We Are Hiring! Sentinel Landscape Program Coordinator

Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape Program Coordinator

Job Announcement

March 2022

DOWNLOAD PDF JOB DESCRIPTION HERE

The Conservation Law Center seeks applications for a Program Coordinator to join our team based in the beautiful Midwestern college town of Bloomington, Indiana.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an organization and broad partnership focused on providing solutions to some of the most important and challenging conservation and environmental issues in Indiana. The Coordinator will work with a diverse group of public and private partners to achieve various natural resource conservation goals within the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape geographic boundaries. These goals include land and soil conservation, water quality and riparian corridors, threatened and endangered species, and the critical goal of maintaining military readiness in southern Indiana’s four defense bases.

Background: Conservation Law Center

Conservation Law Center (CLC) is a nonprofit public interest law firm. We are lawyers, advocates, and educators who care deeply about the natural world and people’s relationship to it. We work to protect and improve the health, diversity, beauty, and resilience of the planet and defend our shared natural heritage. CLC provides pro bono legal support to conservation nonprofits and agencies, and works with clients on a wide range of transactional, policy, and litigation matters pertaining to regional, national, and international conservation issues.

CLC has particular interest and expertise in several topics including land protection, conservation easements, the Public Trust doctrine, species preservation, and the protection of freshwater ecosystems especially in the Great Lakes region. While we focus on land, water, and species, climate change is a factor in nearly all the issues we address. In addition to representing dozens of clients around the US, Conservation Law Center also supports conservation clients in Costa Rica, and we expect our international programs to grow. Conservation Law Center was founded in 2005 by attorney W. William Weeks, former EVP and COO of The Nature Conservancy, who currently serves as the Center’s board chair.  

CLC also operates the Conservation Law Clinic in partnership with the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. In that capacity, CLC works with 2L and 3L student interns on its active projects, advising clients, and researching legal remedies and policy solutions on conservation issues.

Background: Sentinel Landscapes

CLC recently helped lead the effort to designate 3.5 million acres in southern Indiana as a federal Sentinel Landscape. (www.sentinellandscapes.org.) The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Interior established the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership in 2013. This program is a nationwide federal, state, and local collaboration dedicated to promoting natural resource sustainability and the preservation of agricultural and conservation land uses in areas surrounding military installations. Agencies from the three Departments coordinate the partnership through the Sentinel Landscape Federal Coordination Committee.

The Sentinel Landscapes program seeks to incentivize private landowners to manage these landscapes in ways that are compatible with the nation’s defense and healthy environmental stewardship. The local partnership connects private landowners within the Sentinel Landscape boundary with federal and state resources to enhance their land management practices in ways that preserve both economic and ecosystem health. For more background information on the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, visit: https://conservationlawcenter.org/sentinel.

This Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape is one of only 10 such areas in the entire country. It is larger than Yellowstone National Park by over 50% and is roughly the size of the State of Connecticut. The project area focuses on landscape conservation on a scale not often seen, especially in the Midwest.

Job Description

The Project Coordinator will be involved in all aspects of the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape management and success. Advanced project management skills will be key. The Coordinator will be housed and managed within Conservation Law Center in Bloomington, Indiana, but will work closely with federal, state, and nonprofit agencies across the region. The Coordinator position does not need to be an attorney, though attorneys will be considered. We expect the Coordinator will work closely with a separate Sentinel Attorney being hired concurrently.

The Coordinator will be responsible for:

  • Understanding existing partner conservation initiatives within the Sentinel boundary

  • Finalizing a three-year Sentinel Landscape Implementation Plan

  • Effectively and efficiently leading the execution of the Implementation Plan

  • Identifying and cultivating funding and other support required to achieve Sentinel Landscape goals

  • Planning and leading monthly and quarterly partner meetings

  • Establishing a system for tracking all partnership activities and project metrics against Sentinel Landscape goals and objectives

  • Compiling and reporting all required reports to the Federal Coordinating Committee as well as program donors

  • Serving as the primary point of contact for the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape, including communication and engagement with the federal agencies, other landscape coordinators, southern Indiana partners, and other outside stakeholders

  • Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with all program partners, including recruiting new partners

  • Writing and distributing updates and press releases to communicate successes and accomplishments

  • Direct landowner outreach including education events as well as written and electronic materials 

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in natural resource conservation or comparable field

  • Proven ability to coordinate interests among diverse stakeholders, including the ability to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life and political viewpoints

  • Working knowledge of federal and state conservation programs

  • Experience working with agricultural community, local governments, and/or private landowners on conservation projects

  • Demonstrated ability to craft creative solutions to complex problems

  • Professional experience in partnership building and management

  • Broad understanding of political, cultural, economic, and environmental issues within the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape boundary and the Midwest generally

  • Superior verbal and written communications skills

  • Strong organization and time management skills

  • Proficient with standard Microsoft Office software

  • Proven ability to plan, organize, and lead highly productive and timely video-based meetings that include external participants

  • Ability to work efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision

  • Ability and willingness to travel as necessary in support of work

  • Demonstrated commitment to conservation and environmental causes

  • Strong sense of personal initiative and work ethic, good judgment, creativity, flexibility

  • Strong communication skills and the willingness to advocate for project mission with media, partners, and funders

  • Strong interpersonal skills and the desire to be a member of a supportive team

Optimal Qualifications

  • Career experience working for or with Department of Defense, preferably with the Navy/Army in Indiana.

  • Strong understanding of the relationship between the military testing and training mission and natural resource challenges

  • Professional experience working with regulatory requirements for wildlife, such as Habitat Conservation Plans, Critical Habitats, and/or military Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans

  • Working knowledge of Southern Indiana ecosystems and their resource challenges for species, habitat, and water quality

  • Proven successful fundraising experience with public agencies, private foundations, and/or corporations, with a focus on grants

  • Experience working with state agencies and local municipalities

  • Proficient with project management software

  • Solid understanding of the military culture and operations (e.g., military personnel ranks, customs and courtesies, unit organizational structure, forces’ capabilities, etc.)

We value applicants who have a broad range of interests and experience, along with a desire to make a career in the field of conservation. This project can change the way conservation is practiced in Indiana and the Midwest, and that could take a while. The ideal candidate will be committed to our long-term effort. With two positions being hired for Sentinel Landscape and another additional attorney in early 2023, Conservation Law Center will be at a full-time staff of 8, including 5 attorneys. The Sentinel Program Coordinator will be a key player in the organization’s strategic conservation objectives and an important member of an innovative, supportive, nimble, and fun team.

CLC believes firmly in a positive work-life balance and understands that flexibility is part of that balance. Our staff members are professionals and are treated as such. Not every minute of every day must be spent in the office setting—a lesson we’ve all learned from over two years of COVID. Working from home is a regular part of our routines, and maintaining personal appointments and schedules is a part of a modern professional work life that we can always accommodate. Some remote work away from Bloomington may also be possible, with the understanding that we have responsibilities to our clients, students, and colleagues that must be met to maintain the highest professionalism and strong team bonds.

Conservation Law Center is committed to equal opportunity for applicants from groups that are historically under-represented at professional levels within the field of conservation, including women and people of color, who are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Process

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter, resume, and references to Office Manager, Melissa Berry at berrym@indiana.edu, Attn: Sentinel Landscape Coordinator. PDF format is preferred.

CLC hopes to fill this position as soon as possible. Applications received before April 30 will receive preference. We will accept applications until the position is filled.

Salary and Benefits

Conservation Law Center offers salaries competitive with leading national environmental nonprofits including a benefits package for employees and their families that includes health, dental, vision, as well as a retirement match. Expected salary range for the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape Program Coordinator position is $75,000 - $80,000.

Special appreciation and thanks to the Sam Shine Foundation which helped make this position possible.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.  

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