Position Type: Full-time

Reporting: President & CEO

Location: Charleston, SC

POSITION SUMMARY

The Chief Conservation Officer (CCO) is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and a key strategic partner to the CEO, COO/General Counsel, Controller, and Chief Advancement Officer. The CCO leads the organization’s conservation vision and ensures that conservation priorities are integrated with organizational goals, including policy, communications, fundraising, and outreach.

The CCO brings a proven track record of leadership in conservation real estate transactions, including negotiating and closing conservation easements and fee simple acquisitions with state and federal partners, and must be prepared during the application process to demonstrate a history of success in both staff and program leadership. 

The CCO is responsible for the management and oversight of the land protection program, including conservation easement transactions; fee simple transactions; mitigation projects; multi-sector partnerships; and public policy, as well as providing high-level guidance to the stewardship team. This position has direct responsibility for leading and managing staff, fostering a high-performing conservation team, and ensuring accountability, collaboration, and measurable outcomes.

The CCO is a skilled negotiator and a strong communicator, has the ability to work with diverse stakeholders and elected officials, and can effectively manage a dynamic, high-performing team by setting objectives and measuring performance. The CCO is committed to Lowcountry Land Trust’s mission and is self-motivated; collaborative; an energetic leader; emotionally intelligent; has a demonstrated capacity to build strong, diverse relationships; can work independently; and can communicate complex information in concise and effective ways. 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

Conservation Department Responsibilities

• Executive Leadership: Serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, helping guide overall organizational strategy and decision-making.
• Strategic Leadership: In partnership with the President & CEO, Senior Leadership Team, and the Board of Trustees, develop comprehensive conservation strategies that strengthen the Land Trust’s conservation efforts and mission
• Land Protection Program Oversight: Lead and manage the full scope of the land protection program, including:
• Investigation, analysis, identification, and development of conservation focus areas and projects
• Developing acquisition and protection strategies
• Negotiate donations and purchases of conservation easements and fee simple transactions, draft conservation easements, and oversee the management of all projects to completion
• Mitigation projects
• Multi-sector partnerships
• Policy initiatives.
• Outreach to private landowners, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other resource managers and stakeholders, with an emphasis on priority conservation areas identified in Lowcountry Land Trust's conservation plan
• Ensure adherence to the highest standards of conservation ethics, thorough due diligence investigation and documentation
• Create Conservation Department budgets
• Conservation Transactions: Oversee, negotiate, and close complex conservation easements and fee simple acquisitions, ensuring compliance, funding, and long-term stewardship requirements are met.
• Staff Leadership: Directly supervise, mentor, and support conservation staff, building a collaborative and accountable team culture.
• Stewardship Guidance: Provide high-level strategic direction and support to the stewardship team to ensure long-term protection and management of conserved lands, including ensuring Lowcountry Land Trust meets IRS requirements and Land Trust Alliance accreditation standards.
• Collaboration: Work closely with the CEO, COO/General Counsel, Controller, and Chief Advancement Officer to align conservation work with legal, financial, advancement, policy, and communications priorities.
• Partnership Development: Build and sustain relationships with government agencies, landowners, local communities, NGOs, and funders to advance conservation goals.
• Advocacy & Representation: Represent the organization to public and private partners, funders, media, and policymakers as a recognized conservation leader.
• Resource Development: Partner with the advancement team to secure funding for conservation projects, including public and private grants, donor support, and innovative financing mechanisms.
• Risk Mitigation: Ensure appropriate measures are in place in the acquisition of conservation easements or fee land, using appropriate legal and other outside professional advice

Other Duties as Required:

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work an employee assigned to this position performs. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. All staff members may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time.

Onboarding is in-person, and employees meet in person once per month for a staff meeting and occasionally throughout the year for group events.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Advanced degree in environmental science, conservation biology, natural resource management, environmental law, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Proven track record in a senior leadership role, including demonstrated success in supervising staff and managing teams.
• Demonstrated success negotiating and closing conservation easements and fee simple acquisitions with state and federal partners.
• Experience conducting due diligence, negotiations, and structuring of sophisticated financial, conservation, real estate, and other transaction terms
• 12+ years of progressive leadership experience in conservation, environmental policy, land trust work, or related sectors.
• Strong knowledge of conservation law, land protection tools, and public funding mechanisms.
• A strong track record of collaboration and partnership with varying stakeholders and conservation partners in the development of successful conservation projects, and a demonstrated capacity to build strong, diverse relationships
• Demonstrated success in the development and implementation of outreach strategies to cultivate and develop a pipeline of land protection projects
• Strong public presence — articulate, optimistic, and energetic — with the ability to motivate and inspire people at all levels
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and community-led conservation practices.

Preferred:

• Graduate degree in law or business
• Conservation, not-for-profit organization, or public agency experience
• Experience with mitigation projects, multi-sector partnerships, and public policy advocacy
• Expertise in developing and administering budgets

Personal Characteristics:

• Integrity – Is widely trusted and seen as a direct, truthful individual; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn’t misrepresent her/himself for personal gain
• Approachability – Is easy to approach and talk to; spends extra effort to put people at ease; can be warm, pleasant, and gracious; is sensitive to and patient with interpersonal anxieties of others; builds rapport well; is a good listener
• Interpersonal Skills – Relates well to all kinds of people, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; listens; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; truly values people; can defuse even high-tension situations comfortably
• Negotiation Skills – Can negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups; can settle differences with relative ease; can win concessions without damaging relationships; can be both direct and forceful, as well as diplomatic; gains the trust quickly of other parties to the negotiations; has a good sense of timing
• Planning Skills – Accurately scopes out the length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into process steps; develops schedules and task/people assignments; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results
• Perseverance – Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; seldom gives up before finishing, especially in the face of resistance
• Problem-Solving – Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; conducts honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and does not stop at the first answers
• Action Oriented – Enjoys working hard; is full of energy for the things they see as challenging
• Results Oriented and Accountable – Can be counted on to achieve goals consistently
• Communication – Can write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles; can get messages across that have the desired effect; has strong written and oral communication skills to convey complex information in concise and effective ways
• Discretion – Can deal with sensitive issues and information in a professional and, as required, confidential manner
• Team-oriented – works effectively with others; actively contributes to the achievement of group and organizational goals; accepts shared responsibility and ownership of projects.
• The ability to work independently

Benefits Summary

Insurance

• Health Insurance
• CoPay Plan with FSA (Flexible Spending Account) option
• Employee premium covered 90% by employer
• HDHP (High Deductible) Plans with HSA (Health Savings Account) option
• All medical costs are paid out of pocket until the deductible is met
• Employee premium covered 100% by employer
• Employer HSA contribution available with the HDHP base plan
• Dental Insurance – Employee premium covered 100% by employer 
• Group Life Insurance with AD&D ($25,000) – Employee premium covered 100% by employer 
• Disability - Employee premium covered 100% by employer 
• Optional benefits available – Paid by Employee:
• Health FSA & Dependent Care FSA
• HSA
• Accident Insurance
• Critical Illness Coverage
• Vision Care
• Voluntary Life Insurance

Financial & Retirement

• 403(b)
• Eligibility: Age 21 and works at least 83 1/3 hours per month
• Immediate eligibility
• Up to 6% match after 6 months of employment

Family & Parenting

• Family & Medical Leave
• Hybrid Work Environment (in-office/from home)
• Flexible Hours

Paid Time Off

• Self-managed PTO
• 11 Paid Holidays 
• Flexible Summer Schedule

Perks 

• Partial Mobile Phone Reimbursement

Lowcountry Land Trust is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity, and to comply with all federal, state, and local laws that apply to equal employment. It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote individuals, as well as administer any and all personnel actions, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation or identity, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital status, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran, service in the federal or state military, union affiliation, pregnancy or breastfeeding, medical or genetic information, atypical hereditary cellular blood trait, refusal to submit to a genetic test or make test results available to the Company, or status as a qualified individual with a disability, in accordance with applicable laws. The Land Trust also complies with the South Carolina Pregnancy Accommodation Act.