The Forest Stewards Guild, a national organization of foresters and allied natural resource professionals, is dedicated to practicing, and promoting, responsible forestry as a means of sustaining the integrity of forest ecosystems and the human communities dependent upon them. The Guild has 600 members, over half of whom are professionals who manage over 42 million acres of forestland in the United States and Canada. The Guild maintains regional offices in New Mexico, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. 

The Forest Stewards Guild is hiring a full-time position in the Pacific Northwest! The Pacific Northwest Region Manager will be responsible for managing the Guild’s Pacific Northwest program, budget, and membership across Oregon, Washington, and northern California. The successful candidate will help fulfill the Guild’s mission of ecological forestry by engaging with members, advancing existing projects, and expanding the program. Candidate should have strong project management skills, including grant writing and administration, knowledge and experience in field forestry and conservation, and the ability to think strategically.

Position Description 

The successful candidate will have a degree in forestry, ecology, natural resource management, or related field with professional experience. This individual will have excellent organizational, communication, and written skills, the ability to work alone outdoors in remote locations, and a desire to support ecological forestry in the Pacific Northwest. The Guild has been expanding in the Pacific Northwest, and the ideal candidate will possess the desire and leadership skills to sustain and strengthen the Guild’s presence and impact. Previous experience with field forestry in the Pacific Northwest, coupled with project management experience, is highly desirable.  

The Pacific Northwest Region Manager will maintain and expand Guild membership in the region, with potential to engage nationally, by understanding members’ needs, organizing and hosting field trips, convening meetings, supporting policy advocacy, and creating virtual learning opportunities such as the Northwest Innovative Forestry Summit. The Manager will support ongoing programmatic work, specifically our Foresters for the Birds program in Western Oregon, while also working to develop projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Manager will be responsible for managing all project activities and deliverables, maintaining partner and funder relations, and identifying and pursuing new funding and partnership opportunities.  

The position is envisioned as an on-going, regular, full-time position. The motivated Manager will work with Guild staff and members to identify, fund, and implement projects that support forest stewards and the demonstration of stewardship. The Manager will work closely with our Pacific Northwest Coordinator based in Seattle, our Lake States Director, and collaborate with Guild staff across regions.  

The successful individual will: 

• Track budgets, match, metrics, and deliverables for projects and member events. 

• Write grants and report to a variety of different funders, including private foundations and government agencies.  

• Manage project work-flow and collaborate with a team using software such as Asana, Slack, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. 

• Maintain and build relationships with diverse project partners and funders across the region.  

• Actively engage and serve current members while attracting and retaining new members through field trips, conference calls, meetings, and virtual events.  

• Represent the Guild at professional conferences or events and give presentations or participate in panel discussions.  

• Convene and facilitate collaborative and community meetings.  

• As projects require, work in variable weather conditions, in remote locations, on difficult or hazardous terrain, and in other physically demanding environments.  

• Possess the drive to strengthen and expand forest stewardship in the Northwest. 

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Knowledge and experience in northwestern forest ecosystems and communities 

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in forestry, wildlife biology, ecology, fire ecology, or related field 

• Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills  

• Ability to work both independently and with a team  

• Experience supervising staff at different professional levels  

• Demonstrated success in project management and grant writing 

• Effective knowledge of common software applications 

• Valid driver’s license 

• Legal authorization to work in the U.S.  

• The drive to strengthen and expand forest stewardship 

• Flexibility, humility. and a positive attitude 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Knowledge of the silvicultural systems of the Pacific Northwest region 

• Field forestry experience 

• Experience with social media and other member recruitment, engagement, and retention techniques 

While not a requirement of this position, the Guild recently established a community network for LGBTQIA+ identifying natural resource practitioners, Seeing the Forest for the Queers (SFQ) and is also seeking interested individuals to coordinate this growing program, as a component of their overall scope of work. Similarly, if the successful candidate is interested, if the successful candidate is interested, there is the opportunity to coordinate the Guild’s social media outreach. 

Compensation and Benefits Package   

• $31.41 per hour.    

• Paid leave is accrued monthly from the first day of employment.    

• 12 paid holidays per year. 

• Employer-sponsored comprehensive health and dental care coverage is available on the first day of the month following 30 days of employment.     

• Short and long-term disability policies paid by the Guild after 60 days.    

• Life insurance policies paid by the Guild after 60 days.     

• Flexible compensation plan available after 60 days.    

• Retirement plan with an employer match is available after 90 days.  

• Family Leave after 12 months, including up to six weeks paid leave and six weeks unpaid leave.    

The Guild is dedicated to providing an open, transparent, and just organization and workplace. We strive for clear, open, and kind communication and are committed to recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and supporting staff from underrepresented communities. We are dedicated to building a work culture that recognizes the inherent value of our employees, supports a healthy work-life balance, and provides an environment that supports personal and job growth.    

Location 

We prefer this position to be based in western Oregon. Other locations in southern Washington and eastern Oregon will be considered. Shared office space options will be pursued if the successful applicant works best in that environment. Home office (work from home) is the model that most of our remote staff operate under. A proven record of successful independent remote work is desirable.    

Contact Us 

Interested applicants should visit the job posting on SmartRecruiters.com and click “I’m Interested” to submit: one-page cover letter, resume, writing sample, three professional references, and earliest available start date. The position will be open until filled and review of applications will begin March 4th. We prefer all application materials to be combined into one PDF. After clicking “Next” on the initial application page, you will have another opportunity to upload more documents. Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you are having trouble submitting materials on Smart Recruiters, you may email materials to mike at forestguild.org.  

The writing sample format is flexible. It can be on a natural resource subject of your choice; it can be a press release, newsletter article, research brief, or other sample of your writing capabilities. 

Questions can be directed to Michael Lynch at (608)449-0647 or mike (at) forestguild.org.