Director of Trail Programs

Supervisor:          Executive Director

Incumbent:          NA                                                             

Status:                  Salary, Full Time, Exempt

Office Location:  Golden, CO with remote location possible (preferable Helena, MT, or Santa Fe- Albuquerque, NM)

The mission of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition is to complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail by building a strong and diverse trail community, providing up-to-date information to the public, and encouraging conservation and stewardship of the trail, its corridor, and surrounding landscapes. 

Position Summary:

The CDTC Director of Trail Programs is an integral member of the CDTC Senior Leadership Team and will provide oversight, management and supervisory responsibilities for CDTC’s Trail Programs to fulfill CDTC’s role in completing, protecting and promoting the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT). The Director of Trail Programs reports to the Executive Director and supervises a team of professional regional representatives and program managers. They foster positive and cooperative relationships with the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Tribal Nations and other federal, state and local agencies.

The Director of Trail Programs builds and manages effective internal relationships, streamlined systems, and maintains continuous lines of communication with all programs and teams. They coordinate CDTC Trail Program and Regional Staff with both an internal and external perspective. They will provide oversight of CDTC Trail programs including Trail Policy, Conservation, Field Operations, Community and Outreach programs and grow a diverse Trail community in support of the CDT. They may also serve, at times, as the organizational voice with agency partners at the local, regional and national levels. They will work with staff and partners to collect information and establish priorities to accomplish the goals set forth in CDTC’s Strategic Vision.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Director of Trail Programs leads the development and implementation of programmatic strategies for CDTC’s trail programs and is the primary supervisor of programmatic operations and supervision of the regional representatives. They are responsible for implementing CDTC’s Vision based upon the CDTC Pillars, and for effectively managing the overall operations of trail programs to achieve measurable results towards that vision. This involves working closely with the USFS, BLM, and NPS to ensure that work is consistent with federal initiatives and support.

Leadership, Management, and Administration:

• Lead and provide oversight for CDTC Trail Programs including supervision of program and regional staff and that all programs use best management and safety practices.
• Maintain communication across teams to coordinate organization-wide work. Ensure all program staff are communicating across various teams and programs, as appropriate.
• Oversee Trail Program financial, budgeting, administrative processes, and provide leadership and management for increased program operation resilience and stability. This includes development of annual operations plans for Trail Programs that supports the strategic vision and evaluates progress toward strategic goals and objectives.
• As part of the Senior Leadership Team participate in the revision and development of organization-wide policies and to address organization capacity needs and identify solutions that increase CDTC’s effectiveness.
• Work with the Development Team to ensure programmatic needs are communicated and prioritized in fundraising campaigns and other development efforts.
• Help create new resources that demonstrate CDTC Trail Program effectiveness and vision to help grow CDTC’s recognition with funders, individual donors, corporate partners and more.
• Work closely with the Executive Director and Senior Leadership Team to provide oversight and administration of grants received to ensure reporting, budget to actual comparisons, and overall grant deliverables are accomplished.
• Provide mentoring of staff that follows a supportive and collaborative approach to assign responsibilities, set objectives, establish priorities, and monitor and evaluate results.
• Oversee support for the Trail and Lands Committee of the CDTC Board of Directors and support other board committees as needed.
• Provides or obtains expertise, information and direct assistance to agency partners. Looks for innovations and new resources in coordination with land managers, resulting in new sources of volunteers, materials, methods, and required funds.

Trail Conservation, Cooperative Stewardship and Policy Programs:

• Develop effective relationships with land management agencies, Tribal Nations, partner organizations, communities, and community-based businesses to fulfill trail stewardship goals, making full use of the cooperative stewardship system.
• Ensure that fundamental trail stewardship responsibilities delegated to CDTC by the USFS are incorporated into the annual operations plan and are reported on properly.
• Through coordination with Trail Lands Conservation Program Manager, oversee land protection and completion efforts including work with land conservation groups and local, state, and federal agencies to complete the CDT.
• Lead efforts to provide written comments, testimony, and negotiation of conservation matters affecting the CDT. This includes oversight and support of program staff in trail and land management projects and planning efforts that have trail-wide impacts or.
• Provide support and leadership to Trail Conservation team, agency partners and partner organizations to increase cooperative stewardship efforts, including increased volunteer support. Ensures the partnership for the management and protection of the CDT is diverse, widespread and collaborative.
• Become familiar with the entire CDT, especially critical sections, through field visits and meeting with local on-the-ground community led conservation efforts.
• Work with the Executive Director to identify and manage key issues involving land manager initiatives and maintain relationships with elected officials and decision makers. When necessary, represent and lead CDTC’s response to issues affecting the CDT, its Corridor or adjacent landscapes.
• Oversee development of Trail Policy Manual and coordinate with Trail Policy Manager and the Board Trail and Lands Committee to ensure appropriate direction is articulated and implemented.

Community Outreach, Education and Awareness

• In collaboration with Trail Information Specialist, oversee efforts to generate trail information for visitors and the general public and ensure it is distributed to CDTC staff through appropriate channels to media outlets.
• Work with the Communication Manager to ensure that messaging accurately reflects CDTC’s work and strengthens the branding and credibility of the organization.
• Support Community and Outreach Program Manager and their team to develop and implement community-based stewardship efforts to ensure engagement of trailside communities in the cooperative stewardship of the CDT.

Additional Duties

• Speak passionately about the CDTC mission.
• As necessary, support efforts with major donors and other contributors that support the organization’s work.
• Spend time working with and getting to know volunteers and trail-wide programs.
• Assist the Executive Director with other projects and duties as assigned and collaborate on additional projects, as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIRED & PREFERRED SKILLS

Education:

Bachelor’s degree and/or at least 5 years of experience in progressive responsibility in environmental policy, land conservation, and/or resource or land management or equivalent combination of education and experience. Advanced degree or training in specific areas through agency or professional training programs or a commensurate level of professional experience in a relevant field welcomed.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated excellence in supervising experienced, professional staff and volunteers in remote locations to focus on a wide range of program and policy challenges within non-profit organizations.
• Experience working on major initiatives with multiple stakeholders with passion for CDTC’s mission and the ability to build partnerships to move diverse constituencies toward a common goal
• Demonstrated ability to make quality decisions without perfect information.
• Exceptional capacity for managing and leading people; a team builder who has experience in scaling up organizations; ability to connect to staff both individually and in large groups; ability to ensure accountability; develop and empower top-notch leaders; and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the team so as to put people in a position to succeed.
• Ability to make decisions through a combination of analysis, experience, and judgment; high level of business acumen (preferably in the non-profit sector); the ability to balance the delivery of program goals against the realities of a budget; and problem-solving, project management, and creative resourcefulness.
• Public land and resource management including analyzing and responding to agency proposed projects and planning efforts; as well, with visual management systems and theory.
• Demonstrates resourcefulness in setting priorities, proposing new ways of creating efficiencies, and guiding investment in people and systems.
• Demonstrates ability to develop and articulate a trail stewardship vision as well as defining strategies and measurable objectives to achieve that vision.
• Self-starter, able to organize, track, report on a diverse program portfolio and complete projects amidst a dynamic and changing organizational context with patience, perseverance, and minimal supervision.
• Able to develop effective relationships inside and outside the CDT and conservation communities, with donor and government institutions and recreation and volunteer managers.
• Knowledge of government relations, non-profit administration and recreation management.
• Analytical, strategic and systematic thinker with experience developing and implementing multiyear strategies and plans.
• Outstanding communication skills: demonstrated proficiency in writing, oral presentation, active listening, and conflict management.
• Experience with the full range of business functions and systems, including strategic development and planning, budgeting, business analysis, information systems, human resources, and marketing. Strong financial management experience with a track record ensuring accountability and legal compliance.
• Work within a complex organizational management system with a board of directors and significant staffing.
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a commitment to the Continental Divide Trail Coalition’s mission. Be positive, flexible, creative, and have a sense of humor.
• A demonstrated commitment to support Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) efforts of CDTC. Training and expertise in JEDI practices is welcomed.
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout the Rocky Mountain West and work a variable schedule including weekends with some regularity.

HIGHLY DESIRABLE SKILLS

• Experience working with public land managing agencies.
• Experience with trails within the National Trails System or other long distance multi-jurisdictional recreational resources.
• Familiarity with the culture of the Rocky Mountain West, particularly the challenges facing its rural communities.
• Experience working with Tribal Nations, Indigenous Sovereigns and Native People.
• Experience working with diverse communities including Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, Asian and LGBQTIA+ communities in rural and urban settings, and with a broad range of stakeholders of all backgrounds and experiences.
• Experience writing and managing grants with a desire to or demonstrated skill to cultivate new funding opportunities.

DESIRABLE SKILLS

• Spanish fluency.
• Experience in working as a volunteer and with volunteers.
• Experience with easement and land acquisition.
• Technologically savvy (especially excellent database and spreadsheet experience) with an ability to develop and implement new processes and systems that increased efficiency in a fast-moving environment. This also includes use of GIS and resource management data programs.
• Trail or environmental work, environmental education, backcountry travel or service learning.
• Recruiting, training, leading and managing volunteer trail crews in both front and backcountry settings.
• Valid driver license.

SUPERVISION AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

The Director of Trail Programs is supervised by the Executive Director and will supervise a team of program managers and regional representatives. They will be required to prioritize work in order to effectively meet day-to-day demands and ongoing assignments. They work with other CDTC staff members to achieve successful programs in their work. Travel, weekend and non-traditional work hours will be necessary to be successful in this position.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to do physical labor in outdoor and backcountry environments including overnight camping.  Work will include travel in personal vehicles (travel reimbursement included), so individuals must have a valid driver’s license and operative vehicle.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. CDTC is an equal opportunity employer. All individuals are encouraged to apply.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Annual Salary will be $70,000 -$75,000. CDTC also provides benefits including company sponsored health insurance, cell phone reimbursement, 403(b) retirement plan contributions, and a generous time off policy.