Eastern Regions Program Manager, EPIC NPS

Eastern Regions Program Manager, EPIC NPS

American Conservation Experience (ACE) is a dynamic non-profit organization dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities that harness the idealism and energy of an emerging labor force to help restore America’s public lands. ACE’s Emerging Professionals in Conservation (EPIC) program has a national reputation for providing young adults and recent graduates with hands-on, professional development individual placement opportunities to work alongside and under the guidance of agency mentors as they apply their knowledge of resource management on their path to becoming the next generation of resource and land managers. ACE EPIC operates in coalition with partners such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other conservation focused groups.

Job Title: Program Manager, Eastern Regions

Location: ACE currently has offices in Sacramento, CA; Ridgecrest, CA; Hurricane, UT; Flagstaff, AZ; and Asheville, NC. This position can also work remotely.

Department/Division: EPIC, National Park Service

Status: Regular Full-Time, Salaried (Exempt)*

*Depending on location, this position may be non-exempt/hourly in compliance with specific state regulations.

Reports To: Associate Director, EPIC NPS

Schedule/Hours: Full-time, 40 hours/weeks with additional hours as needed. Typical work hours of 8:30am-5:00pm (Monday – Friday) local time with some adjustment expected to accommodate specific projects and program needs. Some evening and weekend hours may be occasionally required.

Start Date: January/February 2024

Position Summary:

The ACE EPIC National Park Service (NPS) program hosts over 300 members in individual placement projects each year across the country in National Parks, Monuments, Sites, Recreational Areas, Trails, Rivers, Battlefields., and Heritage Areas. Individual placement projects supported are wide ranging including but not limited to natural and cultural resource management, wildlife monitoring, environmental education, interpretation, trail work, historic preservation, physical sciences, GIS, and many more.

The ACE Eastern Regions Program Manager is an office-based position responsible for leading and developing programming within an ACE Emerging Professionals In Conservation, National Park Service (EPIC NPS) Division. Performing as lead representative for ACE agreements and partnerships for the NPS Eastern Regions, the Program Manager guides projects through their lifecycle; ensures member, partner and programmatic and compliance needs are met; provides ACE management and supervision of individual placement members (AmeriCorps members, interns and fellows); collaborates with partners on program evolution. The Program Manager will work with the Associate Director and Project Partners on project planning and growth. The Program Manager will collaborate across the EPIC NPS division, other ACE divisions actively contributing to and fulfilling project needs for the Division’s Eastern NPS Regions. They will supervise and support the Eastern Regions Member Coordinator(s).

General responsibilities include meeting multiple regional project objectives, managing key deliverables and outcomes of Division partnerships and member experiences including supporting and mentoring ACE members, carrying out project management, developing project budgets and cost management, any associated staffing coordination, and overseeing related project reporting and invoicing.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

With the primary direction and support of the EPIC NPS Associate Director, along with team support, the Eastern Regions Program Manager will oversee agreement management, recruitment, and member experience for ACE EPIC individual placements projects in National Park Service Eastern Regions (Northeast, Southeast, National Capital, and Midwest):

• Supervise and support Eastern Regions Member Coordinator(s).
• Regularly Interact with ACE program Staff, Partners, and Members to ensure ongoing program communication in both an office and field setting.
• Facilitate and support the candidate screening and selection process, including: overseeing the editing and posting of position announcements, reviewing and interviewing candidates, conducting reference checks and making/confirming position offers.
• Communicate and collaborate with ACE’s recruitment team for outreach efforts.
• In collaboration with the Division Support staff, assure timely and accurate onboarding of new hires, including data collection/entry of new hire’s employment information in ACE’s internal database.
• Directly engage and support NPS agency partners, including:
• Being the main point of contact for any new or existing Division projects in Northeast, Southeast, National Capital, and Midwest regions.
• Develop and monitor project agreement budgets.
• Confirm project/agreement logistics, establishing expectations of project duties and schedule, communicating to the divisional team, and adjusting project needs accordingly.
• Respond to requests for new projects, develop budget documents, and submit documents to partners via email or Grant Solutions.
• Develop and review invoices.
• Ensure that all project measurables and goals are met, including communicating and supporting project partners with project implementation.
• Work closely with Member Coordinators to support member and partner experience.
• Maintain the utmost professionalism and confidentiality in sensitive communications with members and staff.

Engage, mentor and support EPIC members throughout their ACE experience with:

• Beginning of term, mid-term, and end off term surveys. Biweekly timesheet review and approval, webinar training facilitation, incident response, processing reimbursement requests, conducting formal and informal feedback and career development discussions, contribute to ACE and NPS social media efforts recognizing members’ accomplishments; and any additional relevant member engagement or support needs that may arise during a member’s term.
• Oversee budgeting and purchase of requested equipment/travel for agreements including, but not limited to, gear, transportation, per diems, training fees, and lodging.
• Participate in ACE staff trainings and events as well as NPS agency-led trainings and events as appropriate.
• Maintain and improve current programmatic and operational strategies and develop new strategies to increase the productivity of the program.
• Collect and assemble project accomplishments and statistics for partnership reporting needs.
• Conduct host-site park visits, attend offsite events, and professional development conferences or trainings, as funds and timing allow.
• Understand and appreciate the uniqueness of the NPS Mission.
• Adhere to ACE safety policies and procedures.
• Foster a culture and environment that positions ACE for success and ensures that ACE is the program of choice for partners, members and staff.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Possess a high school diploma or GED certificate.
• At least 1-2 years experience of program/project management or coordination.
• Ability to effectively work with a diverse range of people.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to think creatively, organize tasks, work independently and as part of a team, and meet deadlines.
• Highly organized, with the ability to effectively multitask and maintain coordination of a multitude of projects, utilizing proprietary database tools.
• Willingness and ability to communicate and coordinate internally within ACE and with external stakeholders and partners.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Ability to independently manage one’s workload.
• Strong computer management skills including experience or willingness to learn applicant tracking software and personnel databases, iOS, MS Office, Excel, Google Suite, and webinar platforms such as Zoom, or equivalents to these.
• Must be flexible and eager to engage the highly mobile and predominantly remote teams that make up ACE.
• Effective time management skills, and the ability/desire to concurrently perform multiple deadline-driven tasks.
• Capable of supervising and supporting direct reports, both remotely and in-person as needed.
• Commitment to helping ACE advance its goals around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI).
• Demonstrate sensitivity, understanding and the ability to effectively interact with individuals (internal and external) from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, ability and ethnic backgrounds.
• Experience or ability to learn basic budget modeling, tools, and management systems.
• Commitment to ACE’s mission of public service through youth development and volunteerism.
• Ability to receive and provide constructive feedback.
• Ability to prepare and maintain records and reports.
• Ability to understand and carry out oral and written instructions.
• A deep and continuing interest in the welfare and professional development of ACE participants.
• Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.

Encouraged but not required:

• Knowledge and or understanding of National Service Programs like AmeriCorps is preferred.
• Knowledge and or understanding of NPS or federal land management agencies.
• Experience with the National Park Service, or passionate about implementing its mission to, “balance public resource enjoyment, education, and inspiration with resource preservation.”
• Mentorship / engagement with marginalized individuals or communities that conservation organizations have failed to previously engage.
• A BA/BS degree (or higher) in a relevant field and/or a combination of relevant field experience which could include environmental studies/science, natural resources, cultural or human resources, management, or customer service.
• 3-4 years of experience working in volunteer management, recruiting, logistics, project management and/or equivalent roles within a Conservation Corps, nonprofit or comparable setting.

Other Requirements:

• Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
• Valid driver’s license and an insurable driving record.
• Proficient in English.

Physical Demands, Work Environmental and Working Conditions:

• Physical Demands: Requires frequent sitting, standing, walking, using hands to handle or feel, reaching with hands and arms, talks and hears. Manual dexterity required for use of computer keyboard/mouse and other office equipment. Occasionally required to stoop, kneel, climb stairs, and/or crouch (all physical demands are required with or without reasonable accommodations).
• Vision Requirements: Requires close, distance, peripheral and depth perception vision as well as the ability to focus.
• Weight Lifted or Force Exerted: Frequently moves up to 10 lbs., occasionally moves up to 25 pounds.
• Environmental: Mainly indoor, office environment conditions; indoor air quality is good and temperature is controlled.
• Noise Environment: Moderate noise such as in a business office with equipment and light traffic.
• Travel: This position requires some regional/domestic travel required to project/partner locations

Compensation: Annualized starting salary of $42,000-$55,000 (assuming 40 hours/week 52 weeks/year), depending on experience.

Benefits: ACE offers competitive medical and ancillary plans (health, mental health, dental, vision and other supplemental benefits). ACE Staff members are also eligible to participate in ACE’s retirement plan with a 2% employer contribution.

Holidays, Vacation, and Sick Time: As an ACE staff member, you will be eligible to accrue up to 80 hours of paid vacation time annually during your first two years of continuous employment, then it increases to 120 hours annually. ACE observes 13 paid annual holidays (floating holiday flexibility). ACE provides 10 days (or 80 hours) of paid sick time annually.

Additional Benefits:

Outdoor Perks – As an ACE staff member, you will be eligible to receive pro deals which include deep discounts on outdoor gear providing 30 – 50% off retail prices on 100s of established outdoor gear brands.

Phone Provided or Reimbursement Option: You have the option to select one of the following options: ACE work phone device/number provided or monthly phone reimbursement for personal device/number use.

Travel: Domestic travel to NPS duty stations throughout the states and/or US territories, pending safety related considerations. Travel will primarily be to Western regions’ projects.