Associate Director of Stewardship

~ The founders of Willistown Conservation Trust have been inspiring people to conserve the land of the Willistown area since 1979. Working with willing, private landowners, we have protected over 7,200 acres of wildlife habitat, agricultural ground, and scenic views. ~

We also offer numerous conservation-based educational programs for people of all ages and backgrounds because we believe that the more people know about a place, the more they will want to care for it. As a land trust, we place a real emphasis on working with people—with our community—to entrust and protect our land for the future.

The mission of the Willistown Conservation Trust is to preserve and manage the open land, rural character, scenic, recreational, historic, agricultural and natural resources of the Willistown area and nearby communities, and to share these unique resources with people of all ages and backgrounds to inspire, educate and develop a lifelong commitment to the land and the natural world.

In furtherance of the above mission, the Trust seeks to promote a heightened sense of community and a strong land ethic within our program area and beyond. Through ongoing initiatives including the Land Protection Program, the Community Farm Program, the Bird Conservation Program and the Habitat Restoration Program, the Trust is dedicated to serving as an important outreach, educational and collaborative resource for communities and organizations in the greater Philadelphia region.

Position Overview

Willistown Conservation Trust’s Associate Director of Stewardship assists with the administration, monitoring, and enforcement of 90+ conservation easements, working with the Director of Stewardship to assess and document compliance while striving to maintain positive relationships with easement landowners. The Associate Director of Stewardship also assists in maintaining WCT’s preserve properties; ensuring maximum public accessibility, assisting with habitat restoration efforts, and organizing volunteers and interns as needed to assist with a variety of preserve-based projects.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Associate Director of Stewardship include assisting the Director of Stewardship in the following areas:

Easement Stewardship:

• Annually monitor all WCT easements; identifying and resolving violations as required.
• Create annual easement monitoring reports for each easement; organize and include supporting documentation such as maps and photos when needed.
• Follow-up with easement landowners after the annual monitoring visits are completed; manage follow-up mailings.
• Maintain conservation easement database and records; both paper and electronic.
• Coordinate with “Landscape” software provider to modify program as needed.
• Back-up key stewardship documents; maintaining originals and copies of annual monitoring reports, critical correspondence, easement violation resolutions, etc.
• Work with easement landowners to interpret easement allowances/restrictions.
• Work with Land Protection staff members to create Current Conditions Reports for easement properties when needed.
• Write Annual Easement Newsletter and work with Communications staff to design print layout.
• Review and interpret proposed architectural, landscape, and engineering plans for easement properties; coordinate with landowner design professionals as needed.
• Perform/maintain documentation of impervious coverage calculations for easement properties.

Land Stewardship:

• Manage and maintain Kirkwood, Ashbridge, and Rushton Woods Preserves and Okehocking Barn for maximum public enjoyment, accessibility and safety.
• Write/update preserve management plans.
• Monitor preserves annually; prepare monitoring reports.
• Manage habitat restoration projects on preserves; organizing volunteers, student service groups, or interns as needed.
• Survey preserves to determine threats by invasive plant species and develop a plan to remediate such areas.
• Maintain landscape and wildflower meadow at WCT HQ; organizing volunteers to maintain or add additional plantings as needed.
• Oversee maintenance of landscaping at Rushton Conservation Center.
• Educate easement landowners on sound property management (e.g., promoting the addition of native species and removal/control of non-native/invasive species, encourage “releasing” pasture fields to be mowed less often).
• Write grant applications for restoration projects at preserves.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree and/or 5 years experience in land trust work, natural resource management, ecology, or other related field.
• Understanding of conservation easements and their management.
• Ability to communicate positively and effectively with a full range of professionals, landowners, WCT constituents and contractors.
• Knowledge of ecological and landscape restoration principles and best practices.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to read architectural, engineering and landscape architectural plans.
• Experience in managing volunteers.
• Ability to work with basic hand and power tools.
• Knowledge of Windows Office Suite and Geographic Information Systems software.
• Enthusiasm, a good sense of humor, and a passion for the Trust mission.
• Smoke free and dog-friendly office.

Compensation

• Salary: Salary will be commensurate with experience.

To Apply

Send resume and cover letter to:

Jeanne B. Van Alen, Executive Director
Willistown Conservation Trust
925 Providence Road
Newtown Square, PA 19073
610-325-0869 (fax)
bva@wctrust.org

~ Equal opportunity employer. ~