Land Stewardship Specialist Do you enjoy being outside and seeing a diversity of habitats across the Southeast? Do you enjoy meeting new people and building and stewarding relationships with landowners? Are you passionate about making your mark on land conservation? If so, Ducks Unlimited- South Atlantic, the world’s leading waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization is seeking a qualified candidate to join our team as a Land Stewardship Specialist.
The successful candidate will join DU’s talented South Atlantic land protection team working on donated/ bargain sale conservation easements and fee-title acquisitions throughout the region. DU and its supporting organization, Wetlands America Trust (WAT), hold conservation easements on over 180,000 acres in the South Atlantic States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The Land Stewardship Specialist will be a driven, personable, and conservation-minded individual responsible for ensuring that the conservation values of these protected properties endure in perpetuity. The primary responsibilities of this position will be to conduct annual easement monitoring visits, build and maintain relationships with landowners, coordinate and navigate stewardship requests and challenges, assist in management of existing fee-title lands, and provide new opportunities for outreach and stewardship of our existing fee-title and conservation easement portfolio. In addition, the successful candidate will serve an important role in a diverse field office team that develops and manages a comprehensive conservation program to maximize benefits for wetlands, wildlife, and people. The position will cooperate and work closely with a diverse group of partners as well as DU conservation delivery and planning staff, fundraising and other regional and national lands program staff on a routine basis. This position provides a great opportunity to work with many private and public partners on a variety of complex land protection issues at a regional landscape scale and affords growth and success in leadership and career development. This position will be located at the South Atlantic Field Office in Hanahan, South Carolina and will report to the Director of Conservation Programs.
Responsibilities: Completing annual conservation easement monitoring visits to over 200 properties protected under conservation easements with DU/WAT. Managing and navigating conservation easement stewardship requests and challenges. Coordinating management of existing fee-title lands owned by DU/WAT. Establishing and building relationships with private landowners. Helping landowners and conservation partners make informed decisions relative to land protection and land stewardship opportunities. Assisting DU land protection staff with development of Baseline Documentation Reports for new conservation easement projects. Assisting DU Development (fundraising) staff, as needed, in identifying and stewarding potential major donors from landowners, partners, foundations and corporations. As well as coordinating and assisting with development of funding proposals to support land protection efforts.
Qualifications: Experience and Education candidate must have at a minimum a Bachelor of Science degree in a natural resources field or substantial and equivalent experience. An advanced degree is preferred. Minimum of 1 year of professional experience related to conservation, natural resource management, land use planning, land management or a related field. Farming and forestry background and experience with GIS is preferred. Must have the ability to work with diverse public and private interests. Communication Skills: Must have excellent verbal/written communication and relationship building skills and the ability to work both independently and as a member of a diverse conservation team. A successful candidate must demonstrate the ability and willingness to travel frequently within the region of responsibility and occasionally beyond the service area.