JOB DESCRIPTION – Contract position

JOB TITLE: Project Manager
SALARY RANGE: $22-27/hr, depending on experience
REPORTS TO: Land Trust Stewardship Coordinator, H.L. Ferguson Museum
CONTRACT: Part-time (20 hours/week), 12 months, grant-funded
LOCATION: Fishers Island, New York (near New London, CT)

Background

Since its inception in 1960, the Ferguson Museum has worked to protect habitat for the flora and fauna of Fishers Island, New York, primarily through its land trust. While a few parcels were added in its early years, the Land Trust proactively started expanding in 1981. Today the Land Trust holds, either directly or through conservation easements, more than 375 acres, which represents more than 14% of the island.

In addition to preserving the sites in perpetuity, the Museum and its Land Trust are increasingly engaged in a variety of stewardship and educational activities. Over the last couple of years, the NY Natural Heritage Program has surveyed and inventoried the parcels, including an extensive ecological mapping of all the holdings. The Ferguson Museum now seeks to further its conservation role by developing 1) a set of scientifically-based and consensus driven management plans for each of its fee owned properties, 2) detailed current conditions reports for its conservation easements, 3) a monitoring program that promotes adherence to 1 and 2. The Museum is currently in the process of implementing the Land Trust Alliances’ standards and practices and working towards accreditation.

Role and Responsibilities

The role of this position will be to take the lead and manage the three concurrent projects mentioned above. A major focus of this one-year term-position will be to use current data to build consensus among the land trust committee on strategic management goals and to develop a set of plans, following Land Trust Alliance (LTA) guidelines, to implement strategies to achieve these goals. The second focus will be to develop and implement an annual monitoring program. As such, the primary responsibilities of this position, working under the Land Trust Stewardship Coordinator, are to:

  • Organize and convene Land Trust Committee meetings to reach consensus on management goals for each of the reserves.
  • Building from agreed upon objectives and past studies, develop specific, detailed management plans for each of the Land Trust properties, including timelines and budgets.
  • Working with the landowners, write up legally defensible current conditions reports for each of the conservation easements and acquire the necessary signatures.
  • Launch the design, development and implementation of quality-assured conservation monitoring and evaluation program, including data management and reporting systems.
  • Recruit, train, and mobilize volunteers to build stewardship, monitoring, and learning capacity of Land Trust Committee members and the island-wide community.
  • Facilitate and make recommendations to the Board on implementing relevant policies standards of practice, as put forth by the Land Trust Alliance

This is a grant funded position. By the end of this contract, the project manager will deliver the following:

  • Approximately 50 management plans for our 63 fee properties, as some are contiguous and can be addressed together in the same plan
  • Current conditions reports for our nine conservation easements
  • Set of tested monitoring protocols
  • A training program for volunteers on protocols and software tools
  • Plan for sustainable annual monitoring

This position will work closely with and will be supervised by the Land Trust Stewardship Coordinator.

Qualifications

  • Degree in land management or related topic
  • Familiarity with Long Island/ coastal CT habitat types
  • Experience facilitating meetings to reach consensus
  • Experience in drafting detailed land management plans
  • Knowledge of the LTA protocols and accreditation process
  • Familiarity with LANDSCAPE or similar monitoring software
  • Experience with working with volunteers
  • Ability to work remotely
  • Ability to travel to Fishers Island when needed (Fishers Island is accessible from New London, CT)

To Apply

Please send a cover letter, explain your qualifications for the position and your approach to the work with an approximate project schedule, names and contact information for 3 references, and a resume to Elizabeth McCance at [email protected]. Applications are due May 31, 2024.