Easement Specialist, Agricultural Land Protection

AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST•Washington, DC

2d•$80,000 - $90,000

About The Position

American Farmland Trust (AFT) is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect nearly 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families. Long a pioneering leader, AFT continues to evolve to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers nationwide, adapting its approach to ensure the continued strength and resilience of agriculture and rural communities nationwide. Job purpose Participate as a member of a team of agricultural land protection professionals who expand agricultural land protection capacity of public and private organizations. Initial focus of the position will be on supporting NRCS with conservation easement program enrollments and acquisitions.

Requirements

Significant experience with all aspects of agricultural land protection and real property easement and fee simple acquisition.
Strong knowledge of a wide range of real estate principles, rules, concepts, practices and legal documents necessary to secure clear title in conservation easements transactions.
Familiarity with and knowledge of NRCS agricultural land easement programs (ACEP ALE & WRE).
Strong skills in verbal and written communication, analysis and problem-solving.
Excellent administrative and organizational skills.
Proven experience contributing significantly to implementation of complex projects and assignments.
Ability to work with a diverse team of individuals, peers and partners, who are not co-located.
Subject matter expertise in agricultural land conservation sufficient to efficiently complete farm and ranch land protection transactions.
Organized and detail-oriented; demonstrates a commitment to high quality professional work.
Familiarity with land use, property law, working lands conservation and estate planning concepts.
Familiarity with GPS, ArcGIS, Google Earth, soil surveys, public land records and maps.
Ability to use Microsoft applications such as Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Ability to learn and utilize other program software applications utilized by AFT including Concur and Paycom or other similar applications that AFT uses in the future.
Ability to use NRCS computer systems and applications, as required.
Bachelor’s degree
Minimum 10 years of direct experience resolving title issues in connection with real estate closings.
Minimum 5 years of direct experience in agricultural land and easement acquisition within the United States.

Responsibilities

Serves as a technical analyst and advisor to support NRCS Easement Program Division (EPD) in the acquisition of conservation easements funded through NRCS programs.
Review and advance easement acquisition transactions through the required federal processes.
Track, document, record, and report status of pending easement purchase applications.
Administer easement applications in accordance with the terms and conditions of the easement deeds and program regulations.
Review application documents to ensure compliance with applicable standards; identify errors and omissions; coordinate with necessary parties to obtain corrected/missing information to advance the application.
Conduct required easement acquisition activities including but not limited to: evaluate easement offers, review proposed partner cost share estimates and other applicable financial documents, review draft easement deeds and develop/review modifications thereto; review title and survey reports, develop subordination agreements; review title commitments and final surveys; prepare easement acquisitions for closing.
Provide specification guidance to surveyors and receive and review survey documents. Populate NRCS’s National Easement Staging Tool (NEST) and other required NRCS system tools.
Serves as a technical analyst and advisor in securing clear title and accomplishing realty closings on conservation easements funded through NRCS programs.
Review title opinions, title reports and title commitments and provide guidance to closing agent and others as to the acceptability of exceptions to clear title.
Review real property title documents, appraisals and Easement Warranty Deeds and attachments, subordinations, affidavits, organizational documents, title opinions, and other documents required by the U.S. Office of General Counsel to determine their correctness, adequacy, and completeness.
Contact title insurance companies to obtain and provide information, resolve deficiencies, and resolve exceptions to clear title; prepare documents and transmittals to title insurance companies as required.
Communicate with National Program Managers, State Program Managers, closing agents, title companies, appraisers, surveyors, state agency personnel, landowners, attorneys, USDA Office of General Counsel attorneys and others to obtain information, provide information and guidance, order services, resolve deficiencies, obtain corrected documents, and establish clear title.
Provide guidance and instructions to the closing agent and State Program Managers in the preparation, execution, and clearing of title, payment recording, and providing title insurance for the closing of easements.
Order title commitments and final title policies as required.
Implement team workflows to advance assigned land protection projects.
Advance the acquisition of conservation easements by providing support and guidance in real estate laws, concepts, and principles relating to the acquisition of conservation easements and securing clear title.
Communicate with supervisor, AFT staff, and partner organizations to clearly understand required work output and production targets.
Adhere to workflows, processes and procedures to ensure work goals, reporting requirements and performance evaluation criteria are met.
Actively participate in creative problem solving to improve landowner experience within AFT and partner organizations.
Identify and troubleshoot obstacles to success and help develop process improvements and improve team efficiency.
Track and report work progress to supervisor and partner organizations as required.
Identify training, resources and support that would enhance work productivity.
Build positive team dynamics within the assigned team, within AFT broadly, and with partner organizations.
Ensure clear and consistent communication between AFT staff and partner organizations to maximize efficiency and productivity to accelerate agricultural land protection activity.
Document communications as needed to ensure clarity of, and changes in, program and policy direction over time.
Provide input and feedback to team members, supervisor, applicable AFT staff and partner organizations to maximize program success.
Actively participate in regular check-in meetings to maximize collective learning and team building.

Benefits

Medical & Prescription Coverage
Dental Coverage
Vision Coverage
Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Voluntary Life Insurance
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Healthcare & Dependent Care
Health Savings Account (HSA)
401(k)
Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 3.5 hours per pay period (13 “sick days” per year).
Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year
Holidays: The Company observes eleven holidays during the year (all offices closed): plus, choice of 3 other floating holidays depending on hiring date