Community Forest Program Associate (Limited Term Position – 1 year)

JOIN OUR WORK IN COMMUNITY FORESTRY 

Sustainable Northwest is recruiting a Community Forest Associate who is passionate about advancing our vision of healthy forests for nature, people, and local economies across the Pacific Northwest. This is a limited-term, full-time, salaried position with benefits, reporting to the Community Forest Program Manager at Sustainable Northwest. The position focuses on improving forest and community resilience through technical support and community engagement across coastal communities of the Pacific Northwest. 

For more than 30 years, Sustainable Northwest has advanced natural resource solutions across the Pacific Northwest. Building on this legacy, SNW has spent over a decade partnering with communities and community-led forests throughout Oregon, Washington, and Northern California to support forest stewardship, water resource management, and other natural resource priorities. Today, we work with more than 20 communities and community-led forests to advance public benefits while maintaining healthy, working forest landscapes. 

The Community Forest Associate supports Sustainable Northwest’s work to advance community-driven forest management and source drinking water protection across Oregon and Washington. The position provides technical assistance, project coordination, and strategic support to local communities, partner organizations, and public agencies, helping advance community forest initiatives and collaborative forest stewardship efforts throughout the region. 

ABOUT SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST
At Sustainable Northwest, we believe healthy landscapes are good for nature, people, and local economies. We partner with rural communities and Tribal Nations throughout the Northwest on projects that promote smart water use, clean energy, and healthy forests, farms, and ranches. Our solutions are as unique as the problems we solve and include entrepreneurship, policy, market innovations, public and private investment, collaboration, and technical assistance – but the ultimate success of our work is based on relationships, trust, and inclusion. Sustainable Northwest was founded in 1994 to forge collaborative solutions for conserving forest and community health. Today, our challenges have multiplied with climate change, catastrophic wildfires, and persistent drought plaguing our region. Yet we remain optimistic that nature, people, and local economies can thrive together.

POSITION DETAILS

LOCATION: Portland Oregon, or Oregon Coast 

REPORTS TO: Senior Program Manager

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: 1 Year Limited-Term Exempt, 35-hour work week 

SALARY: $57,120 – $65,319

POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The Community Forest Associate is responsible for advancing Sustainable Northwest’s mission and vision by supporting community-driven forest management initiatives throughout Oregon and Washington. The position provides technical assistance, coordination, strategic engagement, and collaborative support to communities and partners working to advance community forest ownership and management, with a particular focus on protecting source drinking water resources and promoting long-term forest stewardship.

The Community Forest Associate works closely with local communities, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and a broad network of partners to support current and emerging community forest efforts across the Pacific Northwest. This work is focused within designated geographies supported by multiple contracts and funding sources and includes support for the Northwest Community Forest Coalition and other regional community forest initiatives.

The position helps fulfill the goals of Sustainable Northwest’s Forest Program by providing technical and strategic support to community-led forestry efforts, fostering partnerships, coordinating projects, and advancing opportunities for communities to acquire, steward, and manage forestlands for ecological, economic, and community benefit. The Community Forest Associate reports directly to the Community Forest Program Lead and works closely with the Private Forestlands Program Director while collaborating with the broader Forest Team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

• Deliverables (75%)
• Ensure program portfolio deliverables are met.
• Development (10%)
• Administrative/Non-programmatic (15%)

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support SNW’s engagement with communities working to manage their source drinking water supplies along the Oregon and Washington Coast.
• Develop strategies for conservation-based land management approaches.
• Collaborate with the Senior Forest Program Manager to support the implementation of the Community Forest Management Model across the region.
• Support Sustainable Northwest’s leadership within the Northwest Community Forest Coalition.
• Build and maintain relationships with state, federal, Tribal, and private forest and natural resource entities to achieve forest resilience and socio-economic goals across the region.
• Maintain strong, trusting, and effective relationships with Sustainable Northwest’s diverse partners, including: Tribal governments and staff, conservation and timber industry organizations, foundations, state and federal agencies, local governments, and elected officials and staff.
• Represent Sustainable Northwest in public, private, Tribal, rural, urban, and other settings, including conferences, partnerships, and meetings with foundation staff, private donors, boards, and government staff and decision-makers.
• Support additional projects across SNW’s Forest Program and across the organization’s other programs as capacity allows.
• Pursue additional funding opportunities in line with the goals of the Forest Program.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in Forestry (Policy, Management, Ecology, etc.) or related natural resources field, or comparable professional experience.
• 2+ years of work experience in the natural resources field.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, program development, and creating new initiatives to achieve organizational goals.
• Experience and training in providing technical assistance and problem-solving for multi-resource outcomes among diverse stakeholders and land managers.
• Knowledge of and willingness to learn about Pacific Northwest Tribes.
• Ability to provide technical assistance to diverse clients, including providing problem-solving during facilitation of strategizing, planning, and public meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to work in natural resource arenas that are complex with social, cultural, and economic partners and outcomes.
• Work with diverse organizations, cultures, individuals, personalities, and interests.
• Experience working with stakeholders in rural areas.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong written and oral communication skills; position requires partner engagement, including virtual and in-person presentations.
• Possess emotional intelligence (interpersonal relationships, self-awareness, empathy, etc.) and relationship-building skills.
• Understanding of natural ecosystem processes.
• Experience working collaboratively with internal and external partners.
• Experience in financial management of foundation, state, and federal grants.
• Experience in program and project management, organizational development, and training staff.
• Understanding of the interconnection of forest management and forest health on water quality and quantity.
• GIS or Data Visualization Experience
• Real Estate or Land Transaction experience.