Tribal Liaison Manager

About Us:  

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) unlocks the power of family forests as a climate solution while helping thousands of landowners care for their land and improve forest health. Through its Family Forest Carbon Program, AFF expands access to the voluntary carbon market for family forest owners from all walks of life while producing high quality forest carbon credits to help companies reach their net zero goals. The organization’s strategic direction seeks to enable family forests to capture and store one billion tonnes of carbon by 2050.

We do not do this alone. AFF works across a broad coalition of conservation partners, corporations, and policymakers to equip family forest owners with financial and technical support to implement sustainable forest management practices on their lands and activate their forests as a critical tool in the fight against climate change.

AFF is in a mode of complex problem solving and rapid iteration. All teams at AFF are working to discover solutions to the planet’s most pressing climate issues through developing and iterating viable and scalable models for impact. AFF is driven by values of our shared purpose, measurable and verifiable results, and learning for continuous improvement to tackle big conservation challenges.

About the Role:

As an integral member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) team, the Tribal Liaison Manager will serve as a connector with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities and organizations to establish, grow and maintain effective relationships. The Tribal Liaison Manager will work in close collaboration with our partners, including the National Indian Carbon Coalition, a program of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, to establish new relationships and grow existing relationships and partnerships that lead to the creation of forest restoration and carbon projects. The Tribal Liaison Manager will support the team in the origination, development, and implementation of Family Forest Program improved forest management, reforestation, and afforestation projects that include traditional and new approaches.

Responsibilities: 

• Work in partnership with the DEI Director and the National Indian Carbon Coalition to develop the organization's outreach strategy to engage Tribal Nations in the Family Forest Carbon Program and conduct outreach to Tribal Nations to assess opportunities to develop nature-based carbon projects.
• Serve as an organizational liaison and trusted point of contact for Tribal Nations and tribal representatives and work in close collaboration with the National Indian Carbon Coalition to facilitate introductions and establish, grow and maintain effective working relationships and partnerships with Tribal Nations.
• Build trusted relationships among tribal members and representatives, keeping Tribal Nation governments and their membership informed about project development and progress, scheduling while actively soliciting input at all stages.
• Work with Tribal Nations to generate forest carbon projects and practices that integrate Indigenous Knowledge and socio-cultural benefits to restore forest ecosystems.
• Explore opportunities to foster equitable access to forest carbon projects for Indigenous communities. Ex: forest carbon land-back initiatives
• Synthesize and effectively communicate concerns and ideas raised by tribal communities to the science and enrollment teams and DEI Director and find effective solutions and responses.
• Support technical assistance providers with incorporating indigenous knowledge into scientific analyses. 
• Track and manage the development of a portfolio of relationships, scopes of work, and projects simultaneously.

Candidate Requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher in Environmental Studies, Forestry, Native American Studies, or related field with coursework in social justice
• At least 3 years of experience in a relevant field, which may include working in tribal government and/or Indigenous led organizations.
• Experience with Tribal Nation outreach, cultural competency gained through lived experience, and knowledge of tribal governments.
• Skilled relationship-builder and excellent communicator who is grounded in cultural competency gained through lived experience.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Motivated by working collaboratively with others to develop high quality forest restoration and nature-based solution carbon projects. 
• Experience communicating the priorities and interests of Tribal Nations, communities, and organizations to a variety of audiences, including decision-makers.
• Knowledge of relevant laws, treaties, and policies that affect Tribal Nations, communities, and organizations. 

Core Competencies: 

• Agility – Thriving in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments by anticipating and responding to changes with swift, focused and flexible actions.
• Collaborating with Others – Working together with others in a cooperative and supportive manner to achieve shared goals.
• Ensuring Accountability – Holding yourself and others to high standards of accountability, creating an infrastructure and transparent organization culture that supports and measures personal and organizational responsibility and accountability.
• Problem Solving – Identifying problems and the solutions to them. Your contributions and leadership will be appreciated. Our staff is passionate, dedicated, and good at what they do, and will be deeply grateful for your efforts to create and preserve an environment that is both fun and fair.

Job Function Competencies: 

• Diversity and Inclusion - Working effectively with individuals of diverse backgrounds in a variety of work contexts.
• Exemplifying Integrity - Treating others fairly, honestly, and respectfully, furthering the integrity of the organization and its relationships of trust with the broader community.
• Customer Relationship Management - Treating others fairly, honestly, and respectfully, furthering the integrity of the organization and its relationships of trust with the broader community.
• Nurturing Innovation - Creating a welcoming environment that encourages different perspectives and new ideas, building a culture of curiosity, openness, and creativity across the organization and the wider community.

What’s attractive to the right candidate:

• You have the unique and exciting opportunity to work with amazing colleagues, partners, and landowners to help connect forest landowners with technical and financial assistance to better steward their land and achieve vital landscape-scale conservation impacts. 
• Your contributions and leadership will be appreciated. Our staff is passionate, dedicated, and good at what they do, and will be deeply grateful for your efforts to create and preserve an environment that is both fun and fair.
• We offer a flexible work environment that respects your life outside of work.
• Salary is commensurate with experience.
• AFF offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. 

Contact us to apply:

We know there are great candidates who may not check all these boxes, and we also know you might bring important skills that we haven’t considered. If that applies to you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. 

We are committed to creating a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.