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About the Role

The Vice President, Conservation is AMC's most senior conservation executive and a member of the Management Team, reporting directly to the President & CEO. The VP provides enterprise-level vision, strategy, and operational leadership for AMC's four integrated conservation departments—Land Management, Trails, Research, and Policy—ensuring they function as a cohesive, mission-driven, and financially sustainable portfolio. This is a high-impact role for a strategic, collaborative, and externally credible conservation leader who can negotiate complex land management issues, build durable partnerships with public agencies, Tribes, philanthropic partners, and peer organizations, and elevate AMC's conservation voice across the region and the nation.

Responsibilities

Serve as a core member of AMC's Management Team, partnering with the President & CEO and peer executives to shape and execute organizational strategy, financial planning, and long-range vision.
Provide unified leadership for AMC's Land, Trails, Research, and Policy departments, integrating them into a single, mission-driven, Conservation division.
Develop, implement, and continuously evaluate multi-year strategic and operating plans for the Conservation division, with clear KPIs and accountability measures.
Represent the Conservation division to the Board of Directors, Partners and Donors.
Set the strategic direction for AMC's owned and conserved lands across its 5-state footprint, including the Maine Woods Initiative and all regional holdings, camps, and reservations.
Oversee organization-wide land management planning, including forest management, ecological stewardship, watershed restoration and fish passage, boundary and survey work, taxation strategy, carbon sales, and inholding consolidation.
Maintain and strengthen AMC’s leadership role in responsible land management through strategic partnerships and key investments in targeted land acquisitions.
Cultivate and steward relationships with adjacent landowners, forestry partners, Tribal partners, recreational user groups, and surrounding communities.
Provide executive oversight of AMC's 1,800+ miles of trails and its professional trails contracting program, volunteer trails programs, and trails centers.
Ensure a sustainable business and financial model for the professional trails program, balancing contract growth, internal stewardship needs, and right-sized volunteer programming.
Direct the strategic expansion of trails impact across priority states and ensure operational excellence, safety, and quality across all trails work.
Champion AMC's trails as a signature public-facing asset that connects recreation, conservation, and community engagement.
Provide executive oversight of AMC's research program, ensuring scientific rigor, relevance, and alignment with conservation strategy.
Elevate AMC's research—on air quality, water quality, climate, biodiversity, and recreation ecology—to internal and external audiences, including the Board, donors, partners, and the broader scientific community.
Build and steward strategic research partnerships with academic institutions, agencies, and peer organizations, including capital-supported field stations and collaborative research initiatives.
Provide executive oversight of AMC's Conservation Policy team and lead the integration of policy work across local, state, and federal levels through coordinated engagement of staff, volunteers, chapter networks, and Board members.
Set advocacy priorities aligned with AMC's mission, including landscape and recreation protection, climate mitigation and resilience, forest health, clean water, and the outdoor recreation economy.
Maintain trusted relationships with leadership level state and federal policymakers, agency leaders, Tribal governments, and coalition partners; serve as a credible public voice for AMC on conservation policy.
Ensure that AMC's policy work is informed by and integrated with the organization's research, land management, and trails expertise.
Serve as a senior fundraising partner to the President & CEO and the Development team, leading the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors, foundations, corporate partners, and public funders for conservation initiatives.
Represent AMC externally as a prominent and credible conservation leader through media, conferences, Boards, coalitions, social channels, and public speaking engagements.

Requirements

15+ years of progressively senior leadership experience in conservation, land management, forestry, environmental policy, or a closely related field, with at least 7 years at the executive or senior director level.
Demonstrated success leading and integrating multiple conservation disciplines (e.g., land protection, stewardship, science, advocacy, recreation infrastructure).
Proven ability to structure and negotiate complex land transactions, including fee acquisitions, conservation easements, and multi-party partnerships.
Strong financial acumen, including experience managing multi-million-dollar budgets, capital projects, and earned-revenue programs.
Demonstrated fundraising success with major individual donors, foundations, and public funders.
Track record of building, mentoring, and retaining diverse, high-performing teams; strong commitment to delegation and leadership development.
Excellent executive communication skills, including writing, public speaking, and Board-level presentation.
This position must be based within 2–3 hours of one of AMC’s major hubs in New York City, Boston, New Hampshire, or Maine, as regular travel throughout the region is required.
Travel includes time spent on AMC lands, at trails operations, research stations, and policy events in state capitals and Washington, D.C.
The role combines office-based, field, and remote outdoor work and includes occasional evening and weekend commitments to support Board meetings, donor events, and external engagement activities.
Bachelor's degree required
Include a resume and cover letter.
No phone calls or agencies please.
Requires a criminal background record check performed on their name annually with employment contingent upon satisfactory results.
Requires a criminal background record check performed on their name annually with employment contingent upon satisfactory results for employees who work in a program or facility which serves children, disabled persons, or the elderly.

Skills

Conservation
Land Management
Forestry
Environmental Policy
Executive Leadership
Strategic Planning
Financial Planning
Land Stewardship
Trails Management
Scientific Research
Conservation Policy
Advocacy
Fundraising
Partnership Building
Negotiation
Team Leadership
Communication
Public Speaking
Board Presentations
Modern Productivity Tools
GIS
AI Tools

Location

Hybrid - Hybrid, NY 10927
Within 2-3 hours of NYC, Boston, NH, or ME

Work Type

Hybrid
Full Time
Office-based
Field
Remote outdoor work

Experience Level

15+ years of progressively senior leadership experience
At least 7 years at the executive or senior director level

Education Level

Bachelor's degree required
Master's degree in a relevant field (Preferred)
Professional credentials such as Licensed Forester, Certified Ecologist, or equivalent (Preferred)

Salary/Compensations

$120,870.00 - $175,236.00

Benefits

Health Plan: Generous employer contributions through Cigna with optional vision and dental.
Other Insurance: 100% employer paid life insurance, AD&D insurance, long-term disability.
Career Progression: Potential for annual compensation reviews commensurate with performance and effort.
Retirement: Mandatory 403(b) with 4% matching employer contributions and a vesting schedule.
Paid Time Off: up to 4 weeks of paid earned time and up to 11 paid company holidays.
Team Member Perks: 30% discount on AMC Merchandise
Free Annual AMC Membership
10 Free nights at AMC locations
Educational Assistance
Prodeals discounts on equipment & gear

About the Company

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the nation's oldest conservation and recreation organization, dedicated to the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
AMC owns and stewards land in 5 states —including 160,000-acres in the Maine 100-Mile Wilderness —maintains 1,800+ miles of trails, conducts nationally recognized scientific research, and advances state and federal conservation policy across a 12-state footprint.

Equal Opportunity

The Appalachian Mountain Club has zero tolerance for child abuse or placing children in danger.