Arizona Conservation Corps-Executive Director

Starting salary range: $106,900 - $113,314, depending on experience, education, and skills. Most new staff generally start at the beginning of the range to ensure internal salary equity.

Location: Tucson, Flagstaff, or Phoenix, AZ — not remote eligible.

Status: Full-time, exempt, benefit eligible.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Basic life insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off per personnel policies
• Supplemental benefits including critical care, pet insurance, and supplemental life

About the Organization

Conservation Legacy is a nationwide nonprofit whose Corps programs engage participants in diverse conservation and community projects on public and private lands. These projects provide personal and professional development while addressing high-priority needs for land managers and community partners. Through its mission of engaging future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands, Conservation Legacy works toward a world with healthy lands, air, and water; thriving people; and resilient communities.

About Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC)

Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC) operates programs across Arizona, engaging individuals and strengthening communities through service and conservation. AZCC has offices in Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson, supporting local and regional projects. AZCC partners with federal, state, municipal, tribal, and nonprofit entities to engage young adults in crew-based projects (trails, fire, invasive-species mitigation, cultural resources) and individual placements (interpretive roles, volunteer coordination). AZCC focuses on connecting youth, young adults, and recent-era military veterans with conservation service work, promoting personal growth, experiential learning, and an ethic of natural-resource stewardship.

Responsibilities

Business Leadership

• Provide organizational leadership in support of Conservation Legacy’s guiding principles, mission, vision, and values
• Administer long-term strategic plans for program growth
• Manage day-to-day business-development and corporate-planning activities
• Oversee fundraising strategies and ensure identified revenue goals are met
• Cultivate an adaptive environment aligned with internal and external changes
• Lead business and government relations with public-land agencies, community leaders, and local nonprofits in cooperation with senior Conservation Legacy staff
• Develop and maintain relationships that favor sustainability and leverage innovative funding opportunities
• Identify, develop, and steward high-quality relationships aligned with Conservation Legacy’s mission and vision
• Lead local and external communications
• Prepare and manage the annual Corps budget with full understanding of allocations and modifications
• Align priorities with organization-wide standards and strategies
• Connect AZCC program staff with Conservation Legacy’s business, finance, HR, and operational functions to ensure compliance
• Gather and analyze data to evaluate new business opportunities or assess potential markets

Corps Programming

• Develop and administer a program plan aligned with organizational objectives
• Establish and maintain local systems and processes that align with organization-wide standards, ensuring staff accountability
• Lead operational accountability by following policies and procedures and fostering leadership among staff
• Address and manage operational issues with integrity to maintain trust across the organization and industry
• Ensure Corps staff adhere to operating practices and expectations, including communication, supervision, collaboration, succession, growth, and field operations

Organizational Advocacy

• Engage, lead, and support a positive work environment for staff and the communities served
• Lead or participate in organization-wide teams, projects, and initiatives supporting strategic-plan goals
• Report potential complaints as outlined in the Personnel Policy Manual
• Assist or lead additional responsibilities as assigned

Requirements

• Ability to effectively work and lead teams with diverse backgrounds
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in youth development, the corps field, or an adjacent industry
• Minimum of 5 years in a leadership role within a nonprofit or similar organization, including budget management
• Demonstrated success in leading a program or organization toward its mission and outcomes
• Flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to work in a fluid, changing environment
• Competence in carrying out assigned work independently or with minimal supervision
• Effective communication skills, ability to manage complexity, cultivate innovation, drive and influence results
• Ability to lead and collaborate with others while seeking assistance when needed
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office or similar platforms
• Demonstrated experience with stakeholder management and revenue development
• Ability to hold remote staff accountable to expectations
• Must pass the organization’s criminal-history background check
• Valid driver’s license and insurable driving record

Physical Requirements

• Periodic overnight travel
• Non-traditional work hours
• Ability to move across varied terrain
• Use of program-specific tools and technology
• Occasional exertion of up to 25 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects
• Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle (for some positions)

Desired Competencies

• Manage complexity
• Resourcefulness
• Effective communication
• Cultivate innovation
• Drive and/or influence results
• Plans and aligns priorities