Job Description

ABOUT US

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to wilderness, which deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for nearly 150 years.

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Tree Equity Director of Program Operations & Administration will play a vital role supporting American Forests’ (AF) goals to deliver the benefits of equitable urban tree cover to disadvantaged and historically under-resourced communities. Reporting to the Tree Equity Program Lead (an Executive-level role), the Director holds an administrative leadership role that will focus on the day-to-day operations, grant delivery and financial health of AF’s multi-million dollar Tree Equity program. The Director will help create systems and also dive into the details of establishing an efficient environment to deliver on program team’s work, including serving as primary liaison among the Tree Equity program staff and American Forests’ Finance & Administration staff, Operations and Logistics staff, and the Philanthropy team, particularly on administrative, operations, and compliance-related matters.

Additionally, the Director will support Tree Equity Lead’s time management and travel logistics, meeting agenda-setting and follow-up, progress reporting for funders, the Board of Directors, internal staff/leadership and others, and also manage and streamline daily financial aspects of the Tree Equity Program such as travel reimbursements, vendor payment approvals on behalf of the Program team, and ensuring grants progress and budget tracking, in partnership with the Philanthropy and Finance teams. This Director will also support the Vice President of Urban Forestry, who reports directly to the Tree Equity Lead, in some but not all functions.

The ideal candidate has a high commitment to efficiency, possesses stellar complex project management, organizing, and problem-solving skills, is confident in “managing up,” and has superior financial, administrative, technological, and writing skills. Experience with complex grants and funding sources in fast-paced non-profit environments is preferred – as is an individual with an environmental / conservation background.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITES

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Office Administration, Internal Systems, and Logistics (40%)

• Schedule and coordinate internal and external meetings and appearances for the Tree Equity Lead, set and/or manage agendas, manage notes and minutes, and support other logistical needs.
• Ensure buy-in and coordination of feedback from Tree Equity Lead and other leaders within the organization around key pressure-points or information needs, while also independently managing projects and other decision-making.
• Coordinate and finalize Tree Equity program-related agreements for Finance & Administration staff’s review and execution (grants, consulting and sponsorships); coordinating and ensuring timely vendor payments through coordination with the Finance & Administration team.
• Manage general operating support, including information sharing, progress reporting and presentations for the Tree Equity Program; manage and direct internal and external inquiries to appropriate staff.
• Manage reimbursements, timesheet entries, and travel logistics and meeting briefings for Tree Equity Program Lead.
• Special projects as needed, including copy editing, PowerPoints, event logistics, and the like.

Budget Oversight and Financial Operations (30%)

• Serve as the Tree Equity Program’s administrative liaison to AF’s Finance Team to ensure day-to-day operations of department budgets, including tracking of staff and expense coverage, identifying funding gaps, and to help ensure the Program team’s support in the organization’s migration to new technological management solutions, including Unanet, Raisers Edge, and Click Up.
• Serve as primary point person on behalf of Tree Equity program for its annual organizational budget portion and audit-related inquiries.

Grants Management, Compliance and Reporting (30%)

• Coordinate closely with the Tree Equity Program Lead, the Vice President of Urban Forestry, Vice President of Urban Policy, and the Vice President of GIS/Data Science as well as AF’s Operations and Finance & Administration staff to ensure programmatic compliance with grants (individual, foundation and government sources), and to establish systems of grants tracking and reporting that allow for transparency in revenues, expenses and funding needs for the Tree Equity Program.
• Serve as primary liaison between the Philanthropy team and AF’s Tree Equity Program team, to ensure smooth proposal development, tracking, and information sharing between departments.
• Where needed, work with and train members of the Tree Equity staff to ensure consistency in salary coverage and budget creation, management, build-out and ongoing tracking.
• Alongside AF’s Philanthropy team, track funder reporting requirements and coordination of reporting within and across departments that work on Tree Equity-related grants.
• As needed, support AF’s new grantmaking staff devoted to AF’s new $40 million pass through funding vehicle on needed back-office operations, including ensuring compliance with federal grants needs.

• 5-7 years of experience in non-profit operations or administration, with proven track record of supporting senior leaders around logistics and office management (at a Vice-President or Executive level). Executive Assistant experience, with demonstrated experience in calendar management, also a plus.
• Background or education in business administration, law, policy or non-profit management required.
• In depth experience with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams required; the ability to learn other project and budget management software, including Unanet (grants management), Intacct (contract management), Tallie (reimbursements), AirTable (CRM), and other programs is required.
• High level of emotional intelligence, political instinct, and ability to be flexible in a fast-paced environment, particularly while working for high-visibility leaders and programs.
• Commitment to justice, health, and equity for communities of all ages, cultures, neighborhoods, income levels, demographics, and lived experiences.

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