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Associate Vice President - Northern Rockies Director
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national not-for-profit organization that works to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. For over 50 years, TPL has been a national leader in the parks and conservation movement, working to connect communities across the country with nature and advance equity and access to public lands, parks, trails, and schoolyards. Over its extraordinary history, TPL has created more than 5,000 parks, protected 3 million acres of natural areas, generated $90 billion for parks and conservation, and helped put more than 8 million people within a 10-Minute Walk of a park. The organization has deep expertise across a range of disciplines including real estate, public policy, park design and development, data, planning, government relations and community engagement, allowing TPL to take a comprehensive approach to solving some of the biggest challenges facing our country today, such as climate change, health, and equity.
Active in Idaho since 1975, Montana since 1987, and Wyoming since 2003, TPL has protected over 1 million acres of the region’s most important natural areas, including iconic places like Bozeman’s Story Mill Park, Mackay Bar on Idaho’s famous Salmon River, and Astoria Hot Springs Park on the Wild and Scenic Snake River south of Jackson, WY. From our regional office in Bozeman, Montana, TPL is working to ensure that every resident of the region has close-to-home access to parks, trails, and the outdoors. Current projects and programs include developing a 56-mile cycling and walking trail through the Paradise Valley from Yellowstone National Park to Livingston, conserving over 250,000 acres of high-priority wildlife habitat, water resources and working forests in northwest Montana; and collaborating with the Cour d’Alene Tribe to reimagine and revitalize a community schoolyard at the Cour d’Alene Tribal School. Building on its nearly almost 50-year history in the region, TPL also is advancing numerous other land and water conservation, trail creation and other outdoor access projects in the region, which will secure and expand access to public land that are such a rich part of communities’ way of life across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Position Summary:
The Northern Rockies Director develops and leads Trust for Public Land’s mission delivery in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Trust for Public Land's work in these states encompasses land protection, park design and development, community schoolyard creation, trail creation, community engagement, parks planning, and public financing for parks and conservation.
The Director manages and mentors the field staff, collaborates with TPL’s national experts and thought leaders, and works in close partnership with the Northern Rockies Director of Philanthropy and other philanthropy colleagues to raise funding needed to support and grow the office’s programs and operating revenue. The Director is also responsible for working with public agencies, non-profit partners, major donors, the Northern Rockies Advisory Board, elected officials, citizen leaders, and community members to enhance opportunities for success of the organization as a whole and the Northern Rockies Program specifically. The individual must demonstrate a proven track record working with key individuals in the philanthropic community.
The Northern Rockies Director is responsible for implementing TPL’s national strategic plan in the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The program director reports to the Mountain West Region Director and collaborates on strategic mission delivery with other Mountain West Region state programs, specifically the Colorado & Southwest Program and the Texas Program. The Northern Rockies Director leads the program team in continually developing, implementing, and evolving local programmatic initiatives that deliver on TPL’s mission of creating parks and protecting land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.
Role Responsibilities:
Strategic Vision and Leadership: The Director is responsible for collaborating with the Northern Rockies Advisory Board to align the state program with TPL strategic priorities, set the state program’s vision for its work across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and lead the field staff’s implementation of that vision across the three-state region. Working with the Advisory Board, field staff, and colleagues from across the organization, the director evaluates new program and project opportunities that conserve lands and create parks, trails, and community schoolyards in line with our strategic commitments to health, climate, equity, and community. In all of this work, the development and maintenance of positive relationships with internal staff, key public and non-profit partners, elected officials, as well as major donors will be paramount. This position collaborates with senior TPL leadership and volunteer leaders in developing and implementing strategies that achieve mission delivery goals, and are compelling and financially viable.
40% Philanthropy: Funding support for the Northern Rockies Program and programs it carries out is derived primarily from private philanthropic dollars. The Director will work in close coordination with local, regional, and national TPL philanthropy staff to cultivate and solicit major gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. The Director will work in partnership with philanthropy staff to create and implement a fundraising plan. The Director will manage the local Advisory Board together with local philanthropy leadership and will serve as the primary face of TPL in the donor community.
20% Program Development and Management: The Director will be responsible for directing staff and working with program partners, both public and private, to bring Trust for Public Land’s mission to life across the three-state region. This includes evaluating and delivering new program and opportunities that conserve lands and create parks, trails, and community schoolyards in line with our strategic commitments to health, climate, equity, and community. In all of this work, the development and maintenance of positive relationships with key public and non-profit partners, including elected officials and local, state and federal agency leadership and staff, and major donors will be paramount. This position collaborates with senior TPL leadership and Finance staff and volunteer leaders in developing and implementing strategies that achieve mission delivery goals and are compelling and financially viable.
10% Management/Administration: The Director is responsible for supervising staff who report to her/him/them, and for creating a positive working environment for the entire office, strong staff morale and a culture of teamwork and mutual support among all staff, including philanthropy staff who do not report to the Director. The Director is the budget manager for the program’s budget, responsible for working with the TPL Finance team to develop the office budget and taking necessary actions to meet or exceed the targets and maintain a work climate which attracts, retains and motivates a diverse staff of top-quality people.
30% External Relations: The Director will be expected to represent TPL and build the organization’s visibility throughout the region. This position will develop and maintain relationships for the benefit of TPL in the parks/conservation/environmental/policy sectors and in other sectors related to improving community wellbeing. Demonstrated existing relationships and ability to cultivate and maintain new ones with state and local elected officials, civic leaders, government agency leadership and staff, partner nonprofits, the media, and the philanthropic community.
Critical Success Factors:
Within the first year, the successful candidate will have:
- Mastered a learning curve of TPL to effectively assume management of the future of the Northern Rockies Program. This includes an understanding of our Strategic Plan, the national strategies of TPL and embracing a role in fundraising.
- Built external relationships with our partners, especially members of the Advisory Board, civic organizations, elected officials and governmental entities at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Worked in partnership with the Director of Philanthropy to develop a top 25 list of major donors with a strong emphasis on individuals. The State Director will be the natural partner for these donors.
- Worked within TPL and with partners to develop specific programs that represent the Northern Rockies Program’s unique contribution to TPL’s current 2020-2025 strategic plan and forthcoming 2025-2030 strategic plan.
- Communicated effectively with the Advisory Board and volunteer leaders – providing all information necessary to function properly and to inspire their active engagement and support of local, regional and national activities.
- Enhanced TPL’s visibility by being active and present in the community.
Qualifications:
- At least 5 years’ experience in an organization focused on outdoor access/recreation, park/trail creation and/or land and wildlife conservation.
- At least 8 years of relevant non-profit work experience or the equivalent, including at least 5 years of staff management experience. Experience serving as an Executive Director preferred, or other positions of leadership.
- Demonstrated experience working with underserved communities.
- Experience interfacing with and effectively engaging diverse groups (staff, volunteers, stakeholders, politicians, agency partners, etc.)
- Extensive experience working with fundraisers and securing funding for mission support from public and private sources
- Experience with public finance techniques, government funding practices and procedures, the foundation community, fundraising, marketing practices, best management practices and budgeting practices.
- An entrepreneurial spirit, initiative, energy, the capacity to lead, mentor and inspire others, the capacity to be both a high performer and a team player, common sense, and a sense of humor.
- Excellent communication skills including writing and public speaking.
- An ability and willingness to travel as required and to work flexible hours outside a 9-5 schedule.
- A passionate commitment to TPL’s mission of connecting everyone to the outdoors.
- A commitment to TPL’s shared values of Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope
Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.
