Outreach Forester

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Outreach Forester

American Forest Foundation - West Virginia (Morgantown)

Job Announcement American Forest Foundation Outreach Forester, Family Forest Carbon Program Opportunity In the Outreach Forester (Forester) role, you will make a meaningful contribution to addressing global climate change by helping us activate America’s family-owned forests as a measurable and verifiable natural climate solution. Family lands represent the largest part of US forests, and until now, there was no viable way to bring the carbon potential of those forests to the market. The Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) is a partnership between the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy to generate significant, additional carbon sequestration and storage on America’s 280 million acres of family forests. Providing technical assistance for landowners is essential for this work. The Outreach Forester, Family Forest Carbon Program, will build relationships with and provide direct technical assistance to landowners new to forest management. This role ensures a positive experience and excellent stewardship of landowners involved in the Family Forest Carbon Program. First and foremost, this role will provide top-notch “customer service” and management information/options to landowners. They will also have the opportunity to create and bring new ideas to life, as we learn and adapt the program to ensure a positive landowner experience and seek ways to streamline and improve the program for landowners. This is a full-time, 12-month assignment with the intention that the term could be extended, dependent on funding. The ideal candidate will be based in or near Morgantown, West Virginia, with the ability to travel 3-5 days per week to locations within western Maryland and West Virginia and work remotely. What it is like to work with us? AFF is embarking on a bold new strategy for conservation impact across America’s family-owned forests. Our entire organization is in a mode of complex problem solving and rapid iteration. All teams at AFF are working to discover the root challenges in forest conservation issues, create solutions, and adapt based on constant learning to develop 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 in climate change mitigation, biodiversity loss, reducing threats of catastrophic wildfires, and ensuring a sustainable resource economy for rural communities. Some specifics about the job In this role, you will be landowner-focused to help to provide landowners the best possible outcomes. You will work closely with landowners, including conducting initial phone calls, keeping track of follow-up steps, and engaging in on-the-ground visits. The visits will include discussing landowner goals, providing program information, walking the property, delineating potential project areas, and conducting forest mensuration. You will also provide timely follow-up and answer questions for landowners as they consider enrolling in the Family Forest Carbon Program. You may also write Forest Management Plans. You will work with the FFCP Central Appalachians Director, Landowner Assistance Manager, and the rest of the Carbon Team to ensure an excellent experience for landowners. Your ability to provide an excellent experience for landowners and build long-term relationships with landowners will be a major contribution to the Family Forest Carbon Program. Your First Year Success at the end of your first year looks like the following: You have established very strong lines of communication between teammates, foresters and local partners to provide a seamless experience for the landowners involved with the Family Forest Carbon Program. You have completed landowner site visits and planned Family Forest Carbon Program projects that resulted in FFCP Landowner Agreements signed. You keep detailed records of landowner interactions and identify/implement the correct next steps(s) for the landowner to meet their goals. You have a good understanding of the FFCP landowner technical assistance model and how your role fits within the wider forestry environment. You have an excellent understanding of the FFCP practices and Landowner Agreement so that you can independently answer landowner questions and help the landowner understand if/how their goals fit with the Family Forest Carbon Program. You have an excellent understanding of the landowner journey for FFCP landowners – from interest to contract completion – and have contributed to team learning on this topic. You are beginning to identify, test, and implement improvements to the landowner engagement and enrollment process. 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. You have the opportunity to apply what you have learned in a practical and innovative on-the-ground work with landowners and partners. Utilize your experience to enable you to be licensed as a Professional Forester Your contributions and leadership will be appreciated. Our staff is passionate, dedicated, and good at what they do and will be deeply appreciative of 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 very competitive benefits package. Qualifications and experience that will help you succeed. BA/BS degree in forestry, from a college or university that is approved by the Board or accredited by the Society of American Foresters. Experience working effectively with forest landowners. Experience with forest management plans for timber and wildlife outcomes, and forest certification programs Basic computer literacy, including experience with Microsoft Office suite of programs and GIS Understanding of the relevance of sustainability, climate science and policy, natural climate solutions, and carbon sequestration. Excellent time and project management skills. Highly flexible, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities, adjust to changing circumstances, and remain attentive to details. Ability to handle ambiguity and be flexible in approach. Good judgment, creative, articulate, and responsive to colleagues, customers, and partners. A sound work ethic with the ability to act both independently and as part of a team. We know there are great candidates who may not check all these boxes, and we also know you might bring important skills that we have not considered. If that applies to you, do not 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. For more information on the American Forest Foundation, please submit your resume and cover letter. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as interviews will be conducted as resumes are received. To apply, please follow links.

Required Qualifications:

BA/BS degree in forestry, from a college or university that is approved by the Board or accredited by the Society of American Foresters. Experience working effectively with forest landowners. Experience with forest management plans for timber and wildlife outcomes, and forest certification programs Basic computer literacy, including experience with Microsoft Office suite of programs and GIS Understanding of the relevance of sustainability, climate science and policy, natural climate solutions, and carbon sequestration. Excellent time and project management skills. Highly flexible, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities, adjust to changing circumstances, and remain attentive to details. Ability to handle ambiguity and be flexible in approach. Good judgment, creative, articulate, and responsive to colleagues, customers, and partners. A sound work ethic with the ability to act both independently and as part of a team.

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