Stewardship Manager

Georges River Land Trust

Opening posted: 03/01/2023 | Expires: 03/31/2023

The Stewardship Manager is a critical contributor to our tightly knit team. He/she/they oversees the stewardship of the Georges River Land Trust’s portfolio and advances climate initiatives in our watershed. This is a full-time, permanent position with tremendous potential for growth and career development into conservation leadership.

Specifically, the Stewardship Manager maintains 20 preserves and 51 properties with conservation easements, guided by the standards and practices established by the Land Trust Alliance. The Stewardship Manager’s climate efforts support Maine’s Climate Action Plan (Strategy E).

Qualified candidates should be motivated to nurture friendly relationships with owners of conserved lands and encourage compliance with our conservation easements.

The Stewardship Manager will work closely with the Trails Manager relative to preserve properties and with the Director of Lands in support of conservation objectives. Ideally, the Stewardship Manager’s leadership will encourage others to enhance the biodiversity of our preserves and prepare for adaptation to climate change.

The Georges River Land Trust was founded in 1987 to conserve the ecosystems of the Georges River watershed region through permanent land protection, stewardship, education, and public access to the outdoors. To date, we have protected almost 5,000 acres of forestland, fields, farms, and waterways and maintain 70+ miles of trails. We aspire to be a guiding resource for the residents of the 19 communities who want to protect the natural resources in the Georges River watershed.

Our staff team respects the individual strengths of its members and shares accountability in an open, friendly culture. We leverage our constraints positively and work together to transform limitations into advantages.

Essential Responsibilities

Oversee monitoring of conservation easements and preserves, including preparing reports and reporting/acting on findings, maintaining property boundaries and maintaining permanent and working stewardship files. Create and manage annual stewardship budget.
Lead community/volunteer programs, training and/or events to build public awareness of land-based climate actions, in line with our own climate strategies.
Develop maps (GIS) to support all programs (conservation, stewardship, trails, and development)
Recruit, train, supervise and engage volunteers to assist with monitoring and other stewardship projects.
Assist land conservation and acquisition program as needed (including various aspects of due diligence and helping to determine conservation values on new acquisitions through field visits and mapping).
Support fundraising for stewardship and/or climate projects by initiating grant research and implementation.

For Easement properties

◦ Manage landowner relations including easement approvals, deed transfers, potential violations, legal and survey services, current condition reports and individual easement summary charts.

◦ Create and nurture relationships with current and new easement landowners including answering questions and responding to requests.

◦ Educate conserved-lands owners about climate strategies that they can employ on their lands.

◦ Prepare baseline documentation reports for easement acquisition projects.

For Preserves

◦ Develop, review and update management plans for preserves. For new acquisitions, lead public engagement and craft vision for suitable management based on ecological values and climate resilience.

◦ Initiate and implement land management activities including strategies to resolve land use issues, permitting, restoration, encroachments and coordinate with trails staff regarding conflicts between users, overuse, and associated protection of fragile areas.

◦ Identify and implement opportunities to address climate resilience strategies within the conservation portfolio, seeking grant funding, identifying partners with suitable expertise, and working with contractors to implement as needed.

◦ Prepare hazards assessments for preserve acquisition projects.

Skills & Qualifications

Understanding of local (midcoast) land conservation issues, geography & culture
Education and experience in land management, stewardship, and restoration, in the context of land trust standard and practices
Knowledge of Maine ecology as well as pertinent nonnative species
Knowledge and experience employing climate adaptation strategies (i.e., invasives control, grasslands management, habitat improvements, multi-aged forest management)
Expertise in project management and multi-tasking with attention to details and deadlines
Excellent field skills-with maps, reading terrain, and handling tools
Self-starter, creative problem solver, able to enlist, collaborate and inspire others
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including grant writing and public speaking
Command of technologies including GPS software, ESRI products (GIS) and Microsoft Office
Familiarity with donor and project management databases (LGL and Landscape)
Volunteer coordination experience and success
Service background (such as Conservation Corp) helpful
Familiarity with general land conservation strategies, real estate transactions, appraisals, and surveys helpful
Driver’s License and access to reliable automobile
Sense of humor

Working Conditions

The position includes a combination of outdoor field work and office work. Field work may be in inclement weather on occasion.

Compensation

Salary ($47,000-$51,000) Benefits include health & dental insurance, retirement package, paid holidays, personal and sick days.

Inclusion

Georges River Land Trust is an equal employment opportunity employer. We value staff who can work for the good of the whole, who can effectively collaborate across departments to achieve the department goals as well as with the organization.

How to Apply

Please submit by email (subject line: “Stewardship Manager”) as an attachment to ; a single PDF file containing, in order, 1) a one-page cover letter, 2) a resume of no more than two pages, and 3) a list of three references with full contact information. No phone calls, please. References will only be contacted if the candidate is selected for a final interview.
The Georges River Land Trust is accredited through the National Land Trust Alliance.