Careers

Are you a proven leader whose passion for conservation inspires love and lasting protection for important California lands?

Do you have the managerial expertise to channel the energies of the remarkably talented, highly educated, and strongly self-motivated staff of one of California’s most prominent, nationally-accredited land protection organizations?

Would you thrive in a high profile leadership position in a vibrant Central California community?

Are you committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in every endeavor?

If you answered YES to all the above, the Board of Directors of Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) is eager to discuss your potential leadership role with our well-established, notably innovative nonprofit land trust. The leadership challenge is multi-faceted. With an annual operating budget of $2.4 million, SRT’s staff of 20 exceptional professionals steward nearly 43,000 acres of California’s most valuable natural and agricultural lands. In addition to fulfilling our traditional land trust mission, you will continue SRT’s advances in the fields of mitigation services, water and land use policy, and environmental education.

Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) is an LTA-accredited regional land trust headquartered in Visalia , CA, and currently operating throughout the San Joaquin Valley and on the California coast. SRT has active projects in Tulare, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Merced, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties. While the core of SRT’s mission is the preservation and management of a strategically selected network of over 42,000 acres of agricultural lands, open space and wildlife habitats, our complementary programs in environmental education and policy formation are considered essential as well. For more detailed information about SRT and our programs, please visit our website at www.sequoiariverlands.org

SRT’s new Executive Director will be responsible for leadership and management of our 20-person exceptionally talented staff, for fundraising, for community outreach, and for management of SRT lands. The ED will work collaboratively with an active Board of Directors that provides policy direction and expects accountability.

Salary range: $110,000-$130,000

The elements of SRT’s Executive Director position:

Leadership and Relationships: The ED provides inspirational leadership emphasizing innovation; team building; collaborative working relationships; consensus building; and dedication to diversity in all its forms–age, gender, ethnicity, thought, and values–at staff, partnership and community levels.

Management of the Organization: The ED demonstrates results orientation; financial management; ability to hire a staff reflective of the community by emphasizing equity, diversity and inclusion; ability to create a team-oriented work environment emphasizing communication, respect and empathy; and regular, periodic communication with, and accountability to, the Board.

Land Protection: The ED applies conservation principles to continue the creation of a network of strategically selected agricultural lands, open space and wildlife habitats.

Land Stewardship: The ED applies science-based, innovative and effective management approaches to enhance existing conservation values and to restore degraded lands.

Community Outreach: The ED establishes SRT as the community’s indispensible conservation organization and source of conservation expertise by publicly demonstrating and marketing that expertise; by championing educational programs emphasizing equity, diversity and inclusion; and by participating in land and resource policy formation.

Development: The ED formulates and implements an overall development plan focused on broadening the funding base by including a wide range of individual and corporate donors, grants, and management strategies of endowment funds

Qualifications of the Successful Applicant:

Proven leadership and management of an organization of similar or larger size in the nonprofit or for-profit sector

Proven ability to encourage collaboration and innovative thinking on the part of board, staff, and broader community

Proven dedication to diversity in all forms

Proven ability to work in the executive implementing role with a board of directors providing policy direction and ensuring accountability

Proven community leadership

Proven fundraising success

Proven volunteer organization and leadership, and

Proven communication skills, written and oral

In addition, the successful applicant is energetic, engaging and approachable; is collaborative in both management and leadership styles; has integrity and inspires trust; is calm under pressure; and enjoys a public role in service to our mission. The successful applicant lives in or near Visalia, CA, in order to provide in-person leadership to staff.

How to apply

Send two documents: 1) a cover letter outlining your qualifications for this position and your motivation for seeking it, and 2) a resume showing educational background, professional experience, and community activities to Scott Spear, Interim ED at
scott@sequoiariverlands.org by 5:00PST August 31, 2021. All applications will be handled confidentially.

Sequoia Riverlands Trust provides equal employment opportunities to all employees, contractors, and applicants for work and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type, without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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We're hiring! If you or anyone you know is seeking a great career opportunity with an innovative conservation nonprofit based in Central California with a 20-year record of success, please read on:

POSITION: Land Stewardship Associate
Overview: The Land Stewardship Associate position supports Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) Conservation Department by conducting conservation easement monitoring and land management activities on lands conserved by Sequoia Riverlands Trust.

Do you love working in nature?

Are you seeking a career that positively impacts the future for us all through protecting our important natural resources?

Do you want to work in a work environment full of accomplished, highly-educated, and highly-committed individuals in a land conservation environment?

If so, you should consider joining the team at Sequoia Riverlands Trust, a nationally-accredited conservation organization based near the Southern Sierra Nevada foothills and Sequoia National Park.

Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) is a regional nonprofit land trust formed in 2001 to conserve the natural and agricultural legacy of the southern Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley. SRT has ambitious programs in land and conservation easement acquisition (habitat and farmland), land stewardship, restoration, conservation outreach, land policy and planning, and environmental education. SRT is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in every endeavor.

SRT seeks a talented Land Stewardship Associate dedicated to monitoring conservation progress and successful land management practices. To see if this position is a good fit for you, please review the full job description:

POSITION: Land Stewardship Associate

OVERVIEW: The Land Stewardship Associate position supports Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT)
Conservation Department by conducting conservation easement monitoring and land management
activities on lands conserved by SRT.

PRIMARY DUTIES:
-Support the development of annual easement program goals with the Director of Land Stewardship and GIS/Database Manager , including measurable targets and outcomes
-Coordinate and conduct annual conservation easement monitoring visits according to Land Trust Alliance (LTA) standards
-Coordinate and organize staff and volunteers to ensure annual monitoring requirements are fulfilled
-Implement and maintain appropriate procedures and documentation for easement monitoring according to LTA and SRT policies

-Prepare baseline documentation reports (BDRs) for new conservation easements in coordination with the Director of Land Transactions
-Carry out other duties as needed to support SRT’s mitigation and acquisitions programs
-Collaborate with SRT’s GIS/Database Manager:
-Ensure that stewardship data management records are maintained and stored according to LTA policies, including GIS data
- Communicate regularly with landowners, the Director of Land Stewardship and GIS/Database Manager to address potential easement compliance issues and other concerns, and to identify opportunities for collaborative stewardship projects and relationship building
-Communicate the status of conservation easement stewardship efforts internally
-Assist the Land Steward with preserve management duties on a limited basis

SUPERVISION: The Land Stewardship Associate reports to the Director of Stewardship and works
closely with other Conservation Department staff

REQUIRED SKILLS and ATTRIBUTES:
-Associates or Bachelor’s Degree in natural resource management, environmental science, conservation, or a related field
-Demonstrated project management skills, including
-- Ability to establish rapport with a variety of personalities among SRT staff, landowners, contractors, volunteers and other partners
--Ability to clearly communicate priorities
-Ability to manage multiple projects with deadlines
-Proficiency with ESRI’s ArcGIS Software (ability to create and edit shapefiles and feature classes, produce clear and attractive maps, conduct basic spatial analyses, and organize data effectively)
-Ability to quickly learn SRT’s land conservation software applications for on-line record keeping of
land transactions and stewardship work
-Ability to synthesize and effectively communicate concepts and data, including excellent writing skills
-Excellent problem-solving and organizational skills
-Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends
-Ability to hike and work under physical strain on sometimes difficult terrain in a variety of environmental conditions and driving on rough roads

ADDITIONAL DESIRED SKILLS and ATTRIBUTES:
-Experience working with a land trust
-Conflict resolution experience
-Plant identification knowledge of Central Valley and southern Sierra Nevada
-Spanish language proficiency

MISCELLANEOUS:
-Candidates must be able to pass a background check
-Candidates may be asked to provide samples of their work that demonstrate their GIS and writing skills

The above statements describe the general nature of the position and are not considered an exhaustive list of all job duties. SRT reserves to right to revise or amend duties at any time
-Staff members are expected to promote the mission, values, and programs of SRT
-Relocation assistance is not provided for this position

COMPENSATION: The position will receive a competitive compensation package with an employer-matched retirement account, health insurance program and generous paid time off.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: Sequoia Riverlands Trust provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability.

TO APPLY: Email resume and cover letter to: info@sequoiariverlands.org. Please put "SRT Land Stewardship Associate" in the email's subject line. If Internet accessibility is problematic, please send materials via U.S. Postal Service to SRT, 427 S. Garden St., Visalia, CA 93277. And please, no phone or
email follow up inquiries. Applicants will be contacted in the event that we wish to further explore your qualifications.

To learn more about SRT, visit: https://sequoiariverlands.org.