About The Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild places since 1935. Our mission is to unite people to protect America’s wild places. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit www.wilderness.org. 

Position Overview

 Reporting to the Montana State Director and working with programs across the organization, the Conservation Specialist will support and execute organizational projects and initiatives throughout Montana. With the oversight from the Montana State Director, they will engage in a range of campaigns through partnerships, coalitions and coordination, outreach activities, communications, and other efforts. 

This position plays a critical role in fostering an organizational culture where people feel respected, included, and accountable to shared goals and outcomes. TWS has made it a priority to ensure that our work reflects fairness, representation, and accessibility. The Conservation Specialist will carry those commitments into our Montana work—expanding partnerships, strengthening community connections, and ensuring our work is responsive to a broad range of perspectives and needs. Across our team, we aspire to be campaign-oriented, collaborative, innovative, transparent, and supportive of staff – our greatest asset.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Support the Montana State Director in the execution of strategic program priorities to advance TWS’ overarching goals and vision in Montana
• Participate in coalitions where needed, providing assistance to local partners to help deliver shared organizational goals, and position TWS as a trusted collaborator among partners and decision makers. 
• Support TWS’ mission to unite people to protect America’s wild places and ensure that TWS’s public lands work is rooted in community and demonstrates fairness, representation, and accessibility for all in both our approach and its impact.
• As needed, build relationships with Tribal nations and a wide variety of community partners including, but not limited to, elected officials and their staff, non-profit partners, agency staff, scientists, members of industry (e.g., timber, mining, etc.), public land user groups (e.g., recreationalists, ranchers etc.) and grassroots activists.  
• Participate in and help plan public and private gatherings and educational events, raising awareness of national and local organizational priorities and programs.
• Support the Montana State Director, to effectively engage with government relations, research, agency policy, legal, communications, and fundraising experts at TWS to ensure our work in Montana is well-integrated with organizational priorities and fully utilizes TWS’ expertise and resources.
• Assist in the development of written and visual materials such as fact sheets, blogs, and action alerts that demonstrate the importance of community-based conservation to the health, economic vitality, and quality of life of the people living in Montana. 
• Adhere to all policies and procedures set forth by TWS (including, but not limited to, finance, human resources and legal) to maintain a compliant and efficient work environment.  
• Travel as needed in support of mission-critical activities (expected to be irregular, but up to 3-5 days per month on average, and may depend on location) to gain first-hand knowledge of public lands, plan and host events and site visits, and develop relationships with partners and key stakeholders throughout the Montana, occasionally in Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications 

• Minimum 3 years of experience working on issue advocacy or political campaigns and/or working to advance public policy changes at the local, state or federal level, including through community organizing. 
• Experience building relationships and collaborating with diverse stakeholders in an inclusive, transparent, and effective manner.
• Knowledge of public lands, environmental, and/or conservation issues in Montana is helpful, but not required.
• Ability to think strategically and provide support to achieve campaign and conservation goals in a dynamic environment.
• Solid communication skills, with an ability to write and speak concisely and persuasively to diverse audiences.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to manage multiple demands and deadlines.
• Must exhibit integrity, trustworthiness, transparency, tact, and discretion.
• Willingness and ability to travel largely within the Montana, but also to Washington, D.C., and other locations as necessary.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of this position and it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of experience, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

The salary range for this position is $60,000 to $65,000 annually. Southwest Montana (greater Bozeman area) is the preferred location, other locations considered.     

The Wilderness Society offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and pet insurance; sick and vacation leave; a sabbatical program; and a retirement plan with employer contribution subject to certain limits and requirements.  TWS is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair treatment of our employees and constituents across culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, veteran status or sexual orientation. 

As an organization, we aspire to being inclusive in the work that we do, and in the kind of organization we are.  Internally, this means working as a team that listens to different points of view, recognizes the contributions of every employee and empowers each employee to bring their whole selves to work every day.  Externally, this means ensuring that public lands are inclusive and welcoming, so that our shared wildlands can help people and nature to thrive.  We are committed to equity throughout our work, which we define as our commitment to realizing the promise of our public lands and ensuring that all can share in their universal benefits.

To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society  
Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, TWS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

TWS complies with federal and state disability laws and is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. If you require accommodation to complete the application process or to perform the essential functions of the position, please contact careers@tws.org.  TWS only accepts resumes submitted for positions that are currently open. Unsolicited resumes or resumes for posted positions that are not submitted via the online application process (where applicable), will not be reviewed or retained.