Kenyon College invites applications for the Director of Philander Chase Conservancy. Philander Chase Conservancy has protected nearly 6,000 acres within a five-mile radius of the Kenyon College campus through permanent conservation easements, agricultural easements, fee simple title acquisition, and other conservation efforts. Kenyon seeks a forward-thinking leader to help shape and articulate the vision for land conservation in the region and increase opportunities to directly engage students, academic partners, and those affiliated with the college in land conservation work. The Director, reporting to the President of Kenyon College and accountable to the Board of Directors through the Chair of the Board, will work with willing landowners to ensure the rural nature of the county remains in perpetuity. The Director will be a partner to farmers, grow conservation expertise, increase the value of the organization as a partner in best practices, and pursue relevant funding opportunities.

Under its program umbrella, The Conservancy also holds title to the Kokosing Nature Preserve (KNP), a dedicated green burial ground. The KNP is a stand-alone 501(c)13 (cemetery corporation) governed by a small Board of Directors, which includes the Director of the Conservancy. The preserve offers a natural burial option on twenty-three acres of native prairie and woodland. KNP was envisioned as an opportunity to create a dedicated income stream for conservation and has a permanent endowment fund for future care and property maintenance. Currently, one Conservancy staff member dedicates time to support this program directly, but the nature of this work requires additional staff support at times. KNP is still evolving its potential conservation and financial contributions.

The Conservancy will be an integral partner with the College as it actively develops a new strategic approach to organizing, elevating, and aligning the work of several “green”-related campus offices and programs. The Director will be an engaged collaborator with academic and administrative departments, the Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC), the Kenyon Farm, the Environmental Studies Department, the Office of Green Initiatives and others engaged in sustainability efforts across campus. Although the structure and design for this formal collaboration has not yet been finalized, this is an exciting opportunity for reimagining how this work is positioned in Kenyon’s third century.

In addition to partnerships on campus, the Conservancy also seeks to broaden its participation in planning and regional conservation with the village of Gambier, College Township, nearby cities such as Mt. Vernon, Knox County as well as other statewide efforts. The Director will also continue to evolve relationships with other conservation organizations and will advance regional conservation and stewardship efforts by seeking out more opportunities for partnership and leveraging those partnerships for student learning.

The Director will build on the existing talented staff of the Conservancy and shape the future of the organization through the hiring of a new Green Burial Coordinator for Kokosing Nature Preserve. The Director will lead all functions required for continued land trust accreditation including relationship and transaction development, high-quality conservation easements, monitoring, land stewardship, and the development of appropriate financial and conservation-related records. The Director will be supported by Kenyon College staff in developing increasingly robust fundraising, budget, financial tracking, and the reporting required for good management, annual audits, grant development, and funding compliance.

The Director will need exceptional communication skills, a broad understanding of land use and conservation practice, as well as savvy interpersonal skills to navigate the various departments, initiatives, and resources available to support the Conservancy’s efforts. The staff of the Conservancy, including the Director, are Kenyon employees and are governed by Kenyon Human Resources policies and are granted Kenyon benefits.

Essential Functions

Leadership and Strategy

• Be a visible leader; represent the Conservancy broadly and with integrity, extending its reputation as a trusted partner both on campus and in the community;
• Develop a deep understanding of local land use issues and agricultural practices and build warm, strong relationships with local landowners;
• Be an effective advocate for land conservation and smart growth, work pragmatically to ensure growing enthusiasm for conservation;
• Work in close collaboration with partners across the campus to position the Conservancy and the Kokosing Nature Preserve as resources, laboratories, and classrooms to advance the educational mission of Kenyon;
• Collaboratively develop opportunities for more students to directly experience land conservation and stewardship practices in action, engage the academic community in fully utilizing the Conservancy for educational purposes and inspire new possibilities for enriched learning;
• Work together with local, regional, state, and federal partners to pursue collaborations and resources to advance local and regional conservation goals;
• Work closely with the Board to ensure strong Board governance and capacity, build opportunities for strong committee work and staff engagement; assist the Board in the recruitment and evaluation of board members and in succession planning and engage the Board to address issues of importance to the operations and strategy of the organization;
• Facilitate and participate in meetings of the Board of Directors and standing committees, assist the Board and committees by preparing reports and with other support when requested; and
• Review and execute the roadmap to achieve financial neutrality allowing the Conservancy to contribute to the greater educational and environmental priorities of the College and have more agency in their work.

Land Protection

• Oversee land transactions, monitoring and enforcement, and ensure compliance with the highest standards of land trust practice;
• Establish and maintain positive and productive relationships with landowners; work directly with landowners to discuss conservation and agricultural programs and negotiate mutually agreeable conservation projects and foster those relationships over time;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with organizations and campus programs and initiatives involved in land stewardship, preservation, and land use planning;
• Work collaboratively and with humility in engaging the leadership of villages, townships, counties, and municipalities in advancing conservation efforts;
• In collaboration with the conservation and lands committee of the Board, present and prioritize land protection and agricultural conservation projects;
• Facilitate and/or prepare, review, and finalize all documents necessary to consummate land conservation projects; ensure their accuracy and completeness and adherence to best practices.

Fundraising, Communications and Partnership Development

• Be the external face of the Conservancy; effectively represent the organization in order to increase its impact, visibility, and support for its operations and ongoing conservation efforts;
• Work in collaboration with the Kenyon Advancement office to identify and steward relationships to raise the funds for the current land conservation and stewardship goals, maintain sound operations, reduce reliance on Kenyon’s financial support and build sustainability for the long-term stewardship of easements and properties held;
• Coordinate and engage the Board and staff in raising the profile of the Conservancy with prospective donors, alumni, and community members;
• Coordinate with the Board, staff, and others in the planning and organizing of annual fundraising and partner recognition activities, alumni events, and other opportunities for campus visibility;
• Oversee the review, editing and submission of grant applications for public or private funds coordinating with the College as appropriate;
• Utilize the resources of the Kenyon Advancement and Communications departments and support from the Board, to facilitate the development of compelling messaging, stories, and a strong case for support to be incorporated in all Green Initiative and Alumni newsletters and magazines; build social media content as well as print and press opportunities;
• Work to develop open communication and enthusiastically engage the academic community in the varied work of land conservation; support mutual curriculum development, research proposals, student internships and broadly increase learning opportunities for students.

Internal Leadership and Operational Management

• Oversee Conservancy’s operations and programs ensuring progress toward overarching goals;
• Recruit, nurture and cultivate a motivated professional staff; delegate specific responsibilities with appropriate authority; foster open, positive communications;
• Collaborate on the development of KNP to maximize its value as a model of conservation and increase its positive financial impact on the Conservancy;
• Work with the Board and the Accounting Office to develop the budget, financial, risk and reporting required to meet accreditation standards as well as legal, regulatory and grant compliance;
• Work with the Kenyon Accounting Office to develop an annual operating budget for presentation to the Board and ensure that the finances are managed appropriately to the approved budget.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Success Factors

Attributes

• Passion for a rural lifestyle; ideally, experience with agriculture or working lands;
• Someone who is humble in their work and derives strength from their commitment to preserve rural and agricultural land and create sustainability for the communities dependent upon them;
• Culturally astute and able to respectfully communicate and work with diverse groups of stakeholders including farmers, professors and college administrators, regional planners and local officials, students, and others critical to land and education work;
• A team builder with both vision and strong tactical skills; one who can motivate and engage a wide range of partners to accomplish important work and to share collective successes;
• Emotionally mature with a good sense of humor, someone who is at ease, confident and competent and truly enjoys working with people;
• Someone excited by student engagement and bringing real-world opportunities to the campus;
• Solutions-oriented with attention to detail; pragmatic with an eye to the future;
• A good listener; understands learning comes in many shapes;
• Resourceful—able to set priorities and act opportunistically;
• Exercises high ethical standards with honesty, directness, and a good-natured approachability.

Working Conditions

Work is generally performed in an office environment and requires the ability to operate standard office equipment as well as the ability to sit for long periods of time. The ability to lift boxes or items 30 pounds or less and move tables and chairs when necessary is required. The ability to obtain College driver certification is desirable. The employee will be dependable, flexible, and occasionally work a varying schedule that may include evenings, weekends or college breaks.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience in land conservation particularly with land and easement purchases, stewardship, funding sources and monitoring requirements;
• Experience as the face of an organization; well-developed interpersonal skills; superb oral and written communication skills, able to present ideas clearly and persuasively; capable of developing credibility with both the academic community and local farmers;
• A history of strong collaboration; someone who is trustworthy with strong follow-up; capable of balancing individual, campus and regional priorities with grace and clarity;
• Experience leading an organization of similar size; ideally with experience reporting to a nonprofit Board or with an academic program;
• Experience engaging with educational and academic expertise to collaboratively shape learning opportunities for students;
• Evidence of developing and implementing an effective strategy; able to create a compelling vision and the required relationship and capacity building required for successful execution;
• Demonstrated leadership; able to foster teamwork within the organization, across the campus, and among the local community to develop local solutions and achieve mutual goals.
• BS/BA degree required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

Salaries at Kenyon are competitive and commensurate with experience. In addition to an attractive salary, Kenyon offers benefits for employees and their family members. Children of employees are eligible for 100% tuition waivers at Kenyon, and through the Great Lakes Colleges Association, children of employees are eligible for 90% tuition waivers at eighteen other of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges.

We also offer health, dental and vision insurance, TIAA retirement, and many other benefits, including provisions for a spouse, families, and domestic partners. Details about benefits as well as conditions of employment are described more fully in our Staff Handbook.

Kenyon College is a nationally prominent, private liberal arts college where academic excellence goes hand in hand with a strong sense of community and close relationships among students and professors. Kenyon is a unique place to live and work. To discover why it should be your next home, click here.

Kenyon College is an equal opportunity employer and applications from members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged. It is the College's policy to evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, physical and/or mental disability, age, religion, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy or state, local, or federal law. Kenyon College has a strong commitment to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.