.
• Experience using common hand tools, power tools, UTVs, and trailers, including trailer towing and backing.
• Ability to work occasional weekends or after business hours.
• Prolonged walking, hiking, and standing; light to heavy transporting and lifting; pulling; pushing; stooping; reaching; manual dexterity; visual and hearing acuity, with or without correction.
• Valid driver’s license is required and is insurable under SLT’s vehicle insurance policy.

Preferred Skills and Experience

SLT welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds, experience, and transferrable skills. The following qualifications are preferred and may be developed after hire where appropriate:

• Innate curiosity about natural processes and how infrastructure is affected by them.
• Experience and certification in the safe use of chainsaws, or willingness to obtain certification as needed for assigned duties.
• Wildland Fire Fighter Type 2 (FFT2) qualification or willingness to obtain within the first year of employment.
• Experienced in safely operating off road vehicles such as UTVs and tractors.
• ESRI ArcPro and GPS field data collection skills or willingness to learn within the first year of employment.
• Current CPR, First Aid, and/or Wilderness First Aid certification, or willingness to obtain certification within the first year of employment.
• Verbal and written Spanish language ability.

Schedule, Salary & Benefits

This position is full-time, 40hours per week, non-exempt status (overtime eligible).

Hourly rate starting at $32.00 per hour, commensurate with experience. This position is located at the Sonoma Land Trust office in Santa Rosa, California. Staff are working in a hybrid model; however, for this position, there will be required field work.

Sonoma Land Trust’s benefits include:

• Paid time off including paid vacation based on tenure, 15 paid holidays, and paid sick and family leave
• 100% of employee premiums for medical, dental, and vision, and 75% of dependent premiums
• 5% employer contribution to retirement plan after one year of employment
• Employee life and disability insurance
• Pre-tax dependent care coverage plans for dependent or elder care
• An employee assistance program for mental health, coaching, and financial or legal services
• A lifestyle account annual stipend for wellness or gear purchases

About Sonoma Land Trust

Sonoma Land Trust works in alliance with nature to conserve and restore the integrity of the land, with a focus on climate resiliency. The organization is also committed to ensuring more equitable access to the outdoors. Since 1976, the non‑profit Land Trust has protected over 56,000 acres of scenic, natural, agricultural, and open land for future generations. Sonoma Land Trust is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and was the recipient of the 2019 Land Trust Alliance Award of Excellence. For more information, please visit the Sonoma Land Trust website.

We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment that is representative of the communities we serve. We know that having varied perspectives leads to better outcomes to solve the complex problems of conservation, climate change and environmental justice in Sonoma County.And to best serve the people of our community, we are taking the actions outlined in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Plan.

Sonoma Land Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We strive to create a diverse and inclusive organization and encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, national or regional origins, sexes, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, gender identities, military or veteran status or other status protected by law.