Forest Resilience Manager

Job Title: Forest Resilience Manager

Reports to: Program Director

Supervises: two to three Program Coordinators

Location: Hybrid. At least one day a week in the Bethesda, MD office is required. Regular travel and field work within Rock Creek Park and other areas of the Rock Creek watershed in Washington, DC and Montgomery County, MD.

Type: Full-time, exempt

Position Background

Rock Creek Conservancy (Conservancy), a non-profit environmental organization, seeks a Forest Resilience Manager to lead the Conservancy’s forest restoration work from small, volunteer-driven demonstration sites to large park and watershed-wide efforts, and manage systems to understand the long-term impact and efficacy of the efforts. 

To ensure a resilient future for Rock Creek Park’s forests, the Conservancy and Rock Creek Park (National Park Service (NPS)) collaborated to create the Rock Creek Forest Resilience Framework, a landscape-scale framework to restore and maintain the forests to protect the natural resources and increase equity of access to their ecosystem services while engaging community members in people-powered restoration to sustain this restoration beyond park borders. The Framework is expected to be released publicly by the end of 2025. 

The Manager will use the Framework as a resource to inform the Conservancy’s approach and strategies for our forest restoration work. In addition, the Manager will lead a team of two to three staff who manage the demonstration sites and engage volunteers in supporting the forest restoration goals. The Manager may also represent the Conservancy in meetings with other resource management professionals to facilitate use of the Framework in connective corridors, to accelerate creation of similar plans by other national parks, and to inspire the field of public land managers.

Role and Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of the Conservancy’s forest restoration work, from planning to implementation, with support from the Program Director, Executive Director, and park managers
• Collaborate with park managers, including the Rock Creek Park botanist, on forest restoration and invasive plant management plans, methods, and best practices ensuring compliance with permits and other requirements
• Oversee and manage the restoration projects including soliciting, reviewing, and managing contracts; monitoring, tracking, and evaluating project outputs; and developing reports
• Develop annual vegetation management plans collaboratively with input from volunteers, Conservancy staff, and national and regional park managers and adaptively manage these plans
• Supervise program coordinators and guide their work to achieve forest restoration and volunteer engagement goals
• Conduct field work such as monitoring and surveying sites, chemical and manual control of invasive plants, fence construction and maintenance, planting and plant maintenance, and other associated restoration activities
• Share project success and learning with other restoration professionals to facilitate their use of the resilience strategies

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in conservation, forestry, or related field; advanced degree preferred in a relevant area of study
• At least 5 years of professional experience in resource management or field research, particularly related to urban forests and invasive plant management
• At least 1 year of supervisory experience
• Familiarity with urban mid-Atlantic terrestrial ecosystems
• Excellent communication and project management skills, including time management, goal-setting, multitasking and prioritization with demonstrated success managing multiple tasks concurrently
• Experience with managing grants/contracts and tracking project outputs/outcomes
• Experience with public lands management, particularly National Park Service, preferred
• Experience using Esri ArcGIS and Google Suite
• DC and/or MD pesticide applicator license (or ability to be certified within 6 months)
• Ability to work independently/remotely as well as part of a team
• Ability to walk up to 8 miles a day on uneven terrain while carrying up to 35 lbs for approximately 15 to 20 days per year
• Ability to travel to/from Bethesda office and project locations within Rock Creek Park and Rock Creek watershed