3 Positions: Director, Program Manager, and Project Manager; Conservation Transaction

POSITIONS: 3 Open Positions: Director, Program Manager, and Project Manager; Conservation TransactionsREPORTS TO: Managing Director Conservation Transactions, Director Chehalis BasinDEPARTMENT: Real Estate TransactionsPOSITION TYPE: Full Time; ExemptPAY RANGE: $47,600
– $90,000 depending on position and commensurate experienceBENEFITS: EligibleEFFECTIVE DATE: April 2021ABOUT FORTERRAForterra?s mission is to drive land-based solutions in Washington to support a healthy environment and resilient communities for all.

From wildlands and working farms and forests, to places in the city for affordable housing, parks and the arts, we work simultaneously across all interconnected landscapes because, ultimately, people and lands must all thrive together.

To achieve this mission, Forterra works with regional partners and stakeholders to engage in conservation, community visioning, planning, policy work, economic development, and recreation initiatives?all with the aim of making land conservation work for our communities.

Forterra also draws on its real estate expertise to help urban communities accommodate new growth while maintaining a high quality of life for all residents.

Forterra has worked with more than 100 counties, cities, towns, agencies, and rural communities to conserve approximately 250,000 acres of community, working, habitat, and recreation land to date.

We are the largest and most established land trust in Washington and a national leader in creative and innovative conservation strategies.ABOUT THE CONSERVATION TEAMThe Conservation Transactions Team is central to Forterra?s mission and work, and represents the foundation of the organization.

The Conservation Transactions vertical within the Real Estate Transactions Team works diligently to conserve wildlands, working forests, riparian areas, and agricultural lands.

Our team works directly with landowners, public partners, community groups, and broad-based stakeholder initiatives to conserve keystone lands by initiating and completing transactions: buying land, conservation easements, transferring land, and other innovative tools that support a healthy environment and resilient communities for all.

We seek team members that bring an anti-racism and DEI lens to all of our work and collectively work towards empowerment of disenfranchised communities.At its heart, our team does the critical work that Forterra was founded on in 1991.

Collectively, the Conservation Transactions team has over two decades of experience, with the full support of leadership and additional experts in conservation and transactions.

To achieve our mission and to advance 50-100 active projects, we need three new team members to join us.

In 2021 alone, our team seeks to complete 15-20 transactions of critical watershed habitat, farms, timberlands, wildlands, salmon habitat, shoreline, recreational resources, and wildlife corridors.

This is where you come in.POSITION SUMMARIESTo join our experienced and entrepreneurial team, we seek a Director, Program Manager, and Project Manager.

In your cover letter, please state your preferred position.

If selected for further review, the hiring team will discuss which position(s) are best suited to your experience and competencies.All of these positions are integral to the Conservation Transactions Vertical, given we work collaboratively as a team.

We respond to and investigate conservation inquiries from landowners and interested communities.

Team members, with oversight and support of the Internal Underwriting Committee, seek and evaluate conservation and community projects based on the strategies of the Cascade and Olympic Agendas, sound financial analysis, an equity lens, and Forterra?s Strategic Plan.

Our primary responsibility is to perform, coordinate, and manage activities related to land transactions (buying land, transferring land, and securing conservation easements for permanent protection).

This includes transaction management, grant-writing, budgeting, landowner coordination, due diligence, and title reviews.

Additional duties include assisting with preparation of transaction documents, coordinating closings, preparing closing materials, preparing applications for funding, coordinating with project partners, and maintaining project records and our land information system database.

All team members work closely with each other, Corporate Counsel, Land Management, Finance, and other members of the Transactions and Innovations teams.

Each position is expected to initiate and complete successful transactions and seek the grants, funding sources, and donations to make our work and mission possible.The Director will have a primary portfolio of work that extends from the North
– and Mid-Sound region to the eastern slopes of the Central Cascades.

The Director is expected to become a regional leader for the organization by engaging with local government, state leaders, state agencies, Tribes, business leaders, and local community leaders, including collaborations like the Sustainable Lands Strategy and Snohomish Farmland Conservation Working Group.

The Director is also expected to articulate Forterra?s program and policy needs as they align with communities?

goals and needs and create and foster project opportunities for the organization.The Program Manager plays a key role in organizing and tracking program goals and business functions to be successful in our mission and work.

The Program Manager leads projects and programs of regional significance, particularly long-term and complex strategic landscape conservation initiatives.

The Program Manager engages with local governments, advisory boards, state leaders and agencies, Tribes, watershed councils, other non-profits, and local community leaders to develop conservation projects and advance conservation partnerships that ultimately achieve regional conservation goals.

The Program Manager directs and manages Transfer of Development Right transactions in coordination with the Forterra Innovations team, agency partners, landowners, and developers.The Project Manager reports to the Chehalis Basin Director to help complete a primary portfolio of land transactions in the extensive five-county watershed, as well as conservation priorities in the South Puget Sound region and on the Olympic Peninsula.

The position will engage and collaborate on initiatives and partnerships such as the Chehalis Basin Aquatic Species Restoration Plan and Salmon Recovery Funding Board habitat workgroups.The following education and/or experience requirements and competencies are stated in broad terms and are not intended to be a comprehensive listing.

A complete job description for each position will be shared and established prior to any hiring.SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
· Director Position: Project Manager
· Program Manager Position: None
· Project Manager Position: NoneEDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONSRequired
· Bachelor?s degree and at least: 5 years of directly-related experience for Director; 3 years for Program Manager; and 2 years for Project Manager.
· Directly-related experience includes real estate, buying land, conservation transactions, urban or regional planning, conservation-related grant and project management.
· Or an equivalent combination of experience and education that provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions of this position.Preferred
· Advanced degree or 5-7 years or more of experience in above fields for Program Manager and Director positions.
· Experience evaluating project opportunities, crafting proposals, presenting them, and modifying for application.
· Demonstrated success in fundraising, project proposals, grant writing, and presentations for programs and projects.
· Administration/management of grant compliance; federal, state, county, and private sources.

Specifically, experience in utilizing the State?s Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) portal, PRISM; and King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties?

grant administration and billing processes.
· Experience with real estate transactions, including work with legal staff, drafting of legal documents, interaction with title companies/escrow, and negotiating with landowners.
· Experience working with a variety of communities, including rural and/or low-resourced.
· Basic GIS skills to prepare maps and slides for presentations; ability to work with GIS manager on more elaborate mapping requirements.COMPETENCIES
· Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills, and public speaking ability.
· Knowledge of natural resources conservation principles and priorities of local, state, federal, and Tribal lands, and their management.
· Driven to develop and nurture relationships with landowners, external partners and stakeholders (i.e.

grant funding agencies, government entities, Tribes, other non-profits).
· Willing to do the hard personal work and participate in and contribute to organizational efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion and anti-racist policies.
· Ability to organize and manage diverse activities and set priorities.
· Self-motivated to manage a project from start to finish, drafting and tracking project budgets, deadlines, and documents, and manage time to do so accordingly.
· Excited to work in a team environment and support successful implementation of conservation initiatives through collaboration with multiple staff, partners, and stakeholders.
· Intermediate skills with Microsoft Office Suite, include Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
· Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and able to work well under pressure, with limited direct supervision.WORKING CONDITIONS, PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND TRAVELForterra is currently requiring all employees to work from home due to COVID-19 precautions.

This position will be based in the home office and field for the foreseeable future.

This position is subject to activities beyond typical indoor environmental conditions of a professiona