Program Manager, Collaboration and Community Action (53153)

The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (NMFWRI) seeks a strategic, collaborative, and community-centered professional to serve as Program Manager for the Collaboration and Community Action Program. The Collaboration and Community Action Program Manager is an integral member of the NMFWRI and works to strengthen collaborative capacity and advance community-based forest and watershed restoration across New Mexico. Working across NMFWRI programs and with external partners, the Program Manager helps connect practitioners, communities, researchers, agencies, and decision-makers to close the gap between research and practice in forest and watershed health, community resilience, and adaptive ecological management.

What you will do

The Program Manager provides strategic leadership and direction for the Collaboration and Community Action Program by establishing priorities, identifying emerging needs, and overseeing projects and deliverables that strengthen collaborative capacity across New Mexico. The Program Manager serves as NMFWRI’s specialist in community-based collaboration, collaborative group processes, facilitation, and capacity building. In this role, they assess collaborative needs and provide process support. They may also chair committees and working groups with collaborative organizations and networks.

The Program Manager develops and strengthens partnerships with federal, state, Tribal, and local land management agencies and other stakeholders that support collaborative forest and watershed restoration. They do this by facilitating the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and resources across practitioners, communities, researchers, and decision-makers. The Program Manager also coordinates with NMFWRI leadership to produce effective outcomes that promote various dimensions of forest and watershed restoration.

Applied research is integral to the Collaboration and Community Action Program’s work. The Program Manager conducts and manages applied research on collaborative natural resource management and watershed restoration and shares research through conference presentations, publications, and other professional and practitioner-focused forums. Research, assessment of partner feedback, and program data help the Program Manager identify collaboration needs and gaps, guide program priorities, and develop training and resources that respond to the needs of collaborative groups.

The Program Manager translates research findings, assessments, practitioner knowledge, and lessons learned into accessible tools, trainings, guidance, and other resources that strengthen collaborative capacity. Working with the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) partners and practitioners throughout the Southwest and western United States, the Program Manager connects NMFWRI with relevant research and expertise related to collaborative forest and watershed restoration. Through these connections, the Program Manager supports shared learning and helps ensure that knowledge and the lessons emerging from collaborative restoration efforts are used to strengthen collaborative practice in New Mexico and across the Southwest and western United States.

The Program Manager acquires funding to support collaborative activities and training and applied research; supervises Collaboration and Community Action Program staff and student workers; and represents NMFWRI through collaborative organizations, networks, conferences, and other professional forums. As a member of NMFWRI’s leadership, the Program Manager contributes to broader organizational efforts and initiatives.

We welcome candidates who can work collaboratively with interdisciplinary professionals to:

•Collaborate with statewide and regional partners, including other SWERIs, to disseminate, adapt, and expand relevant research, expertise, tools, and lessons learned, while supporting shared learning across New Mexico and the broader Southwest.

•Conduct applied research on collaborative natural resource management and watershed restoration and translate research findings, assessments, practitioner knowledge, and lessons learned into accessible tools, trainings, guidance, publications and other resources.

This position requires strong partnership development skills; facilitation, and communication expertise; strategic thinking and planning; grant writing, management, and administrative experience; and a background in collaborative conservation, the human dimensions of natural resource management, or related community- based work. The incumbent must collaborate effectively with practitioners, researchers, community partners, land management agencies, and other stakeholders and be able to translate research, practitioner knowledge, and lessons learned into practical resources that strengthen collaborative capacity.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to providing strategic direction for the Collaboration and Community Action Program; identifying and responding to emerging needs; providing collaborative process support and assessment; strengthening partnerships among practitioners, communities, researchers, agencies, and decision-makers; conducting and communicating applied research; developing tools, trainings, guidance, and other resources for collaborative groups and local communities; connecting the program with relevant research, expertise, and lessons learned through SWERI and other regional partners; acquiring and managing grant deliverables and reporting requirements; mentoring staff; and representing the NMFWRI at conferences, panels, working committees and forums. Additional responsibilities include serving as NMFWRI’s subject matter expert on community-engaged research ; assessing and addressing community needs within Collaboration and Community Action program priorities; developing creative workforce pathways that address and support land-based and rural communities; supporting knowledge exchange spaces and convenings between practitioners, researchers, agencies, communities, and decision-makers.; The program manager will serve on the NMFWRI’s Leadership Team, and will be responsible for program planning and assessment, and for occasional service on NMFWRI and SWERI committees.

We take care of our staff!

Once hired, the Collaboration and Community Action Program Manager will have opportunities for professional development and regional collaboration with other SWERIs and restoration partners across the Intermountain West. The program manager will work with a passionate team engaged in education, applied restoration, monitoring, and GIS. The position offers opportunities to help shape the evolution of the Collaboration and Community Action program within NMFWRI’s broader strategic framework and contribute to statewide network-building efforts related t the field of collaborative conservation and strengthen connections among collaborative groups and practitioners across New Mexico and the broader region.

As a New Mexico Highlands University employee, benefits include superb health coverage, paid leave, retirement benefits, an extended winter holiday break, and tuition waivers at New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico State University and Luna Community College.

Where you will work

The NMFWRI is based on NMHU’s main campus in Las Vegas, NM, and our work serves communities statewide. The Collaboration and Community Action Program Manager will work in both office and community settings, situating their work in local rural communities while exploring and promoting approaches that can be applied statewide. The ideal candidate should reside in north/northcentral New Mexico with frequent travel to northeastern New Mexico, as regular in-office attendance, community engagement, and statewide travel are required.

Summary

The Collaboration and Community Action Program Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for the NMFWRI’s Collaboration and Community Action Program and facilitating collaborative action among partners; for creating and building collaborative capacity in multi-stakeholder groups; for organizing and taking a leadership role in regional networks of collaborative organizations; for supervising NMFWRI staff working in collaboration; for conducting applied research on collaboration in an adaptive management context; conducting applied research and compiling and reporting lessons learned from participation and collaboration in natural resources management. The goal of the Collaboration and Community Action Program is to catalyze the transformation of New Mexico’s community culture to one that supports a restorative and regenerative economy and is ecologically sustainable.

Duties & Responsibilities

•Advocate for collaborative forest restoration and adaptive ecological management in New Mexico and the Southwest.

•Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Collaboration and Community Action Program at NMFWRI, including establishing program priorities, developing work plans, identifying emerging needs, and overseeing projects and deliverables that strengthen collaborative capacity across New Mexico.

•Provide collaborative process support and/or assessment to collaborative groups when NMFWRI involvement addresses an identified need and advances program priorities.

•Chair committees and working groups in collaborative organizations and networks.

•Advance partnerships with federal, state, Tribal and local land management agencies and other stakeholders that support collaborative forest and watershed restoration and strengthen connections among practitioners, communities, researchers, and decision-makers.

•Conduct applied research on collaborative natural resource management and watershed restoration, and reporting on research at conferences and in publications.

•Translate research findings, assessments, practitioner knowledge, and lessons learned into accessible tools, trainings, guidance, and other resource that strengthen collaborative capacity.

•Use research findings, partner feedback, and program data to identify collaboration needs and gaps to guide program priorities, training, and resources to collaborative groups.

•Work with SWERI partners and practitioners in the Southwest and Western U.S. to connect the Collaboration and Community Action Program with relevant research, expertise, tools, and lessons learned related to collaborative forest and watershed restoration.

•Acquire funding to support collaborative activities, research and outreach.

•Serve as the NMFWRI’s specialist in community-based collaboration and collaborative group processes, facilitation, and capacity building.

•Supervise NMFWRI Collaboration and Community Action staff and student workers.

•Perform additional duties as assigned by the NMFWRI Director.

Qualifications

Education:

•A master’s degree in rural sociology, anthropology, human geography, human dimensions of natural resources, or another conservation-related field.

Experience:

•Three (3) years of experience facilitating on-the-ground collaborative activities and organizations.

•Commitment to diversity in conservation, including in the workplace, with partners, and/or in programs and projects.

•Experience working in conservation and communicating with diverse individuals and communities in rural area, including work with governments, non-profits, and private landowners.

•Three (3) years of experience conducting applied research on human/social dimensions of adaptive ecological management and restoration, reported in documents, publications and public presentations.

•Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

•Demonstrated commitment to personal and professional development in the context of strong teamwork.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

•A Ph.D. in rural sociology, anthropology, human geography, human dimensions of natural resources, or a closely related conservation field.

•Certification/training in facilitation, mediation, conflict resolution, network development, coalition building, and/or collaborative group processes.

Experience:

•Five (5) years of experience influencing, developing, and implementing on-the-ground conservation projects.

•Participation and leadership in place-based collaborative organizations and partnerships.

•Five (5) years of experience conducting applied research on human/social dimensions of adaptive ecological management and restoration, reported in documents, publications and public presentations.

•Demonstrated experience with historically under-represented and historically marginalized interests in conservation, including in the workplace, with partners, and/or in programs and projects.

•Demonstrated excellence in management of diverse stakeholders and complex projects / events with attention to detail, budget management, and strong communication.

•Experience working with collaborative conservation professionals in the western United States.

Preferred Skills

•Robust verbal, written, inter-personal communication skills.

•Ability to translate scientific findings into accessible, practical and educational guidance.

•Strategic program planning and evaluation skills.

•Experience mentoring staff and/or leading interdisciplinary teams.

•Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods and analytic tools.

•Strong grant writing and partnership development capabilities.

•Ability to align partners and strengthen cross-boundary educational implementation efforts.