Title: Conservation Corps North Carolina Program Director
Starting Salary Range: $71,900 - $74,057. The starting salary for this position will be in the $71,900 - $74,057 range, depending on experience, education, and skills relevant to the position. Please note that the indicated starting salary range describes the range for an incumbent in this position. Most new staff generally start at the beginning of the range percentile to ensure internal salary equity.
Location: Durham, NC or Old Fort, NC. Partially Remote Eligible.
Status: Full-Time, Exempt.
Benefit Eligible: Health, Vision, Dental, Short/Long-Term Disability, Basic Life Retirement, Paid Time Off per Personnel Polices. Supplemental benefits including critical care, pet insurance, supplemental life, and others.
Reports to: CCNC Executive Director
Posting Period: Please apply before April 30, 2026.

It is vital for a candidate to submit both a resume and cover letter.

Organizational Summary:
Conservation Legacy is a nationwide non-profit. The Corps programs within the organization engage participants in diverse conservation and community projects that serve public and private lands. These projects provide opportunities for personal and professional development and strive toward a high priority of needs for public land managers and community partners. Through the mission of engaging future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service; Conservation Legacy works toward a world with healthy lands, air, and water; thriving people and resilient communities.

Program Summary:
Conservation Corps North Carolina (CCNC) empowers youth and young adults through meaningful outdoor work that benefits North Carolina’s land and water and fosters healthy communities. A program of Conservation Legacy, CCNC partners with public land managers and community organizations across the state to engage motivated individuals—typically ages 15–30—in challenging and impactful conservation service projects. These projects may include trail construction and maintenance, habitat restoration, hazard fuel reduction, invasive species removal, and other technical conservation work. CCNC crews and individual placements gain hands-on experience, professional development, and the opportunity to positively impact North Carolina’s natural resources and communities. CCNC has program offices in both Durham and Old Fort and supports project work statewide with partners including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, AmeriCorps, N.C. State Parks, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, local governments, community organizations, and nonprofits.

Position Summary:
The Program Director is responsible for safe and efficient crew operations across both CCNC offices. Program Director will work to train and mentor Program Managers and Coordinators; work with CCNC staff and external partners to develop, plan, and implement projects; develop and maintain management and data systems; and critically evaluate the program experience to implement corrections and refinements. The Program Director position will require regular fieldwork to model and support ongoing program delivery from both offices. Given the breadth of project work, partners, and geographical settings of staff and project work, the successful director will rely on their facilitation and team-building skills to cultivate a collaborative and challenging culture among their team and across the organization, all while reinforcing a sense of accountability and integrity. The Program Director also plays a critical role in supporting responsible budget management, including both crew program expense planning and reconciliation and developing new business to support revenue growth in partnership with the Executive Director.

Outcomes & Functions of Position:

Program Management

• Direct, plan, and oversee the implementation of all aspects of CCNC crew programming.
• Maintain strong working relationships with a diverse array of land managers and partners.
• Work with Executive Director and Managers to create and maintain operational schedule.
• Support development and management of partner agreements, including partner outreach and relationship management, project distribution, and expense and revenue budget management.
• Work closely with Executive Director to ensure that CCNC Crew Budget accurately portrays revenue and expense forecast and actuals. Regularly update budget to reflect changes.
• Lead program staff in fiscally responsible purchasing.
• Develop and maintain a positive relationship with project partners, funders, grantors, and community members.
• Develop, oversee, and manage project agreements and grants to ensure timely completion of project work including management of data through Salesforce.
• Ensure compliance with all Conservation Legacy and CCNC field policies and procedures; ensure risk management practices are effective and observed.
• Support CCNC compliance with AmeriCorps policies and procedures, including regular engagement with N.C. State AmeriCorps Commission staff.
• Participate in planning for growth and management, such as reorganization plans, staffing patterns, strategic plans, development plans, etc.
• Manage and participate in incident management systems.
• Manage and monitor program and organization tracking and reporting systems.
• Periodically visit crews in the field to assess program quality.
• Communicate regularly with project and community partners, soliciting and delivering feedback, and ensuring partner satisfaction.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with Conservation Legacy staff and supervisors.

Supervision and Oversight

• Supervise, train, and/or mentor Program Managers and Coordinators.
• Provide conflict management support for field personnel.
• Support and facilitate regular operations and other team meetings, including CCNC Leadership Team and All-Staff meetings, staff retreats, and other engagements.
• Lead the hiring, management, and evaluation of Coordinators, Field Technicians and Crew Leaders.
  Support development of crew leader training curriculum.
• Lead or support crew leader and member trainings.
• Manage and conduct check-ins with supervised staff on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Program Development

• Work with the Executive Director to build new and improve existing partnerships and review and pursue new opportunities to support overall revenue generation and ensure program meets revenue generation targets.
• Enhance quality of existing programs by reviewing and analyzing data and feedback and collaborating with CCNC staff to make program improvements.
• Oversee the development and implementation of new programs that fulfill CCNC’s mission and needs. This included developing program models, assessing capacity needs, and advocating for resources for these programs to be successful.
• Assist with grant proposals, fundraising initiatives, and partner development to sustain CCNC’s crew program.

Administration

• Process and maintain accurate personnel documentation, including timesheets.
• Ensure all onboarding and AmeriCorps paperwork is processed in a timely manner.
• Manage and approve supervised staff credit card reconciliation on a monthly basis.
• Work closely with all administrative staff to ensure that workers compensation and member suspension forms are completed, submitted, and communicated in a timely manner.
• Compile accomplishment data and narratives for grant reports.

Organizational Advocacy

• Successfully engages, leads and supports a positive work environment for all within the organization and the communities we serve.
• Leads and/or participates in organizational-wide teams, projects and initiatives that support the work of the Strategic Plans goals.
• Reports any potential complaints within the organization as identified in the Personnel Policy Manual.
• Assists or leads other responsibilities, as assigned.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years’ experience in conservation and/or youth development.Three or more years of year-round supervisory experience.

• Three or more years of experience working with external partners.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor young adults working in remote outdoors settings performing arduous physical labor.

• Familiarity with North Carolina ecosystems, conservation organizations, and opportunities relevant to CCNC’s current and future work.

• Technical competence and experience in at least two of the following: full bench trail construction, trail maintenance, prescribed fire, forest management, invasive species management, GIS, and/or chainsaw operations and maintenance.

• Current B-Faller Chainsaw certification, or willingness to earn within 12 months of start date.

• Current Wilderness First Responder, or willingness to earn within 12 months of start date.

• Current North Carolina Individual Pesticide Applicators License or willingness to earn within 12 months of start date.

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, natural resource management, non-profit management, or other related field or comparable experience.

• Valid Driver’s License and Insurable Driving Record per Personnel Policies.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs and applications, or similar platforms.

• Familiarity with SalesForce or other CRM platforms for data tracking and management.

• Must be able to pass the organization’s criminal history check requirements.

Ability to work well with others and to seek assistance when needed to carry out assignments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous program and leadership experience with a conservation corps.
• Proven track record of successful conservation project work in North Carolina.
• Mental Health First Aid certification.
• Current C-Faller Chainsaw or Crosscut certification.
• Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder Instructor.
• Experienced in Restorative Justice practices and Conflict Resolution.
• Experienced with Trauma Informed Care practices

Other Competencies Desired for this Position’s Success: Manage Complexity, Resourceful, Effectively Communicate, Cultivate Innovation, Drive and/or Influence Results, Plans & Aligns.

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.