Land Protection Associate

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is an established land trust serving a 10-county region in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1974, we have conserved more than 75,000 acres of the region’s most important lands, including places that offer opportunities to all people to enjoy outdoor recreation, protect scenic beauty, protect rivers and streams that serve the region’s water needs, connect places for wildlife and plants to ensure resilient landscapes in the mountains, and preserve working farmland that supply local foods.

We emphasize proactively:

• Protecting high-priority tracts identified through strategic conservation planning, mapping and prioritization.
• Helping government agency partners and community partners acquire their highest priority tracts for public benefit.
• Protecting tracts that enhance landscape resilience to climate change.
• Protecting prime soils and working farms.
• Striving to protect culturally significant sites that can help reverse inequities among Black, Indigenous, other People of Color in our communities.

Position Overview

The Land Protection Associate is a new position within our land protection program, ideal for someone with intermediate GIS training and database management (Salesforce) experience.

Duties & Responsibilities

Duties include enhancing systems within our land protection program to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, responding to incoming landowner inquiries, supporting internal project review and approval, supporting land-protection transactions, maintaining land-protection records through databases and other related functions.

Land protection program systems:

Build and manage systems to enhance our land protection program’s organization and consistency. Examples of systems include managing data, incoming landowner inquiries, our calendar of due-diligence steps for multiple concurrent transactions underway, communication among our staff about transaction-timelines, efficiencies in our GIS mapping, and organizing proactive outreach to priority parcels.

Salesforce Database:

• Administrator land-protection use of Salesforce.
• Build systems to track phases of transactions.
• Enter and track project data.
• Apply efficiencies and ensure quality control throughout Salesforce.
• Explore functions of new extensions and implement solutions to increase efficiencies.

GIS:

• Coordinate with SAHC’s stewardship and communications teams to prepare maps.
• Enhance SAHC’s overall GIS and mapping system, including increasing auto-programming of property maps, standardizing symbology, and managing map-templates, GIS server, and data sources to assure they are complete.

Managing landowner inquiries:

• Strengthen our process of intake, prioritizing, managing and follow-through on landowner inquiries.
• Visit and evaluate properties as needed with senior project staff and sometimes the landowner, sometimes in remote and off-trail conditions.

Supporting project-review process by SAHC land protection committee and board:

• Assist staff with completing project-selection criteria, preparing memos and presentations to the land protection committee and board, arranging meetings and preparing minutes of meetings.
• Periodically attend meetings on weekends and evenings.

Supporting transactions:

• Assist with aspects of complex real estate transactions, including project-timeline tracking, grant-seeking for acquisitions.
• Coordinate elements of due diligence such as appraisals, Phase 1 environmental reports, surveying, title work and document-drafting.
• Overseeing working with consultants and contractors.
• Assist with written and verbal landowner-communications.
• Assist with completing post-closing procedures.

Supporting SAHC Land Trust Accreditation (Working closely with SAHC staff):

• Assure that SAHC land protection projects uphold Land Trust Standards and Practices.
• Lead SAHC’s preparation and submission of our application to the Accreditation Commission when SAHC applies for renewal of accreditation.
• Lead responses to the Accreditation Commission’s requests for additional information.

Qualifications

• Minimum of two years’ experience in land, farmland, or natural resource conservation, property law, real estate, or a related field. Academic training in an applicable field will be considered in lieu of professional experience if qualifications are clearly articulated in the resume and cover letter.
• Must demonstrate a commitment to SAHC’s mission, vision, and goals. These statements can be found at: https://appalachian.org/strategic-planning-2021-25/

The following skills are desirable for this position:

• ArcGIS Pro.
• Salesforce database management.
• Project Management – Ability to develop work plans and project budgets. Close attention to detail and accuracy, with strong organizational abilities. Ability to complete projects within deadline and established budget.
• Grant writing and research.
• Familiarity with SAHC’s service area within the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.
• Must be able to carry up to 20 lbs. and walk over rough terrain in occasional inclement weather for up to 4 miles.
• Tact, diplomacy and negotiating skill. Ability to maintain forward momentum in delicate situations, and to effectively communicate information to someone who may disagree or dislike what is being said, without alienating that person, and to persuade him or her to understand the situation from a new perspective.
• Persistence, sense of humor, and entrepreneurial spirit. Ability to balance and pursue multiple projects simultaneously. High tolerance for meeting competing demands efficiently, without becoming flustered.
• Ability to communicate effectively with people, organizations, and agencies. Negotiation skill and experience preferred.
• Desire and talent for working as part of a team. Enthusiastic, creative, self-motivated individual able to work independently and with coworkers and volunteers, and to motivate these colleagues.
• Ability and commitment to maintain confidentiality.
• Valid driver’s license required with acceptable driving.

Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position.  They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required.  All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

Compensation

• Salary range: $39,000 - $44,000, depending on experience.
• Benefits: SAHC covers the full premium for basic medical and a portion of dependent coverage, a healthcare spending account with employer match, life insurance, SIMPLE IRA with up to 3% employer match; Generous leave policy and needs-accommodations including flex time, extended parental leave and telecommuting options; diversity training for employees.

To Apply

• Please click "Apply" below to email a cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references to Carl Silverstein.
• Please include “Land Protection Associate” in subject line. 
• We encourage Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color to apply. However you identify and whatever your background, please apply if this is a position that excites you.
• No phone calls please. 
• Open until filled.

SAHC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  SAHC recognizes historic inequities in the conservation field, access to land and ownership of land. These factors cause imbalance in communities, and we commit to purposeful action to correct them and to be an antiracist organization. Conservation is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of widely diverse backgrounds, experiences and identities.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), family responsibilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.