Reporting to: Senior Land Project and Conservation Easement Program Manager
Mission of Position: Stewards Scenic Hudson’s conservation easements. Fosters excellent working relationships with the owners and caretakers of easement-encumbered lands.
Qualifications: The successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and previous experience stewarding protected lands, conservation easements, and other real estate interests in accordance with Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices or related experience in the fields of land conservation, natural resource management, land-use planning, or environmental/conservation sciences.
Must be a strategic thinker possessing robust interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to handle complex situations with potentially adversarial parties. Organizational and time management skills are essential. Must have the ability to work independently and possess a self-directed, detail-oriented, and entrepreneurial work ethic. Communication, collaboration and accountability are common requirements for all members of the team.
Alignment with and enthusiasm for Scenic Hudson’s mission and environment justice are required. Must have a love of the outdoors and ability to travel long distances on foot over uneven terrain in inclement weather while being able to lift and carry at least 30 pounds. Some evening and weekend work and access to reliable transportation for travel throughout the Hudson Valley is required. Experience with GIS software and GPS hardware are a necessity to perform job tasks.
Background: Scenic Hudson preserves land and farms and creates parks that connect people with the inspirational power of the Hudson River, while fighting threats to the river and natural resources that are the foundation of the valley’s prosperity.
Our work is guided by our vision for the region:
The Hudson Valley is a community of informed and engaged citizens working to make the region a model of vibrant riverfront cities and towns linked by inviting parks and trails, beautiful and resilient landscapes, and productive farms.
We focus on three themes – Promoting Regional Identity, Building Community and Strengthening Resiliency. Lands we protected will enhance recreation, keep our air and water clean, and help wildlife adapt to rising sea levels. Partnerships to restore long-neglected natural and cultural assets will help revitalize downtown neighborhoods. And our expertise in siting renewable energy and promoting natural climate solutions positions the region to be a model for confronting climate change.
Principle Responsibilities include:
- Planning and conducting monitoring of Scenic Hudson’s conservation easements to ensure compliance with easement terms and Land Trust Alliance Standards & Practices.
- Writing and transmitting annual monitoring reports to landowners.
- Responding to landowner inquiries and requests concerning conservation easements and ensuring strong relationships with landowners.
- Assessing and resolving easement violations, in consultation with the Senior Land Project and Conservation Easement Program Manager and other land conservation staff, as appropriate.
- Maintaining regular and up to date electronic and paper records, including use of a Salesforce-based database.
- Documenting baseline conditions of new conservation easement projects using Field Maps, ArcGIS Pro, and ArcGIS Online.
- Promoting and encouraging science-based and environmentally-sound land stewardship practices to landowners, including implementation of stewardship projects on select conservation easement properties.
- Negotiating and drafting amendments of existing conservation easements.
- Working with outside legal counsel, contractors, land trust partners, public agencies, and consultants, as needed.
- Tracking expenses for annual conservation easement stewardship needs and making recommendations for annual budgetary requests.
- Ensuring maintenance of Scenic Hudson’s Accredited status and assisting with periodic Accreditation renewals.
- Making periodic presentations to the land trust’s board of directors and the public about our stewardship work.
- Providing general support and assistance to the Land Conservation team.
- Other duties as assigned.
Compensation: Full Time, Salary range $45,000-$52,000 with benefits.
Contact: Cover letter, resume and brief writing sample to: jobs@scenichudson.org. Further information can be found on our website: stg-scenichudsonv-staging.kinsta.cloud.
No phone calls please.
Scenic Hudson is an Equal Opportunity Employer promoting cultural diversity and excellence. We are committed to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and strive to serve all of the people of the Hudson Valley by evaluating our projects, strategic initiatives and outcomes through that lens.
