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Director Land Stewardship Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Foxhollow Farm

Distribution Lead

Crestwood, KY

$28/hr

... of land stewardship. What began as a traditional working farm has grown into a nationally ... Partner with the Market & Distribution Director to oversee daily beef sales and distribution ...

Georgia Conservancy

Coastal Project Lead

Savannah, GA · On-site

$68K/yr

Land Conservation Programs Working with the Programs Director, you will support Georgia Conservancy's land stewardship and landowner engagement initiatives. These activities may include:

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Director Land Stewardship information

What are the main challenges a director of land stewardship faces when balancing conservation goals with organizational or community needs?

A Director of Land Stewardship often encounters the challenge of aligning long-term conservation objectives with the immediate needs of stakeholders, such as landowners, local communities, and partner organizations. This role requires navigating differing priorities, such as habitat restoration versus recreational use, and ensuring compliance with legal and funding requirements. Effective communication, collaboration, and adaptive management strategies are essential for building consensus and maintaining productive relationships, all while advancing the organization's stewardship mission.

What is the difference between Director Land Stewardship vs Land Conservation Manager?

AspectDirector Land StewardshipLand Conservation Manager
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Environmental Science, Ecology, or related field; certifications like RLA or AICPBachelor's or Master's in Environmental Planning, Conservation, or related field; similar certifications
Work EnvironmentStrategic leadership in nonprofit or government agencies, overseeing large land programsOperational management of land projects, fieldwork, and community engagement
Employer & Industry UsageNonprofits, government agencies, conservation organizationsConservation agencies, land trusts, environmental consulting firms

The main difference is that the Director Land Stewardship focuses on strategic leadership and policy development for land conservation programs, while the Land Conservation Manager handles day-to-day project management and field operations. Both roles require similar credentials and work in related environments, but the director role is more strategic and oversight-oriented.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a director of land stewardship, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director of Land Stewardship, you need a strong background in ecology, natural resource management, and conservation planning, often supported by an advanced degree in environmental science or a related field. Familiarity with GIS software, land management databases, and regulatory compliance systems is typically required. Leadership, strategic communication, and stakeholder engagement are critical soft skills for guiding teams and building partnerships. These skills ensure effective stewardship of natural resources, compliance with regulations, and successful collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

What does a director of land stewardship do?

A Director of Land Stewardship is responsible for overseeing the management, conservation, and restoration of natural lands, such as parks, preserves, or conservation areas. They develop and implement strategies to protect natural resources, enhance biodiversity, and ensure sustainable land use. This role often involves working with landowners, government agencies, and community stakeholders to promote best practices in land management. Directors also supervise staff, manage budgets, and report on the effectiveness of stewardship programs. Their work is critical in maintaining healthy ecosystems for current and future generations.
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Director Land Stewardship jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Land Stewardship job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, and 15% Part Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution.

Senior Land Stewardship Technician

The Land Institute

Salina, KS • On-site

$57K - $71K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 7 days ago

Job description

Senior Land Stewardship Technician
Who We Are + What We Do
The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, regenerative grain agriculture at a scale that matches the enormity of the intertwined climate, water, and food security crises. An independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit founded in 1976, the organization seeks to reconcile the human economy with nature's economy, starting with food. The transdisciplinary team of scientists, together with global partners, is developing new perennial grain crops, like Kernza®, and diverse cropping systems that function within nature's limits while researching the social transformation required for a just, perennial human future.
Position Description
As the Senior Land Stewardship Technician, you will collaboratively plan and enact stewardship activities at multiple landholdings, including The Land Institute's Wauhob Prairie and Marty Bender Nature Area. You will also advance shared projects in place-based community learning and public engagement. You will join a dynamic, growing organization and contribute to how we learn and practice what is possible for a just transition to perennial cultures and landscapes in our home region.
This role is grounded in the organization's Perennial Cultures Lab, reporting to the Director, and requires close cooperation with lab co-workers in land relations and educational design, along with colleagues in campus facilities, operations, and natural science research. This is a new role, and we anticipate that the incoming Senior Land Stewardship Technician will help shape the position in the context of an evolving team structure.
Primary Responsibilities + Expectations
Steward land - 60%
  • Participate in cross-functional, comprehensive strategic planning that applies the organization's land ethic across all landholdings
  • Assess land stewardship needs and opportunities, including through consultative processes
  • Collaboratively develop near- and long-term stewardship goals for particular landholdings
  • Create tactical prescriptions for particular landholdings to meet stewardship goals while working within budgeted resources and timelines
  • Perform land management tasks, including trail development and maintenance, prairie seed harvest, restoration planting, woody plant removal, prescribed burning, herbicide treatment, tool and equipment maintenance, boundary maintenance, monitoring, and support of research activities
  • Follow safety procedures and best practices during fieldwork
  • Perform routine inspection, maintenance, and cleaning of stewardship equipment and tools
  • Maintain accurate records of stewardship decisions, management actions, equipment use, maintenance needs, and project outcomes
  • Develop and maintain relationships with key land stewardship partners and collaborators

Contribute to place-based community learning - 20%
  • Plan and direct land stewardship work & learn groups, including staff and volunteers
  • Collaboratively develop and/or inform research, outreach, and creative projects that involve land stewardship activities
  • Help facilitate local and regional engagement activities, including public events and tours, community partner visits, and staff and volunteer education
  • Build trusting relationships with diverse colleagues, collaborators, and community members
  • Communicate about land stewardship work and impacts in ways that are accurate, compelling, and accessible to multiple audiences
  • Collaboratively develop, inform, and/or construct and install interpretive signage and other kinds of educational or interactive displays for particular landholdings

Participate in growing a strategic, inclusive learning culture - 20%
  • Provide input on organizational and lab strategy
  • Connect mission, strategy, and values to your activities and choices
  • Practice organizational competencies (see below)
  • Collaborate and consult as you make decisions
  • Engage in individual and group reflection and evaluation
  • Give and receive feedback and apply lessons learned
  • Participate in staff and lab meetings, organizational events and teams, and lab cross-training
  • Seek understanding of programs and activities across the organization
  • Share updates and results from your work
  • Participate in co-mentoring
  • Engage in professional development

Organizational Competencies
  • Mission Driven: You are passionate about the mission of The Land Institute and are interested in aligning your skills and personal genius to benefit this work.
  • Courageous: You do not retreat or shy away from hard things. You face challenges and conflict with professionalism, grace, and resolve.
  • A Boundary Spanner: You bring an interdisciplinary skill set, and you model self-awareness in your own preferences. You are motivated to always be learning, and you adapt to span boundaries with people across a range of different perspectives.
  • Inspiring and Inspired: You are inspired by the people around you, finding and harnessing the genius in your colleagues to meet the organizational objectives, and you are inspiring others through example and your own genius applied.
  • Growth Mindset: You have the vulnerability to know what you don't know, admit your flaws, and learn from others to grow and develop yourself and the organization.
  • A Creative Collaborator: You believe in the power of a diverse collective to generate ideas and solutions. You excel at strategic thinking, being open to new perspectives, and managing innovation. You bring a playful, positive approach to the work and like meeting new people and deepening connections with those you already know.
  • Excited by Change: You embrace nascent and evolving situations and enjoy engaging new people, ideas, and possibilities. You think about change holistically: internal, external, organizational, and cultural. You like iterating systems, building efficiency, and operationalizing design. You are willing to jump in and contribute to new projects as needed.

Who You Are
  • You hold a bachelor's degree with 2-4 years of work experience in land stewardship, natural resource management, biology, environmental science, or a similar field-or an equivalent combination of education and applied experience
  • You are enthusiastic about hopeful approaches to landscape-scale, system-wide change through perennialization and diversification
  • You are motivated by a strong land ethic and commitment to the land community in this place and region (near the Smoky Hill River and Salina, Kansas in the central Great Plains)
  • You are highly collaborative and cooperative
  • You enjoy creatively solving practical problems
  • You are excellent at time management and prioritization
  • You have experience working with natural systems, recognizing plant and animal species, and applying scientific knowledge
  • You have successfully created and enacted land stewardship plans
  • You have developed and implemented projects that involve multiple disciplines or communities, and maintained constructive working relationships with varied groups over time
  • You are skilled at land management, including performing physical work
  • You have experience operating, maintaining, and safely transporting land management equipment such as tractors, skid steers, UTVs, trailers, chainsaws, brush cutters, mowers, sprayers, prescribed fire equipment, and other stewardship tools
  • You have the ability and willingness to obtain additional certifications and training as needed
  • You hold yourself to a high standard of work, and continually look for ways to improve and promote quality and safety for everyone involved in fieldwork
  • You have a valid driver's license, and you hold or are able to obtain other required licenses or certifications
  • You have a working knowledge of relevant digital software for planning and documenting land stewardship activities
  • You are excited about community engagement and communicating about land stewardship
  • You have interest in or experience with place-based efforts to advance food justice, land justice, and climate justice

Hours
Generally available to work forty hours per week, primarily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central Time on weekdays when most of our staff and collaborators are working, but allowing for flexible scheduling that may be dependent on weather and labor availability
Some evening and weekend hours will be needed for public program activities
We are flexible for caregivers who might need to provide rides or support, attend appointments, or be available for caregiving
Location + Travel
  • Based at The Land Institute's main campus in Salina, Kansas, USA
  • Limited travel, primarily within Kansas and the central Great Plains region, for relevant site visits and community partner engagement, project meetings, lab meetings, and professional development
  • You will have a laptop computer and access to work and commuter vehicles along with appropriate travel budget and mileage reimbursement

Environmental + Working Conditions
  • Work in a general office environment
  • Field tasks involve the regular and sustained performance of moderately physically demanding work, often involving some combination of climbing ladders, bending, reaching, standing, operating equipment, working on uneven terrain, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling, and which involves the lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of moderately heavy objects and materials (up to 60 pounds) and occasionally heavy items (up to 100 pounds)

Compensation + Benefits
The Land Institute offers an excellent benefits package and a competitive salary commensurate with experience. The salary range for this position is $57,000 - $ 71,000 annually.
  • Remote-friendly work environment (position dependent)
  • Paid parental leave
  • Competitive, equitable compensation
  • 403(b) Retirement
  • 403(b) Employer contributions
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Employer-Provided Life Insurance
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Dependent Care
  • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Life Insurance
  • Accidental Insurance
  • Critical Illness Insurance
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Paid holidays
  • Generous paid time off
  • Complete laptop workstation and set up for remote work

To apply: We encourage all interested applicants to apply, even if they don't meet every requirement, as we value diverse experiences and a strong willingness to learn. Please submit your resume/CV and letter of interest by July 17, 2026.
The Land Institute is an equal opportunity employer and embraces the opportunity to provide employment to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. We are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Pay Range: $57,000 - $71,000 per year

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