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Program Manager - Tennessee Trails
Who We Are:
At TPL, we're a team of outdoor advocates who believe in connecting everyone to the outdoors. As an ethos, we believe access to the outdoors is a fundamental human need and essential to our health and well-being. We're committed to creating more places that bring us outside—parks, trails, playgrounds, and public lands—and making them available and welcoming to everyone, everywhere, regardless of ZIP code. We also understand that land has meaning; it tells the story of our history. That's why, through our Black History and Culture initiative, we're working to preserve sites that more fully represent the Black American experience; and we're an ally and partner to Tribal and Indigenous communities, working in partnership to reconnect them with their ancestral lands.
One hundred million people, including 28 million children, don't have nearby access to a park within ten minutes of their home. We're determined to change this outdoor equity gap–and as a result, nine million people and counting now have access because of our work. We have miles to go and a plan to get there. We're inclusive change-makers who believe in connecting everyone to the outdoors. We inspire by paving the way forward and strengthening our connection to nature. Join us!
Position Summary:
As a national conservation organization with a focus on trails, Trust for Public Land partners with visionary community leaders, grassroots trail stewardship organizations, and public agencies to serve as their trail implementation partner, achieving shared goals to make their communities safer, greener, healthier and prosperous. The Tennessee Trails Program Manager will lead this work across the Tennessee Office footprint including a significant focus on implementing the South Chattanooga Program, which seeks to bring Chattanooga’s renaissance to Alton Park, Clifton Hills and East Lake, all neighborhoods suffering from historic disinvestment. Our strategy uses community driven land protection, and design-development of parks, trails, and schoolyards to improve health, climate resilience, equitable access to the outdoors and community vibrancy. TPL’s cooperative community-based process creates a park, trail, or greenway that reflects local identity and culture—ensuring residents have space outdoors they can truly call their own. The City of Chattanooga’s leadership has prioritized this geography as a top priority for park and trail investment because of its broad base of support in South Chattanooga. In 2024, TPL and the City of Chattanooga secured federal funding for park and trail design/construction in South Chattanooga through the federal EPA Community Change Program.
As a vital member of the Tennessee Office, the Program Manager will be responsible for a full range of activities associated with the delivery of Trust for Public Land’s mission through ongoing planning and implementation of capital projects.
This work includes managing trail, park, and other open space projects from start to finish including project selection, partnership building, community engagement, design and construction. This position will directly report to the Tennessee State Director and work closely with the Tennessee Field Program Directors for Parks and Schoolyards and Welcoming Places, and other Trust for Public Land staff including but not limited to Philanthropy and Government Affairs, Legal, Finance, Marketing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The Project Manager will be based in the Chattanooga office.
About the Trails Program:
Trust for Public Land’s mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. We believe that everyone deserves access to the health and environmental benefits that parks, and nature bring to people and communities. In Tennessee, The Trust for Public Land links communities to nature and each other through innovative greenways, paths, and parks with a focus on under-resourced communities both rural and urban who stand to benefit the most from quality trails.
A marquee trails project for the Tennessee Trails Program Manager is TPL’s work in South Chattanooga, known as the Clifton Hills Alton Park Thread Trail. Utilizing the EPA Community Change Program funding, TPL, City of Chattanooga and neighborhood stakeholders will design and implement new parks and trails through the Alton Park, Clifton Hills, and East Lake neighborhoods to the City’s 23-mile greenway system, partnering with residents to create strong physical and social infrastructure linking these disadvantaged communities to the City’s renaissance.
Essential Functions:
Project Management: 90%
State Program Advancement: 10%
This position requires occasional ‘off-hours’ work including weekend and evening meetings and events as well. Though the position is based out of our Chattanooga office managing predominately Chattanooga based field work, the Trails Program Manager will manage additional projects in the Tennessee Office service area. Access to reliable transportation is required.
Qualifications:
Compensation:
Trust for Public Land is a hybrid work environment, and this role will ideally be located near a Trust for Public Land office. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $75,000 - $85,000.
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.
At TPL, we're a team of outdoor advocates who believe in connecting everyone to the outdoors. As an ethos, we believe access to the outdoors is a fundamental human need and essential to our health and well-being. We're committed to creating more places that bring us outside—parks, trails, playgrounds, and public lands—and making them available and welcoming to everyone, everywhere, regardless of ZIP code. We also understand that land has meaning; it tells the story of our history. That's why, through our Black History and Culture initiative, we're working to preserve sites that more fully represent the Black American experience; and we're an ally and partner to Tribal and Indigenous communities, working in partnership to reconnect them with their ancestral lands.
One hundred million people, including 28 million children, don't have nearby access to a park within ten minutes of their home. We're determined to change this outdoor equity gap–and as a result, nine million people and counting now have access because of our work. We have miles to go and a plan to get there. We're inclusive change-makers who believe in connecting everyone to the outdoors. We inspire by paving the way forward and strengthening our connection to nature. Join us!
Position Summary:
As a national conservation organization with a focus on trails, Trust for Public Land partners with visionary community leaders, grassroots trail stewardship organizations, and public agencies to serve as their trail implementation partner, achieving shared goals to make their communities safer, greener, healthier and prosperous. The Tennessee Trails Program Manager will lead this work across the Tennessee Office footprint including a significant focus on implementing the South Chattanooga Program, which seeks to bring Chattanooga’s renaissance to Alton Park, Clifton Hills and East Lake, all neighborhoods suffering from historic disinvestment. Our strategy uses community driven land protection, and design-development of parks, trails, and schoolyards to improve health, climate resilience, equitable access to the outdoors and community vibrancy. TPL’s cooperative community-based process creates a park, trail, or greenway that reflects local identity and culture—ensuring residents have space outdoors they can truly call their own. The City of Chattanooga’s leadership has prioritized this geography as a top priority for park and trail investment because of its broad base of support in South Chattanooga. In 2024, TPL and the City of Chattanooga secured federal funding for park and trail design/construction in South Chattanooga through the federal EPA Community Change Program.
As a vital member of the Tennessee Office, the Program Manager will be responsible for a full range of activities associated with the delivery of Trust for Public Land’s mission through ongoing planning and implementation of capital projects.
This work includes managing trail, park, and other open space projects from start to finish including project selection, partnership building, community engagement, design and construction. This position will directly report to the Tennessee State Director and work closely with the Tennessee Field Program Directors for Parks and Schoolyards and Welcoming Places, and other Trust for Public Land staff including but not limited to Philanthropy and Government Affairs, Legal, Finance, Marketing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The Project Manager will be based in the Chattanooga office.
About the Trails Program:
Trust for Public Land’s mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. We believe that everyone deserves access to the health and environmental benefits that parks, and nature bring to people and communities. In Tennessee, The Trust for Public Land links communities to nature and each other through innovative greenways, paths, and parks with a focus on under-resourced communities both rural and urban who stand to benefit the most from quality trails.
A marquee trails project for the Tennessee Trails Program Manager is TPL’s work in South Chattanooga, known as the Clifton Hills Alton Park Thread Trail. Utilizing the EPA Community Change Program funding, TPL, City of Chattanooga and neighborhood stakeholders will design and implement new parks and trails through the Alton Park, Clifton Hills, and East Lake neighborhoods to the City’s 23-mile greenway system, partnering with residents to create strong physical and social infrastructure linking these disadvantaged communities to the City’s renaissance.
Essential Functions:
Project Management: 90%
- Manage the planning, community engagement, design and construction of new and existing public trails, parks, and other open spaces in multiple jurisdictions with the TN Office service area
- Conduct site selection and evaluation for new projects
- Select, hire and manage landscape architects, architects, engineers, contractors and other consultants needed to deliver the projects
- Provide design direction, guidance, and critical reviews during course of projects
- Develop and manage project schedules, budgets and contracts
- Provide technical support for TPL community strategists including design input and construction progress reports
- Work with partner organizations, public agencies, diverse communities and public and private funders
- Track project progress and deliverables, organize meetings and define agendas
- Scope potential funding and develop grant applications
- Provide technical input for multi-lingual communications needed for the project including presentation boards, renderings, flyers, etc.
- Develop concept plans, site plans and renderings to communicate design intent to stakeholders and contracted design professionals.
- Develop evaluation plans in consultation with TPL’s Land and People Lab, City of Chattanooga and EPA to assure that results are measured and reported.
State Program Advancement: 10%
- Advocate for region-wide implementation of Trail development
- Work with the Tennessee State Director and Philanthropy team to build and steward philanthropic relationships and support for program
- Build and manage external trail partnerships in collaboration with the Tennessee State Director
- Help identify new projects and partnership opportunities
- Coordinate with team members to strategize on program development and organizational goals
- Work with team members to develop tools and best practices for our program
This position requires occasional ‘off-hours’ work including weekend and evening meetings and events as well. Though the position is based out of our Chattanooga office managing predominately Chattanooga based field work, the Trails Program Manager will manage additional projects in the Tennessee Office service area. Access to reliable transportation is required.
Qualifications:
- A passion for Trust for Public Land’s mission and a passion for social and environmental justice are essential
- A degree from an accredited university in Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Urban Planning or similar fields, or comparable field experience in design and construction project management.
- 5 to 8 years of experience managing projects with deep commitment to community engagement
- Experience in hiring and managing design professionals and construction contractors
- A working knowledge of local government capital project management, State outdoor recreation and conservation projects, federal land managers or grant making agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other state or federal organizations is desirable
- Experience navigating challenging partner, consultant, or contractor interactions
- Experience with community engagement in diverse communities with varying personalities and priorities, community partner references encouraged
- Ability to manage complex projects from start to finish with a low level of supervision
- Ability to work as part of a team and support the framework of a national organization.
- Ability to collaborate and negotiate with diverse groups and interests
- Ability to multi-task, meet schedules, and achieve long term goals
- Well-organized and detail-oriented
- High degree of creativity, vision, flexibility and resourcefulness
- Excellent oral, written, graphic communication, and interpersonal skills, multi-lingual capabilities preferred
Compensation:
Trust for Public Land is a hybrid work environment, and this role will ideally be located near a Trust for Public Land office. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $75,000 - $85,000.
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.
