Director of Stewardship

Summary of Position

The Director of Stewardship is responsible for the direction, oversight, and coordination of the Stewardship Program of LTTN. The goal of the stewardship program is to uphold the conservation values of those lands protected by LTTN by working in partnership with landowners and the conservation staff of LTTN. This includes easement monitoring, risk management, easement enforcement, addressing landowner requests, easement interpretations, landowner education, data management, and periodic reporting to applicable committees and Board of Directors. This position oversees the Stewardship Department which includes a Stewardship Manager and two Coordinators.

Primary Responsibilities

Program Management

• Leads and guides decision-making on organizational policies and procedures for stewardship program
• Refines and implements procedures for stewardship activities and workflows
• Collaborates with the Stewardship & Conservation Team to evaluate potential new land protection projects and makes recommendations for stewardship considerations throughout the process
• Ensures that stewardship activities are consistent with the Land Trust Alliance’s Standards & Practices and Accreditation requirements
• Reports to applicable committees and Board of Directors; presents amendments and other activities that require approval
• Manages Terrafirma (conservation defense insurance) annual renewal process and files all necessary claims and updates as needed throughout the year
• Works with the Vice President and Board of Directors to ensure the adequacy and sustainability of the stewardship fund

Conservation Easement Stewardship

• Oversees the resolution of stewardship concerns, easement inconsistencies, and violations
• Manages landowner requests for approval of activities or amendments to the conservation easement; makes recommendations for request approvals and denials
• Provides guidance and oversight on monitoring observations and appropriate follow-up
• Investigates, documents, and manages potential violations; operates as the primary LTTN contact for violation and enforcement actions
• Collaborates with LTTN staff and applicable committees and Board of Directors, to evaluate complex or non-standard requests or concerns

Record Keeping

• Works to develop and update policies and procedures to ensure documentation and record keeping consistency
• Oversees the preparation and maintenance of complete and accessible monitoring reports, monitoring files, and current conditions reports on all conserved properties

• Oversees the tracking of all approvals and denials of activities, amendments to conservation easements, property transfers, condemnations, updates to contact and other landowner information, using LTTN’s server and database (Salesforce)

Annual Monitoring and Site Visits

• Provides oversight for the annual monitoring program to ensure that all protected properties are monitored each year
• Performs visits to conserved properties throughout Tennessee for annual monitoring, to evaluate landowner requests, research potential violations, or meet with landowners