Job Summary: 

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is a leader in land conservation of big game habitat. The Director of Land Conservation is a vital and key leadership role within RMEF. The position is responsible for providing leadership for, and management of, RMEF’s land conservation and access program. Responsibilities encompass completing priority projects, such as gifts of real estate, acquisitions and conveyance of lands, voluntary conservation easements, and overseeing management of procedures. The Director will lead  program delivery, budget and regional landscape plans in accordance with RMEF strategic and operating plans, organizational policy, legal, compliance and contract management requirements. The position delivers on external mission operational standards, practices and regulations as needed. 

The Land Conservation Director is a part of the Mission Division collaborating closely with mission field staff and external partners regularly and proactively with internal operations to effectively administer plans and strategies that ensure quality and program support effectiveness. 

Essential Functions:

1. Responsible for leading a team to proactively identify and complete land conservation and access projects, including acquisitions, conveyances, and conservation easements, in strategically identified landscapes.  

2. Manage a programmatic pipeline of projects to deliver on goals set by managing director of mission operations, in alignment with RMEF’s operating and strategic plans.

3. Effectively manage and report on RMEF’s land conservation and access program ensuring technical expertise for impactful mission delivery. 

4. Collaborate with legal, internal operations and development on a consistent and initiative-taking basis to understand key connections between mission delivery and science, stakeholder and internal operational priorities. 

5. Lead workflow meetings between mission operations, legal, accounting, and incoming grants to ensure cadence of workflow allows for optimal and efficient mission delivery. 

6. Provide leadership to staff, maintaining a solution-focused approach to challenges and identify resource needs to accomplish mission.

7. Oversee the management and retention of program files, data and procedures. 

8. Provide transactional project and due diligence budget projections, monitor budget expenditures. Monitor program financial impacts for quality and accuracy. 

9. Represent RMEF mission programs, and specifically the land conservation and access program, at meetings and events. 

Additional Responsibilities: 

Represent the RMEF as a speaker, participant, representative or partner at various local, state, regional, national public and private functions as requested. 

Perform additional duties as assigned.

Supervision Responsibilities:

Supervise Land Conservation and Access staff. Occasionally supervision of a contractor may be necessary. 

Education and Experience: 

A bachelor’s degree in natural resources related fields or related degree is preferred. The successful candidate must have 5-7 years of professional experience in real estate, wildlife conservation, land management, legal services, operations leadership or equivalent experience. Successful supervision, leadership and program management experience is required. 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

1. Thorough knowledge and support of RMEF’s mission, goals, organization and activities, and the ability to promote them.

2. Thorough knowledge and demonstrated experience of lands realty transaction processes, legal requirements, required documentation, tax ramifications and the relationships between the parties involved. 

3. Strong experience with local, state, and federal agencies, non-profit land trusts, land management contractors and private landowners.

4. Demonstrate a professional appearance and attitude. 

5. Ability to work independently without frequent, direct supervision and to remain focused on goals and objectives while adapting to changing priorities. 

6. Demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

7. Ability to perceive and establish long-term goals to develop and implement projects that are cohesive, progressive and mission priority oriented. 

8. Ability to train, motivate, and educate department staff. Must have strong supervisory, leadership, management, and teambuilding skills.

9. Must have strong written and verbal communication skills including the ability to create documents and presentations, and the ability to communicate to a variety of audiences.  

10. Must have strong computer skills including Microsoft Teams programs and apps. Must have a fundamental understanding of working with relational databases and cloud file storage.

11. Must have the ability to manage and resolve conflict. Must have the ability to manage stressful situations in a manner that demonstrates leadership, supervision, and organizational management.

Physical Demands: 

Office work will require sitting or standing for extended periods of time, frequent use of office equipment and light lifting, bending and physical exertion. Travel by automobile, airplane, horse, foot or mechanized ORV’s may be required. Evening work and weekend work may be required.

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of the job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of essential functions, responsibilities, or requirements.