Senior Forest Ecologist

About The Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild places since 1935. Our mission is to unite people to protect America’s wild places. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit www.wilderness.org.

Position Overview

Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Science, the Senior Forest Ecologist, coordinates, and conducts forest ecology research that informs and advances the work of The Wilderness Society. We seek a broadly trained forest ecologist with additional expertise in wildfire and/or climate research. The Senior Forest Ecologist ensures ecological research is of the highest quality and informs science-based advocacy across the organization. In addition to internal duties, the Senior Forest Ecologist represents the organization externally as a national leader in forest ecology.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Collaborates with program staff to apply forest ecology and wildfire science to campaign strategy and implementation.
• Works with multidisciplinary teams—including law, policy, communications, and advocacy staff—to co-develop research questions and share findings and insights across the organization.
• Produces scientific reports, white papers, peer-reviewed papers, and science and policy briefs needed to inform protection, restoration, and stewardship of public lands.
• Develops science and provides data to inform organizational policy positions.
• Serves as a respected internal and external expert, communicating research, analytical findings, and policy recommendations to government agencies, elected officials, conservation partners, the media, and other audiences.
• Supports the development of funding proposals by contributing research, analysis, and subject matter expertise.
• Manage contracts and other means of augmenting analytical capacity.
• Travels as needed to attend short-duration meetings, give presentations, and visit specific project sites.
• Adheres to and ensures compliance with all TWS policies and procedures (including finance, human resources, and legal), holding staff accountable for adhering to these standards to promote an ethical, compliant, and efficient workplace.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in forestry, forest ecology, forest-fire ecology, or related field and at least 7 years of experience initiating and leading complex forest ecology research projects.
• Strong quantitative skills, working knowledge of geospatial concepts and principles, and an established record of exceptional research competence and productivity that includes peer-reviewed publications.
• Well-organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to work independently, manage multiple projects, and make sound scientific judgements with minimal supervision.
• Knowledge of conservation issues on U.S. public lands and how they relate to natural resource management and federal public land policy and a basic understanding of federal environmental laws.
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams and with diverse groups in and outside the conservation community.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills and demonstrated ability to translate complex ecological information into terms that can be understood by a non-scientific audience.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, think creatively, and write convincingly.
• Passion for and commitment to wildland conservation.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically when necessary.

Preferred Locations

• Washington, DC
• Denver, CO
• Bozeman, MT

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $92,000-$108,000 depending on location.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit CV and cover letter by September 20th. The Wilderness Society offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and pet insurance; sick and vacation leave; a sabbatical program; and a retirement plan with employer contribution subject to certain limits and requirements.

TWS is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair treatment of our employees and constituents across cultures, socioeconomic statuses, races, marital or family situations, genders, ages, ethnicities, religious beliefs, physical abilities, veteran statuses or sexual orientations.

To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society.

Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, TWS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. TWS complies with federal and state disability laws and is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. If you require accommodation to complete the application process or to perform the essential functions of the position, please contact careers@tws.org.

TWS only accepts resumes submitted for positions that are currently open. Unsolicited resumes or resumes for posted positions that are not submitted via the online application process (where applicable), will not be reviewed or retained.