Program Operations Associate Space Institute , NY

Program Operations Associate, Conservation Innovation

Hybrid

Location:

New York, NY, 10018 Hybrid

Work Arrangement:
Hybrid; in office a minimum of 3 days per week with flexibility to work from home up to 2 days, and in accordance with business needs

Pay Range: $66,000-$70,000

Date:
September 2026

The Open Space Institute is a national leader in land conservation and efforts to make parks and other protected land more welcoming for all. Since 1974, OSI has partnered in the protection of more than 2.5 million at-risk and environmentally sensitive acres in the eastern U.S. OSI’s land protection promotes clean air and water, improves access to recreation, provides wildlife habitat, strengthens communities, and combats the devastating impacts of extreme weather.

Through its Capital Strategies Program (CS), the Open Space Institute seeks to facilitate protection of selected landscapes in the eastern United States by making available grant and loan capital to the region’s land trusts; and by synthesizing and translating research and providing planning assistance that complement and enhance strategic conservation.

The Program Operations Associate reports to the Senior Vice President of Capital Strategies and is responsible for support and administrative duties for the program. They will be responsible for administration of all aspects of the CS program, including processing of capital and planning regrants; organizing and managing program documents; coordinating communications within and between programs and departments; scheduling and overseeing logistics for meetings, workshops and conferences;

administering of contracts and tracking payments; and providing support for Advisory, Committee and Board meetings. They will work closely with the other staff in the department.

The CS team is part of the broader Conservation Innovation team. In addition to supporting the CS program, the Associate will also provide coordination and administrative support to other teams within Conservation Innovation, which include Conservation Communities, Science and Planning, and Conservation Innovation management.

• Spearhead information sharing between CS and other OSI departments to enhance organizational learning.
• Assist in the development of CS materials for Advisory Committees, CS Committees, and Board meetings.
• Coordinate the distribution of departmental press releases, newsletters, and grant reports, and work with External Affairs on CS materials presentation.
• Maintain and update departmental mailing lists and liaise with External Affairs for website content updates.

• Process grant and loan applications, working closely with the OSI Grants Manager to ensure accurate data.
• Liaison with the Legal Department to facilitate the preparation of loan and grant agreements.
• Track upcoming project closings, research products, and workshops, ensuring External Affairs receives materials on time.
• Work with the Finance department to sort and approve invoices, and monitor CS expenditures against the budget.
• Manage all administrative aspects of CS contracts, including tracking payments, contract deliverables, and scheduling meetings.

• Maintain the CS department calendar, scheduling and arranging meetings, ensuring remote technology setup, and managing materials.
• Provide administrative support to the SVP, including meeting scheduling, phone calls, travel arrangements, and compiling expense reports.
• Organize, maintain, and streamline CS folders and files, ensuring logical organization and easy retrieval of documents.
• Schedule and…