Trust for Public Land · 23 hours ago
Project Manager - Southern Appalachian Land Protection
Southern Appalachia Region, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, or South Carolina
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid, Senior Level
$82K/yr - $96K/yr
4+ years expTrust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that connects communities to the outdoors by creating parks and protecting public lands. The Project Manager will support the Appalachia United Outdoors initiative, focusing on land acquisition and outdoor recreation-based economic development across several Southern states.
LandscapingNon ProfitParksWildlife Conservation
Responsibilities
Support project planning and execution across Appalachia United Outdoors initiative geography, with a focus on the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Work closely with the TN State Director, Appalachian United Outdoors Program Manager, and Southeastern Land Protection Director to align land protection projects with TPL’s regional priorities
With internal consultation, manage land acquisition projects, particularly linear trail corridors, community forests, and water access, by overseeing all aspects of the acquisition and conveyance of property, including negotiating purchase agreements and contracts for and reviewing appraisals and environmental assessments; assisting with legal document preparation; managing public review processes; organizing grassroots political support; completing internal approval documents/procedures, maps and photos; and related administrative tasks
Build and strengthen collaborations with federal, state, county, local governments, nonprofit partners, and community leaders to advance outdoor recreation and land protection priorities
Coordinate with TPL philanthropy staff to support fundraising and reporting efforts for the Appalachia United Outdoors initiative
Prepare and write grant applications, project budgets, and report deliverables
Serve as a regional liaison and project spokesperson as needed, helping to highlight how outdoor recreation investments improve health, equity, resilience, and local economies
Track budgets, contracts, and timelines to ensure timely and successful delivery of projects
Other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Strong commitment to TPL's shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization
Minimum of four years of land conservation real estate transaction experience required
Demonstrated expertise in managing complex land acquisition and outdoor recreation access projects
Experience in outdoor recreation economic development or outdoor recreation business leadership, including collaboration with entrepreneurs and small businesses such as outfitters, guides, gear companies, and retailers
5+ years' experience in land acquisition, outdoor recreation, community engagement, and/or land use planning
Demonstrated ability to manage projects from concept to completion, including budgets, contracts, vendor administration, and partner communications
Familiarity with public funding sources for conservation and recreation and experience managing grant-funded projects
Comfortable building relationships with individual donors to support TPL's work in the Southern Appalachians
Strong skills in building partnerships and engaging the community with experience working across multiple jurisdictions and diverse stakeholders
Ability to travel across Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina (up to 30%, including some evenings and weekends)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Capability to build philanthropic relationships in collaboration with TPL philanthropy staff to support TPL's work with landowners, individuals, and institutional donors
Excellent working knowledge of the processes for obtaining public and private funding for land acquisition and nonprofit budget management
Sound understanding of real estate principles and economics
Expert knowledge of the real estate due diligence process and government real property acquisition review process
Facility navigating government land acquisition policies, procedures, funding application processes, and the role of TPL political staff at the state and federal levels
Strong negotiator, able to build landowner and public partner trust/rapport to secure complicated real estate deals
Knowledge of park, trails, and open space issues, growth management, urban and rural planning and development, or a related field, preferably with a statewide perspective
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with senior program staff and manage multiple priorities simultaneously
Proven ability to organize and manage multiple projects with diverse and numerous public and private partners and processes to develop programs and use resources of the organization to accomplish larger initiatives
A passion for community-driven engagement and economic revitalization through outdoor recreation
Preferred
Bachelor's degree [preferred] in landscape architecture, planning, natural resources, or a related field
Experience engaging and building trust with under-resourced communities in the Southern Appalachians is strongly preferred
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Vacation and sick pay plus holidays
A year end office closure
A 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match
Company
Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land is a group working to protect and save public lands instead of allowing their sale or abuse.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Trust for Public Land has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2024 (1)
2023 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$19.71MKey Investors
Bishop Parker FoundationU.S. Department of AgricultureREI Cooperative Action Fund
2025-12-02Grant· $0.05M
2024-10-29Grant· $19.44M
2024-05-07Grant· $0.2M
Leadership Team
Diane Regas
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jim Obendorf
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial/Administrative Officer
Recent News
2025-11-07
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