Conservation Associate for Planning and Training

Salt Lake City, Utah (UT)

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to make a positive impact around the world in more than 30 countries, all 50 United States, and your backyard. Founded in 1951, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. Visit www.nature.org/aboutus to learn more.
TNC

The CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE FOR PLANNINING AND TRAININGwill catalyze and support efforts of multi-partner teams that are developing and implementing strategies to build the resilience of forests and fire-adapted ecosystems and communities in the U.S. states. As a Training associate, s/he will have aspects of knowledge of U.S. fire management policy and fire training requirements and procedures and represent this expertise to Conservancy staff and partners to forward Conservation outcomes. Specifically, s/he will work with TNC staff, agency partners and other key stakeholders to foster collaboration and learning, seek creative solutions to conservation barriers and broadly share lessons learned in order to accelerate restoration and adaptation on specific landscapes. Work includes application of various conservation tools, including development and coaching within existing TNC Learning Networks that have multiple demonstration landscapes, agency relations, fire planning, landscape and community based conservation planning, and developing restoration and conservation treatments.  The CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE FOR PLANNINING AND TRAININGwill transfer lessons learned to other landscapes, scientists and decision makers, develop appropriate curriculum and deliver innovative training activities that builds capacity in the Conservancy and its partners.  Responsible for program and project budget preparation and monitoring and may be responsible for assisting in obtaining funding.  The CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE FOR PLANNINING AND TRAINING’swork is accomplished under cooperative agreements between TNC, the USDA Forest Service and Department of the Interior agencies, and includes working closely with agency advisors.

This may include one or more of the following functions:

• Work with TNC staff, agency partners (focusing on federal agencies) and other key stakeholders. Provide support and consultation to regional teams and networks of landscape teams in order to promote the effective management and restoration of forests and grasslands. Projects may also include aspects of watershed restoration, biomass utilization, invasive species management, climate change adaptation, conservation communication and outreach.
• Serve as advisor to project landscape teams on federal agency and TNC planning procedures including the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, adaptive management, fuels treatments and other actions that integrate TNC, federal agency and local community goals. Engage experts from diverse fields, ranging from ecology to economics.
• Work closely with the N.A. Fire Learning Network Director and the Promoting Ecosystem Resilience through Collaboration team and partners in the design and implementation of collaborative learning networks with emphasis on social aspects of fire management and fire training, and their integration with the Nature Conservancy’s North American Forest Priority. 
• Communicate regularly with TNC managers and agency partners on progress, lessons learned and successful strategies. Develop and maintain productive and professional relationships with key decision makers and agency partners.
• Maintain a current working knowledge of federal land management initiatives, their implementation, and agency planning and priority setting guidance and procedures.
• Maintain a current working knowledge of the practice of fire management operations, fire training, fire ecology, fire effects, fuels treatment and conservation planning. Mentor project-based conservation practitioners and partners.
• Create products appropriate to on-the-ground practitioners and partners related to the above duties. This may include peer-reviewed journal publications, internal working papers, and chapters within existing handbooks, material for Web sites, short articles, presentations, and/or how-to manuals on technical topics.
• Provide technical input to, or lead the development of, work plans and proposals to implement conservation and integrated restoration projects. Assist TNC and partner field staff with developing applications for funding through relevant programs (e.g. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Act) or through innovative new sources of funding.
• Collaborate with other Promoting Ecosystem Resilience through Collaboration staff in achieving partnership objectives.
• Build strategic, scientific and technical capacity in the field in the area of specific responsibility (e.g. fire training, collaborative training exchanges, climate adaptation, conservation communication, forest landscape restoration).
• Develop key partnerships with public and private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions and best practices.
• Develop innovative science-based approaches, analyses, tools and frameworks to address program needs
• Facilitate the development and implementation of collaborative community based conservation strategies.

• BA/BS degree and 5 years experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Qualified as an FFT2 under TNC and U.S. Interagency standards, recertified annually
• Experience managing complex or multiple projects, including staffing, workloads, and finances under deadlines.
• Supervisory experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7 years experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience influencing, developing and implementing conservation policy and plans.
• Knowledge of current trends, practicesand planning processes in U.S federal land management as well as the Open Standards for the Practices of Conservation.
• Developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
• Knowledge of methods and standards of biodiversity information systems and initiatives.
• Motivating team members, setting goals, and leading efforts.
• Delivering practical, adaptable products and services to customers.
• Knowledge of politics and society with respect to environmental affairs.
• Managing time and diverse activities under deadlines while delivering quality results.
• Communicating clearly via written, spoken, and graphical means in English and other relevant languages.
• Demonstrated experience in fundraising.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience, including the ability to motivate, lead, set objectives and manage performance.
• Successful experience in partnership development (partners, community, government, etc); political savvy.
• Proven interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with multiple internal and external teams that work at the national and regional levels in the U.S. to design and implement national partnership objectives and TNC North American priorities. Examples of such teams include the Promoting Ecosystem Resilience through Collaboration team, federal agency partners and TNC Forest and Fire Government Relations staff.
• Advanced skills in facilitation, mentoring and coaching needed to help field-based practitioners and partners achieve conservation goals through collaborative planning, learning networks and large landscape conservation initiatives.
• Excellent teaching, presentation and organizational skills for participation in national-level, interagency workshops and training courses.  Ability to convert technical information into practical tools and products for on the ground practitioners ranging from how-to manuals to peer-reviewed journal publications, internal working papers, short articles, maps and webinars.
• Ability to help network participants integrate state-of-the-art knowledge of adaptive management, planning procedures, threat assessments and ecosystem restoration (including fuels treatments) to achieve TNC, federal agency and local community goals.
• Ability to develop and maintain productive and professional relationships with regional land management and fire program leaders, key decision makers, agency partners and university researchers. Ability to serve effectively on task teams and committees as assigned.
• Current knowledge of relevant natural resource laws, policies and guidance, such as NEPA, ESA, Cohesive Strategy, and the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation.
• Knowledge of trends and practice in collaborative planning, fire ecology and management, community-based natural resource management.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in at least one listed specialty discipline that contributes to the team’s ability to achieve partnership and North American conservation objectives.
• Current knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to understand and innovate in response to key trends and issues in federal fire and land management and planning

• Employment duration is less than six months.

AUTO SAFETY POLICY

This position requires a valid driver's license and compliance with the Conservancy's Auto Safety Program.  Employees may not drive Conservancy-owned/leased vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on behalf of the Conservancy if considered "high risk drivers."  Please see further details in the Auto Safety Program document available at www.nature.org/careers. 

Employment in this position will be contingent upon completion of a Vehicle Use Agreement, which may include a review of the prospective employee's motor vehicle record.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL EFFORT

The Conservation Associate for Planning and Training may work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances. These conditions may:

• require occasional physical exertion and/or muscular strain
• present occasional possibility of injury
• require long hours in isolated settings

This position may also:

• require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally
• require evening and weekend hours

To apply to position number 41862, submit resume and cover letter as one document.  All applications must be submitted in the system prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 14, 2014.

Failure to complete all of the required fields may result in your application being disqualified from consideration. The information entered in the education and work experience sections are auto screened by the system based on the basic qualifications of the position.

You must click “submit” to apply for the position. You may select “save for later” if you prefer to create a draft application for future submission. Once submitted, applications cannot be revised or edited.

If you are experiencing technical issues, please refer to our applicant user guide or contactapplyhelp@tnc.org.