Manager, Conservation

About Audubon

The National Audubon Society is a leading nonprofit conservation organization with 120 years of science‑based, community‑driven impact, dedicated to protecting birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Birds are powerful indicators of our planet’s health, acting as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and inspire action. Audubon works across the Western Hemisphere, driven by the understanding that what is good for birds is good for the planet.

Through a collaborative, bipartisan approach across habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives meaningful and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 staff and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever‑growing force committed to ensuring a better planet for both birds and people for generations to come. Learn more ubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

The Conservation Manager is responsible for building partnerships, engaging the network, and implementing conservation projects that realize Audubon’s ambitious goals for Iowa. Working closely with local partners (state agencies, farmers, land trusts, other public agencies, tribes, NGO partners, etc.), and Audubon’s network of chapters and volunteers, the Conservation Manager will conserve habitat for birds and people while building a diverse constituency that stewards habitat and builds strong public policy across Iowa.

The Conservation Manager will implement Wings Over Working Lands and Water for Birds and People programs, especially focusing on the Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) Program. This role will also build new relationships and secure funding to expand Audubon’s on‑the‑ground conservation work in priority regions as identified in Audubon’s conservation plans. The Conservation Manager will grow and diversify Audubon’s conservation partnerships, community science participation, stewardship engagement and advocacy efforts.

The Conservation Manager will report to the Senior Conservation Manager for Audubon’s Upper Mississippi River region and will supervise a Range Ecologist in Iowa.

Salary range based on geo‑differentials:
$63,000 - $71,000 / year = National
$66,000 - $74,000 / year = Alaska, CA (not San Francisco), Connecticut, D.C., Chicago, Oyster Bay, NY

• Plan, implement, track and report on habitat restoration and enhancement projects in alignment with regional conservation and program priorities.
• Supervise regular, intern, and temporary staff, including volunteers when needed, through the establishment of work objectives and priorities, reviewing and revising these objectives on an ongoing basis to guide and mentor team members in their work progress.
• Identify opportunities, develop proposals, and secure funding for habitat projects. If secured, serve as project manager and fulfill reporting obligations as required.
• Establish habitat management plans using SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time sensitive) goals on all enrolled program ranches.
• In coordination with other conservation staff, build large and diverse partnerships to influence habitat management in priority geographies through monitoring, communication, and landscape‑planning with landowners and land managers.
• Organize and run meetings and build strategies to strengthen existing and new partnerships.
• Proactively connect with and liaise with landowners and provide excellent technical service to agricultural producers participating in Audubon’s working lands conservation programs.
• Provide support for Audubon’s Community Building strategies, including habitat‑related internships and volunteers.
• Oversee contractual habitat restoration and enhancement implementation.
• Work with conservation colleagues and Audubon’s science staff to improve the application of research and monitoring results, as well as continue to refine conservation targets with regional agency and NGO partners.
• Conduct or coordinate essential avian and vegetation monitoring on program lands.
• Partner with working lands staff to implement, track, and report on habitat enhancement projects.
• Develop and communicate an…