Land Conservation Monitoring Specialist

This recruitment is open to both internal and external applicants and will be used to fill a Term-Limited Temporary (TLT) position or Special Duty Assignment (SDA) with an anticipated 3-year duration. In addition to the current opening, this recruitment may be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates to fill future Land Conservation Monitoring Specialist (PPM III) SDA/TLT roles throughout the Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP) over the next six (6) months.

Do you want your work to have a lasting impact on the lands, natural resources, and communities of King County?

The Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) is seeking a Land Conservation Monitoring Specialist (PPM III) to help strengthen how King County monitors and protects these important conservation investments. King County has a long history of land conservation, with more than 200,000 acres protected through County ownership or conservation easements, along with approximately 15,000 additional acres of privately owned land protected through the Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS).

This is a unique opportunity to help build a coordinated monitoring program that spans multiple DNRP programs and combines field-based land assessment, conservation easement monitoring, data management, GIS and remote monitoring technologies, landowner collaboration, and program development. Your work will directly support King County's efforts to conserve high-value lands, protect working farms and forests, support healthy habitat and clean water, and ensure conservation commitments continue delivering their intended public and environmental benefits.

The Land Conservation Monitoring Specialist is a newly established position responsible for helping create a coordinated approach to monitoring conservation easements, PBRS open-space agreements, deed restrictions, and certain County-owned lands associated with acquisitions led by DNRP's Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) and Parks and Recreation Division. Historically, monitoring has occurred within individual programs. This position will help bring those efforts together by developing consistent monitoring protocols, documentation practices, data systems, and approaches to compliance.

In this role, you will combine fieldwork, technology, data analysis, relationship-building, and program coordination. You will assess current property conditions, document findings, identify potential compliance concerns, and partner with program staff and landowners to address issues and support voluntary compliance. Monitoring may include traditional site visits as well as review of aerial imagery, GIS information, and emerging technologies, including AI-assisted remote monitoring platforms.

Your work will directly contribute to major King County priorities, including the Land Conservation Initiative
, Local Food Initiative
, Strategic Climate Action Plan
, and policies established through the King County Comprehensive Plan.

This position is housed within the Agriculture, Forestry, and Incentives Unit (AFI) of the Water and Land Resources Division and reports to the AFI Unit Manager. However, this is a highly collaborative, cross-divisional role.

• Agriculture, Forestry, and Incentives (AFI)
• Open Space Acquisitions (OSA)
• Environmental Policy and Initiatives (EPI)
• Recreation, Partnerships, & Property Management (RPPM)
• Parks Operations

Together, these teams conserve open space and working farms and forests, acquire and steward conservation lands, restore habitat, support environmental initiatives, manage County property, and maintain King County's extensive parks and trail system.

AFI works with forestland and farmland owners to improve land management, conserve working lands, restore habitat, increase environmental health and climate resiliency, and expand farmland access, including opportunities for farmers from historically underserved communities. This position will serve as an important connector across these programs, helping establish a consistent and effective approach to monitoring King County's conservation commitments.

King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As a Land Conservation Monitoring Specialist (PPM III) you will actively apply…