Director, Texas Community Resilience

About Us:

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to large forest landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water, and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for over 150 years. 

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member. 

Position Summary:

As one of the nation’s fastest growing destinations, Texas presents dynamic opportunities to champion nature-based initiatives in a changing landscape. Innovation in this space is vital to communities throughout the state as regional ecosystems provide cost-effective buffers against the increasing frequency of natural disasters (i.e., flood and wildfire mitigation) while delivering recognized health and economic impact benefits necessary to sustain this growth, including outdoor recreation and workforce development. These diverse initiatives collectively advance a pursuit that has embodied Texans for two centuries: resilience. 

To advance community resilience in the face of 21st century challenges, American Forests is working with partners across Texas to catalyze, implement and sustain nature-based initiatives in green infrastructure development, reforestation, outdoor learning, watershed protection and other areas. These approaches are community-driven and seek to leverage the place-based knowledge and resources necessary to achieve both localized and landscape-level resilience benefits that will have the greatest impact on Texans from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to the Red River and all places in between.  

The Director of Texas Community Resilience is a full-time, permanent position responsible for leading our community-focused program efforts throughout Texas. The successful candidate will bring visionary leadership, a growth mindset, advanced problem-solving skills and results-driven thinking to this pivotal role while championing resilience from a holistic perspective that emphasizes the region’s unique ecology, culture and natural heritage as prime assets for improving quality of life across Texas. This position will receive support from American Forests’ Texas-based team members along with assistance from national staff within the Resilient Forests, Policy, GIS/Data Science, HR, Finance and Development departments.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Community Resilience: Strategic Plan Design and Refinement (30%)

• Lead development of a statewide impact strategy for increasing the public’s knowledge, appreciation and utilization of restored forest and woodland ecosystems by articulating their expected contributions to community resilience in the face of complex resource challenges and related conditions
• Develop regional and subregional partnerships to support implementation of strategy cornerstones, including community volunteer networks

Community Outreach: Project Development and Management (25%)

• Alongside the Senior Manager, Community Resilience, co-develop a pilot outdoor learning initiative that will include outreach content for multiple age/end-user demographics and delivery of recurring programming (e.g., modules, presentations, workshops) before public audiences 
• Manage an internal program budget, including review of individual supply purchases, expense tracking, and development of expense projections as related to project work throughout Texas
• Develop and manage external contracts and subawards with outreach partners (i.e., agencies, non-profits, institutions, community groups, etc.) per American Forests internal policies
• Reporting: track and complete both internal and external progress reporting on outreach impact at regular intervals, including independent development of annual/semi-annual grant report narratives
• Coordinate with American Forests’ national Marketing and Communications Team and regional partners to develop periodic storylines related to Texas programming, including but not limited to: interviews with media outlets, external articles, social media posts and other duties as needed

Wildlife & People: Project Development and Implementation (25%)

• In coordination with the Senior Manager, Community Resilience, partners at The Nature Conservancy and others, lead development of a pilot urban wildlife corridor initiative that connects outdoor learning to economic impact, recreational green spaces and wildlife conservation in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: partner outreach, leading workgroup discussions, securing MOU agreements from local governments/landowners/agencies and spotlighting initiative impact for various audiences 
• Alongside American Forests’ staff and partners, co-develop planning for geospatial interfaces, landscape analyses and other decision-support tools necessary to advance connectivity within fragmented forest and woodland ecosystems throughout Texas

Fundraising (20%)

Qualifications:

While we do not expect any one candidate to possess all of these qualifications, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife, Natural Resources, Public Health, Environmental Science, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Ecology or a related field required, an advanced degree is preferred. Additional experience accepted in lieu of.
• At least 7 years of experience in a public-facing program management role, with demonstrated leadership in: (1) conservation/nature-based program strategy design, (2) community engagement and outreach, (3) outdoor learning initiatives, (4) budget/contract/subaward management, and 5) remote staff supervision and mentorship, particularly in the state of Texas.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships at regional and subregional levels with local governments, municipalities, community groups, agencies, and non-profits.
• Experience proactively contributing to the growth of regional and national team dynamics within an organization
• Proven experience in grant proposal development and reporting.
• Ability to speak and write in English and Spanish desired. 

American Forests’ Core Competencies

• Attitude: Brings a positive outlook to work and helps inspire others to achieve excellence. 
• Communication: Produces strong written documents, edits documents effectively, engages in effective verbal communication—1-on-1 and small group—and conducts effective large group presentations. 
• Organization: Prioritizes tasks effectively, accomplishes tasks efficiently, follows through on all commitments, breaks down large projects to make them manageable, and effectively manages complex projects involving multiple actors. 
• Problem-Solving & Creativity: Identifies issues, effectively structures problems, analyzes data to produce insights, and generates wise, actionable recommendations. Understands the limited resources available and produces creative solutions. 
• Representing the Organization: Serves as an effective ambassador, builds connections, and maintains relationships with outside partners, vendors, and donors. Brings credibility to the organization in how they present themselves.

Working Conditions

While this is a remote position, residence in the state of Texas is required. Frequent travel (up to 40%) throughout the state to engage with partners and manage projects is required. American Forests' is headquartered in Washington, DC. Occasional travel to Washington, DC may be necessary as funding permits. 

The individual must be comfortable with prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing at a desk and working on a computer. Reasonable accommodation may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.

Supervisory Requirements

This position will oversee the Senior Manager, Community Resilience, in addition to prospective Manager- and Coordinator-level positions as the team grows. This individual will also work closely with the Senior Director, Texas, Mexico, & Pacific Islands to manage team dynamics and intra- and inter-departmental communications in Texas.

Benefits

American Forests is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.

Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran/LGBTQ+ Encouraged to Apply

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.