Southern Appalacians Program Coordinator

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Southern Appalachians Program Coordinator

Southern Appalachians Program Coordinator

Hybrid Remote
• Southwestern Virginia or Eastern Tennessee

National Forest Foundation (NFF) is pleased to offer a regular, full-time, and exempt position that will support the development and implementation of conservation projects across National Forests in the Southern Appalachians. The position will primarily focus on the National Forests of North Carolina, including the Pisgah, Nantahala, Cherokee National and George Washington-Jefferson National Forests, and may support work on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and other areas within the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Region.

As the official national partner to the US Forest Service (USFS), the National Forest Foundation was chartered by Congress in 1990. Today, the NFF advances forest resiliency, healthy watersheds and wildlife habitat, and recreation for all by working with communities and organizations across the country. The Foundation has grown significantly in the last few years in programmatic impact, revenue and support, and organizational capacity.

NFF leads with impact, deploying roughly 90% of its expenses towards projects and programs across the country’s 193-million-acre National Forest System. NFF is forward-thinking and innovative, with ambitious strategies and goals to advance and prepare forests for a new economy.

The Southern Appalachians Program Coordinator reports to the Southern Appalachians Program Manager and works closely with other NFF and U.S. Forest Service staff, and local partners, to provide project coordination, contract management, and program support. The incumbent is responsible for helping to develop and implement watershed resilience, forest health, outdoor experiences, and other conservation projects with communities, conservation NGOs, private landowners, state and federal agencies, and private‑sector partners to support strategic conservation initiatives across the Southern Appalachians.

Additionally, the incumbent will support and advance the NFF’s broader conservation initiatives across the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Region.

• Support the Southern Appalachians Program Manager in developing NFF’s role in the Southern Appalachians subregion in alignment with the U.S. Forest Service and local partners, with potential elements including partnerships and communications; planning and consultation; project design and implementation; monitoring; and development of both immediate and long‑term funding mechanisms.
• Coordinate budgets and reporting associated with grants from federal, state, and local government sources, as well as philanthropic support from corporations, foundations, and individuals. Prepare associated grant and funding reports.
• Work with the Southern Appalachian Program Manager and the U.S. Forest Service to help manage and track cooperative agreements and their associated project budgets and timelines.
• Work with NFF staff to communicate project needs and the community benefits and accomplishments internally, to invested stakeholders, to the general public, and other relevant audiences.
• Build and maintain close and mutually beneficial relationships among federal and state agency partners, local government, Tribal nations, and indigenous communities, nonprofit organizations, and the NFF to implement effective community‑based conservation partnerships.
• Advance a variety of projects as an implementation partner, including but not limited to fuels and vegetation management, reforestation, outdoor recreation, watershed resiliency, and other conservation projects across the Southern Appalachians.
• Support the advertising, negotiation, awarding, and invoicing of multiple contracts for services related to the on‑the‑ground implementation of conservation projects.
• Work directly with contractors, consultants, nonprofit organizations, and agency partners to coordinate the on‑the‑ground project implementation effectively and efficiently.
• Conduct ongoing communication with partners on the status of project planning, implementation, and…