Organizational Mission: 

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Position Summary

The Landscape Conservation Program Director reports to the Vice President, Conservation and Government Relations and provides strategic leadership for ATC's landscape conservation portfolio, aligning partners, investments, and conservation action to advance a conserved and connected Appalachian Trail landscape. The Director establishes program direction, mobilizes collaborative conservation efforts across multiple scales, and positions ATC as a trusted leader in landscape-scale conservation.

The Director oversees the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, regional and place-based partnerships, the A.T. Communities Program, the Wild East Action Fund, and conservation decision-support initiatives. Working across departments and with external partners, the Director translates strategy into measurable conservation, partnership, funding, and policy outcomes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategy

• Establish and continually refine ATC's landscape conservation strategy and long-term vision.
• Align staff, work plans, partnerships, and investments with organizational priorities.
• Represent ATC's landscape conservation vision with leadership, the Board, partners, agencies, and funders.
• Build organizational capacity and sustainable funding.

Partnerships

• Lead ATC's engagement in landscape-scale, regional, and place-based partnerships.
• Align partners around shared priorities and collaborative initiatives.
• Provide strategic leadership for the A.T. Communities Program as a gateway community recognition and grassroots engagement network.
• Cultivate partnerships that reinforce ATC's role as a trusted convener and driver of meaningful impact.

Investment & Prioritization

• Direct strategic deployment of the Wild East Action Fund and related conservation investments.
• Guide prioritization of high-value conservation opportunities using science, GIS, and partner knowledge.
• Promote practical decision-support tools.
• Advance innovation through research partnerships.

Leadership & Accountability

• Supervise staff and establish outcome-focused performance measures.
• Monitor performance and adapt strategies using data and partner feedback.
• Communicate accomplishments to leadership, funders, and the Board.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in environmental science, conservation, natural resource management, public administration, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5-7 years of experience managing collaborative conservation, land protection, or landscape-scale conservation initiatives.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience leading staff, teams, programs, or significant crossfunctional initiatives, with demonstrated ability to establish priorities, develop organizational capacity, and drive accountability for results.
• Demonstrated knowledge of landscape-scale conservation principles, land protection strategies, partnership development, and collaborative conservation approaches involving public, private, nonprofit, and community stakeholders.
• Proven ability to provide strategic leadership across complex, multi-partner initiatives by influencing without direct authority, navigating competing interests, establishing shared priorities, and aligning diverse organizations and stakeholders to achieve measurable conservation outcomes.
• Experience managing and developing grants, funding agreements, or conservation incentive programs, including tracking deliverables and compliance requirements.
• Strong leadership presence and exceptional written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and facilitation skills, with the ability to communicate complex information, influence decision-making, and represent the organization effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and database systems, with the ability to effectively use data, technology, and performance measures to support program management and organizational decision-making.

Preferred Qualifications Experience

• Experience with grant writing, grant administration, regranting programs, grant reporting, and conservation finance.
• Knowledge of public and private conservation funding sources, including federal, state, philanthropic, and foundation grants.
• Experience working with large-scale conservation partnerships, land trusts, government agencies, and regional conservation coalitions.
• Experience engaging in rural communities and municipalities, particularly within the Appalachian region.
• Three or more years of experience supervising staff, interns, volunteers, or project teams.
• Proficiency with ESRI GIS applications and related data management and communication tools.
• Familiarity with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and its cooperative management framework.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Ability to maintain a home office with reliable internet access; access to an ATC office may be available based on location and office capacity.
• Ability to communicate effectively through virtual platforms, email, telephone, and in-person meetings.
• Prolonged periods of computer and telephone use.
• Periodic travel throughout ATC's 14-state service area and beyond for meetings, workshops, community events, and conferences (approximately 10–15% travel).
• Occasional evening and weekend work required to support meetings, events, and partner engagement activities.

Additional Details:

• Location: Residence in one of the 14 Trail states (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). 
• Annual Salary Range: ($90k - $110k)
• Health, dental, and vision insurance available.
• Company paid long-term disability and life insurance provided.
• 403(b) Retirement Plan with up to 7% match after 1 year of service.

ATC Equal Employment Opportunity Statement  

ATC encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness with all employees and volunteers to enable participation and contributions to their fullest potential.

We are committed to being an inclusive organization and recognize that a broad range of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds contributes to an effective and successful organizational culture and mission.

ATC prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and/or expression), national origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, political affiliation, union membership, or any other status protected by the laws and regulations in the locations where we operate.

ATC's Identity Statement