Conservation Easement Compliance Specialist

Job Description

WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER

The Conservation Easement Compliance Specialist is responsible for conservation easement compliance for the Wyoming business unit. This position provides expertise and support to the Wyoming business unit by planning and implementing easement compliance actions. They work with landowners to address easement violations and respond to inquiries on permissible uses and exercised rights. The position also leads easement amendment and correction processes. The position applies a solid understanding of laws and principles governing conservation easements. They may provide support on land protection transactions, property dispositions, easement transfers, and conservation easement monitoring, as time permits.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Lead resolutions of easement violations, including coordinating with legal staff and landowners, and draft all documents necessary to resolve violations.
• Maintain records related to easement compliance actions.
• Gain cooperation from outside parties to accomplish program goals.
• Ensure program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.
• Under minimal supervision, make independent decisions based on analysis, experience, and context.
• May coordinate the transfer of easements, easement-appurtenant fee properties, or fee properties or conduct conservation easement due diligence.
• May conduct property site visits to assess compliance with easement terms.
• May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain and under physically demanding circumstances.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR YOU

The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming holds 185 conservation easements over more than 300,000 acres of land. We are recognized for our ability to organize and leverage partners –from landowners and community leaders to ranchers and students –for landscape-scale outcomes. We are members of local communities, establishing relationships with landowners, peer organizations, volunteers, and donors, performing research to identify areas of greatest conservation priority, and designing sound solutions to address key threats and community equity issues. Our current work in Wyoming is focused under our strategic plan pillars of Healthy Watersheds, Resilient Landscapes, and Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Within and beyond these pillars, we are committed to embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) principles into our conservation outcomes because we recognize the inextricable nature of ecological and social issues.

By joining our Wyoming team, you will become part of a group that is a force for nature and people. We’re looking for an individual with conservation easement compliance and land transaction experience to join our team and contribute to these goals.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• BA/BS, law or business degree and 5 years’ experience in natural resource management or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements.
• Experience communicating with the public and/or media both in writing and verbally.
• Experience using applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Web Browsers.
• Experience with principles of land acquisition.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience drafting, reviewing, or stewarding conservation easements and other legal agreements.
• Conflict resolution and compliance experience.
• Ability to explain conservation practices and legal instruments to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Knowledge of current trends and practices in conservation, land management, and natural resource preservation.
• Completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s).
• Excellent communication skills via written and spoken means.

Deadline: 22 September 2022