Title: SCC Forest Health Partnerships Program Manager Date: 1/29/2021
Reports to: SCC Four Corners Director
Starting Salary: Grade C+, starting salary range $45-56K annually, DOE
Location: Durango, CO
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Benefit Eligible: Full per Personnel Policies
Program Summary:
The Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) is a program of the non-profit service organization,
Conservation Legacy, that is built on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that operated
from 1933 – 1942. SCC provides youth and young adults opportunities to complete conservation projects
on public lands. While serving with SCC, members receive training on job skills, conflict resolution,
leadership, teamwork, and environmental stewardship. Programs are developed using a step ladder
approach to provide a progression of skill development based on a member’s needs. Members receive a
weekly living allowance, training, and an AmeriCorps Education Award (for qualifying individuals).
Position Summary:
The grant funded Forest Health Partnerships Program Manager (FHPPM) position has two primary
responsibilities: 1.) coordinate and oversee the American Forest Foundation (AFF) funded Forest
Management Plans program and 2.) to connect and collaborate with SW Colorado Forest Health
Partnerships to identify and create SCC AmeriCorps programming to meet existing and emerging
workforce capacity needs as these partnerships push into implementation phases. Funding is currently
expected for 2 years for this position, which will likely evolve as related forest health and restoration work
scales up in SW Colorado.
Specifically, for responsibility number 1, the FHPPM will stand up a new program funded by AFF &
NRCS. This will involve coordinating landowner outreach efforts with American Forest Foundation,
Wildfire Adapted Partnership, the CO State Forest Service, NRCS and other area forest health partners;
helping to select, orient, train and support a cadre of interns who will be visiting with landowners to create
Forest Management Plans (FMPs); contracting with and coordinating FMPs with consulting foresters.
Responsibility number 2 will require engagement with the numerous forest health partnerships in SW
Colorado and collaboration with key staff from those partnerships and with the land agencies who are
engaging on these efforts (US Forest Service, CO State Forest Service, NRCS, BLM, NPS, municipal
managers, etc.). The main goal is to be informed enough on emerging forest health treatment
implementation trends and needs to help position SCC programming to meet workforce capacity
demands that align with SCC’s mission and ability to develop capacities.
Essential Responsibilities and Functions:
Development & Communication
• Connect and collaborate with AFF’s Western Conservation Manager, implementing the AFF
Forest Management Plans program as top priority, while also piloting new elements or initiatives
through the program.
Updated 2/2021
Kevin Heiner (reviewed and approved by Alyssa Murray)
• Identify and develop project agreements with landowners with the objective of creating multi-year
long-term agreements, starting with the development of individual landowner Forest Management
Plans.
• Contract and manage working mentorship with consulting forester(s), who will oversee the
technical requirements of each Forest Management Plan, including that the inventory process is
done thoroughly and in line with best practices.
• Learn and retain all compliance aspects of Forest Management Plans and ensure that SCC’s
Individual Placement team is complying with and learning through the process.
• Coordinate opportunities with forest health partners and develop a related forestry opportunities
network for post program alumni opportunities for SCC IPs and other alumni.
• Work with agency staff, forest health partnerships and SCC team to coordinate and review
innovative private and public funding streams to support the long-term objectives of a sustainable
regional forest management program.
• Keep private landowners and public agencies informed of activities, needs, risks, and
accomplishments on a timely basis.
• Pursue projects that create diverse, inclusive, and equitable forest management work with
landowners, particularly those that have historically been ignored, to ensure the program
advances natural resource diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
• Build and cultivate positive and trusting relationships with forest management partners and
landowners, fostering inclusion of lower income landowners in the program, with a high sensitivity
to past injustices some landowners have experienced.
• Manage continuous and effective communication, collaboration, and consensus building internally
with SCC team and externally with forest management cooperative partners and landowners.
• Work with partners and SCC staff to identify and implement communication objectives to advance
programs (Forest Management Plans and other SCC forest health programming) including
marketing, press, branding, and social media with the ultimate goal of developing more a
spectrum of forestry related crew and intern based programming.
• Create career pathway ladders from corps programming to public and private sector forestry
careers, while focusing creating inclusive programming that includes participants from
underrepresented populations within the forestry sector.
• Identify new related potential markets for SCC to collaborate to develop innovative new ways to
develop capacities to move regional forest health partnership goals forward.
• Coordinate, develop and facilitate forestry and resource management lesson plans for SCC
crews and IPs, beyond just those involved in FMPs and forest restoration.
Leadership & Management
• Help screen, select, orient, train and support the cadre of SCC interns conducting landowner
FMP visits.
• Mentor and support the learning experience of SCC FMP IPs.
• Review (with consulting forester as needed) all draft FMPs and ensure the meet standards before
they are finalized.
• Lead, coordinate and facilitate local workforce development efforts with forest health and other
community and regional partners.
• Advocate locally and regionally for the inclusion of corps within workforce capacity development
planning, creating more local opportunities for young men and women to engage in national
service within the forestry sector.
• Coordinate and share best practices with other peers and colleagues at Conservation Legacy;
share information to help other programs develop similar programming.
• Be accountable for corps’ internal communication and feedback, ensuring it is received, shared,
and retained utilizing communication channels such as staff meetings, direct report check-ins, MS
Teams, All Staff meetings, e-mail, surveys, etc.
Fundraising
Updated 2/2021
Kevin Heiner (reviewed and approved by Alyssa Murray)
• Coordinate with existing partners and SCC team to develop match to support this position.
• Develop collaborative fundraising strategy with forest health partners to support this position as
well as related capacity development for SCC and other partners to build out and implement
needed workforce development and labor programs for implementation of forest health
prescriptions.
Finance & Reporting
• Record, maintain, and monitor project data and records.
• Prepare landowner project budgets and agreements.
• Review and monitor program, IP and crew expenses to ensure responsible budget management.
• Complete timely project reporting to support invoicing and agreement requirements in compliance
with Conservation Legacy policies and procedures.
• Oversee collection of project accomplishments and create timely reports with the information for
funders, partners, and landowners.
Click here to enter text.
Other Duties
• Successfully engages, leads and supports an inclusive work environment for those of
underrepresented populations within the organization and the communities we serve.
• Leads and/or participates in organizational-wide teams, projects and initiatives that support the
work of the Strategic Plans goals.
• Cultivate a positive environment in the SCC FMP IP program, in which members feel supported in
achieving their personal and professional goals and gain both technical and interpersonal skills.
• Work in a dynamic, rapidly changing, and challenging environment that requires flexibility,
adaptability and willingness to work a varying schedule.
Physical Requirements:
Periodic overnight travel and non-traditional work hours, inclusive of weekend and evening hours. To
successfully perform essential functions this position is required to sit, stand, walk, speak and hear. This
position may be required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl on an infrequent basis. They
must be able to operate office equipment, telephone, and computer. The ability to drive an organizational
vehicle is also required. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with
disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Minimum Qualifications:
• Exhibits the ability to effectively work on diverse teams or with a variety of populations,
including those underrepresented at our organization and those of BIPOC communities.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in youth development/education, conservation corps
and/or forestry field(s).
• Strong desire to mentor young men and women in natural resources management.
• Experience with influencing diverse groups of employees to achieve common goals.
• Strong verbal, writing and interpersonal communication skills.
• Flexibility, adaptability and capacity to work in a fluid, changing work environment.
• The ability to carry out assigned work independently or with minimal supervision.
• The ability to communicate effectively, manage complexity, cultivate innovation, drive
and influence results of oneself and others.
Updated 2/2021
Kevin Heiner (reviewed and approved by Alyssa Murray)
• Ability to work well with others and to seek assistance when needed to carry out
assignments.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office Suite applications and ability to manage information in
organizational databases.
• Ability to keep others, in remote locations, accountable to expectations and
organizational policies while creating and fostering a culture of safety.
• Must be able to pass the organization’s criminal history background check requirements.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Previous collaborative working experience with federal/state land management agency
partners.
• Prior corps program development and administration experience.
• Previous leadership and management experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree or higher strongly preferred with more emphasis placed on a degree in
Forestry, Forest Management or similar field OR equivalent past directly relevant
professional forestry programs management experience.
• Prior experience developing Forest Management Plans and/or completing forest inventory
work.
• Prior working experience in and/or knowledge of forest ecotypes and fire ecology of
southwestern Colorado.
• Prior collaborative and partner driven grant writing and management experience.
• Previous experience collaborating in forest health partnerships/coalitions.
• Recent corps specific, youth development and or forest health nonprofit
management/leadership organizational experience.
• Previous program and/or leadership experience with a conservation youth corps.
• Certified Wilderness First Responder or willingness to pursue immediately.
• Ability to evaluate inputs in a rapidly changing work environment and make decisions
that affect the safety and work of employees.
• Desire and experience with public outreach and education regarding fire mitigation and
management, as well as other forest management operations
• Sense of humor and desire to make a positive difference in people and on the land.
line in this email must include “Applicant”.
Priority review given to applications received by February 26, 2021.
Cover Letter must include a response to the following question: Provide some examples of your
experience working effectively with diverse communities, including those specific to the BIPOC
community & other underrepresented populations, in personal or professional context.