Sustainable Ranching Initiative Specialist
About The Position
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) seeks a Specialist for its Sustainable Ranching Initiative (SRI), based out of Montana. The Specialist provides technical expertise to develop, prioritize, and coordinate private-land conservation projects. The role manages and grows relationships with ranchers, rancher-led collaboratives, and agricultural communities, serving as SRI’s primary contact in southeastern Montana, northeastern Wyoming, and western South Dakota. The Specialist also supports fundraising proposals, individual project management, event coordination, and communications. The position is remote eligible, with preference for candidates located in Eastern Montana. It is a 3-year limited-term position. The role requires substantial seasonal travel across eastern Montana, western South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming. Relocation is not provided.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in natural resources management, environmental science, conservation policy, or a related field; a graduate degree with relevant applied experience may substitute for some years of experience.
- At least 5 years of experience in range management, biodiversity conservation, or natural resources management.
- Experience working with ranchers and agricultural communities.
- Knowledge of the Northern Great Plains, particularly Montana or Wyoming.
- Strong data-management, organizational, and project-management skills.
- Sound judgment and innovative problem-solving abilities.
- Demonstrated technical-writing skills.
- Ability to travel throughout eastern Montana, western South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming, up to 50% during spring, summer, and fall and 25% during winter.
- Effective interpersonal and communication skills, including adapting communication to different audiences and styles.
- Ability to prioritize field engagement, work credibly on ranches and at field events, use direct observation to inform project work, sustain seasonal travel, and work independently in remote settings with limited support.
- Ability to take initiative and manage workstreams independently while adapting to team-based approaches.
- Ability to collaborate inclusively with WWF colleagues, ranching partners, and organizational partners.
- Ability to manage time and accountability across multiple workstreams and tasks.
- Alignment with WWF’s core values: courage, integrity, respect, and collaboration.
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States; the position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.
Nice To Haves
- Experience working with Native Nations, particularly in agricultural production.
- Experience collaborating with organizations and agencies in the Northern Great Plains.
- Experience coordinating ranch assistance programs, educational events, or conservation and restoration projects.
- Experience in fundraising, grant management, or project budget management.
Responsibilities
- Implement conservation programs to restore and protect grasslands and help ranchers and local collaboratives pursue their land-management goals.
- Conduct outreach with landowners and land managers in southeastern Montana, western South Dakota, and northeastern Wyoming to explain WWF programs and identify potential participants.
- Serve as a primary organizational contact for ranches in the region, building relationships, understanding individual needs, and assessing opportunities to secure additional resources for ranch sustainability.
- Build and maintain relationships with local and regional ranching partner organizations and government agencies.
- Provide local collaboratives with technical assistance, fundraising and project-evaluation support, and expertise for partner-driven strategic planning.
- Support SRI strategic planning for landscape-level grassland conservation, partner engagement, program communication, public and stakeholder education, technology transfer, metric evaluation, and reporting.
- Communicate results to local and regional audiences through public speaking, published writing, and other channels; provide technical insights to the SRI team.
- Assist with fundraising by contributing proposal content and reporting on progress.
- Coordinate individual projects and events and support communications.
- Carry out other responsibilities as needed and assigned.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
