Stewardship Program Manager - Conservation Easement

Job Title: Stewardship Program Manager – Conservation Easements Reports to: Director of Stewardship Want to play your part in protecting our local communities from the impacts of climate change? Ready to roll up your sleeves to help achieve tangible results? Want to be part of a talented, deeply committed, and national award-winning conservation organization? Then please read on! Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) is looking for someone to lead our Conservation Easement Program through work with partners, colleagues, and private landowners that support our efforts in protecting biodiversity and creating a more resilient environment. SLT serves a diverse audience with broad cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and orientations. We encourage applications from candidates who reflect and value the audiences and populations we serve. Overview The Conservation Easement Program Manager leads SLT’s conservation easement program (CE) and provides administrative and project management support to the Stewardship Department. The Program Manager is the primary point of contact with CE landowners, collaborates on conservation easement acquisitions, manages approval and violation/enforcement work, maintains accurate records for each easement property and directs the easement monitoring program. SLT’s easements are monitored annually by Stewardship Technicians, and the Program Manager is responsible for training Stewardship Technicians. The Manager maintains and builds positive relationships with conservation easement landowners (both original grantors and successor owners); collaborates with partner organizations; is the point of contact with legal counsel on conservation easement defense; and works closely with the philanthropy and communications teams and other SLT staff. In addition, the Program Manager participates in the countywide project inquiry and evaluation process for CE inquiries and works with acquisition department program managers to complete land protection projects throughout Sonoma County, including project intake and due diligence. Primary Responsibilities Conservation Easement Program Management (40%) - Develop annual budget and work plan for CE stewardship program. - Draft policies, reports, and provide organizational updates related to CE stewardship. - Work with colleagues and attorneys to keep stewardship practices current and effective. - Develop and maintain online CE database using the Salesforce Locate software for all CE management recordkeeping purposes. - Keep abreast of legal and practice trends and initiatives to ensure the CE program is positioned on the leading edge of land. - Represent SLT and make presentations to community groups and professional conferences (e.g. Land Trust Alliance Rally, California Council of Land Trusts Conference). Conservation Easement Stewardship (40%) - Maintain records for each conservation easement, including tracking property statistics, ownership contact information, Baseline Documentation Reports, and monitoring reports. - Train and oversee the work of the Stewardship Technicians for annual monitoring of CE/fee land properties. - Research and develop new monitoring practices using technologies including the most recent GIS software, mobile devices, and GPS technology to collect data and create current maps for CE properties. - Direct SLT’s annual monitoring program and the Landowner Relations Program that works to develop and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with conservation easement landowners and partnering organizations. - Review and respond to notices and requests for approval related to reserved and restricted rights on each property as defined by the conservation easement. - Manage all aspects of conservation easement violations and requests for CE approvals, notices, and amendments, including field work, easement review and interpretation, working with legal counsel, negotiations with landowners and other parties, and thorough documentation of al…