Project Manager – MN/Northwoods Land Protection

Who We Are:

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is the leader of a movement to connect everyone in America to the outdoors. A national nonprofit with over 30-years of impact in Minnesota and the Northwoods, TPL partners with communities, public partners, and tribal nations to protect public lands and create high-quality outdoor spaces where they are needed most. We work to improve public health, create social cohesion, strengthen historic and cultural connection to place, and increase climate resilience. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, generated over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

With over thirty offices across the country, Trust for Public Land’s vision is an America where every community can connect with nature near and far. The Minnesota and the Northwoods team is looking for a dynamic Project Manager to join our team in permanently protecting land that will be owned, managed, and enjoyed by communities for generations to come–delivering cleaner air and water, healthier communities, connected landscapes, and a more resilient future.

position Summary:  

The Minnesota/Northwoods Project Manager will deliver TPL’s mission of protecting land for people by utilizing nonprofit land acquisition techniques and sound business practices. The protected lands include public parks, wildlife management areas, working forests, water resource lands, and trails.

The Project Manager will primarily work on Trust for Public Land’s Minnesota Rivers Program, protecting natural areas along Minnesota’s vital waterways and watersheds in the following geographies: the Twin Cities Metro, St. Croix Watershed, Mississippi Headwaters, Cannon River Watershed, and Minnesota’s Southeast Blufflands. Additionally, the project manager may work across the Northwoods of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as on other land protection opportunities as needed.

The Project Manager will be responsible for managing all phases of real estate acquisition work and advancing complex conservation transactions from project identification through permanent public protection. They will oversee all project management activities, working with TPL’s staff and partners, including project identification and evaluation, landowner outreach and negotiations, due diligence, budgeting, fundraising, grant administration, consultant management, transaction coordination, and project closeout.

Critical aspects of the position involve maintaining close coordination with public agencies, tribal partners, community organizations, nonprofit peers, professional contractors, and internal staff to ensure all legal, financial, and regulatory guidelines are followed, that projects are completed on or under budget, and that community needs are met. The ability to work independently with a high level of organization and initiative is essential.

This position will be based in TPL’s Minnesota office out of the Twin Cities with the potential for hybrid work across greater Minnesota. This position requires travel across the state, including work in the field and occasional evening and weekend work.

Essential Functions:

• Manages the identification, negotiation, documentation, and closing of real estate transactions with the assistance of legal and finance staff, conveying properties to permanent public stewards including federal, state, county, and city units of government to create new public lands.
• Manages multiple concurrent land protection projects, establishing priorities, tracking milestones, identifying risks, and ensuring projects advance on schedule and within budget.
• Identifies areas in which The Trust for Public Land’s protection strategy is needed for the preservation of open space lands of critical local, regional, or national importance; develops and maintains portfolio of potential projects; responds to inquiries by individuals, groups, etc.
• Develops and advances a project pipeline through engagement with landowners, nonprofit organizations, Tribal Nations, and public agency officials.
• Builds project budgets and secures financing for land acquisitions through existing and new public and private funding sources.
• Conducts due diligence for transactions, which involves researching and executing all phases of projects from initial outreach and landowner negotiation through coordination with attorneys and supervision of appraisers, surveyors, and other consultants.
• Cultivates and maintains strong relationships with landowners, agency partners, Tribal Nations, units of government, non-profit peers, and community organizations to advance strategic land conservation priorities.
• Supports fundraising efforts and revenue generation for Trust for Public Land.
• Helps prepare and manage public grants to support projects and assists with grant reporting, including tracking project outcomes and deliverables for status updates and final reports.
• Builds public awareness and understanding of The Trust for Public Land through outreach events, public speaking engagements, fundraising efforts and creating a public presence for The Trust for Public Land in the community.
• Completes assorted administrative tasks required for a well-regulated organization.
• Supports legislative strategy and outreach related to current and future conservation priorities.
• Collaborates on programmatic work, such as the coordination of a land acquisition program covering multiple land transactions.
• Develops and manages consultant contracts and procurement processes in compliance with grant requirements, including preparation of memoranda, requests for proposals/bids, contracts, and amendments.
• Other relevant duties as necessary.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years of project management experience in land conservation real estate transactions or equivalent experience required.
• Strong commitment to TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Experience with public grant administration, preferably including Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund.
• This position requires moderate (day trips twice/month; overnight trip once every other month) travel in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. Occasional evening and weekend work can be expected. Reliable transportation is required.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to navigate complex partnerships. A successful candidate will demonstrate a high degree of political and organizational awareness and be able to:
• • Communicate clearly, concisely, and persuasively across a wide range of audiences, including senior leadership, peers, and external stakeholders;
  • Exercise strong judgment in politically sensitive situations, understanding both formal decision-making processes and informal influence networks;
  • Navigate complex organizational dynamics with professionalism, empathy, and sound judgment;
  • Anticipate stakeholder perspectives, sensitivities, and potential implications of decisions or communications;
  • Build trust through credibility, active listening, and thoughtful follow-through
  • Comfortable with public speaking and with representing TPL before public boards and commissions.
  • Interact professionally with external partners and contractors involved in land transactions, including surveyors, attorneys, planners, appraisers, landowners, agency staff, and elected officials.

Special Knowledge and Skills:

• Able to negotiate successful transactions, required
• Computer proficiency.
• Sound business judgment.
• Entrepreneurial and a self-starter.
• Comports to the highest ethical standards.
• Demonstrated understanding of real property and tax law, land use planning techniques, and government land acquisition policies/procedures.
• Able to manage complex projects with limited supervision.
• Able to initiate fundraising efforts.

Compensation:

Trust for Public Land is a hybrid work environment, and this role will be located near Trust for Public Land’s Minnesota office in Minneapolis/St. Paul. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $85,000-$95,000 per year based on experience level.

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities, it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.