The Clifton Institute · Nationwide / location varies · posted today
The Clifton Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based on a 900-acre field station in Warrenton, VA. Our mission is to save Virginia’s native species. We do this through conservation biology research, environmental education, and habitat restoration. We are seeking two Wildlife Stewardship Technicians to run our Wildlife Stewardship Program. The primary goals of the program are to help landowners stay engaged with the wildlife on their properties, create habitat for native wildlife, and raise funds to make our work possible. We do this by installing trail cameras and bird nest boxes, giving land management advice, and running bioblitzes. Program participants are regularly visited by Clifton staff and sent reports with photos and birdsong data. In our first year we exceeded our expectations for both the number of program participants and fundraising. This will be a full-time position at 40 hours/week. This job is a unique combination of fundraising and conservation on private lands. This is a great opportunity for those interested in nonprofit development who also want to spend time outside. The ideal candidate would be a charismatic people-person who is (1) excited about talking to donors, (2) independent, motivated, and organized, (3) able to spend long hours in difficult conditions in the field doing hard physical labor. Duties Field (60%) • Deploy, check, and maintain trail cameras. • Build, monitor, and maintain nest boxes and gourds for kestrels, wood ducks, barn owls, and purple martins. Band barn owl and kestrel nestlings as appropriate. • Install, manage, and maintain cameras installed inside nest boxes. • Install, manage, and maintain automated birdsong ID devices (Haikubox). • Regularly interact with landowners during in-person visits. Office (40%) • Stay in regular contact with landowners in the program. • Compile reports for landowners with trail camera photos, birdsong data, and iNaturalist observations. • Maintain organized records of landowner visits, expenses, and program inventory. • Regularly coordinate with Co-Directors to discuss donor information and fundraising goals for the program. • Organize annual event for program participants. • Other duties as assigned. Required Skills • Passionate wildlife conservationist. • Bachelor’s degree in ecology, biology, wildlife, forestry, or related field. • Experience with or an interest in fundraising. • Strong communication, organization, and interpersonal skills. • Experience and comfort with power tools (or a willingness to learn). • Comfortable working alone outside in remote rural areas. • Ability to dig several holes per day with a posthole digger. Ability to lift heavy nest-box poles. Willingness to climb ladders to check nest boxes. • Valid driver’s license and well-maintained personal vehicle capable of driving 10,000 miles/year for work. Sometimes may spend 3 hours/day driving between properties. • Authorized to work in the US. Preferred Skills • Knowledge of wildflower meadow establishment, invasive plant management, mid-Atlantic plant and/or bird identification. • Experience with bird handling and banding. • Experience in deploying trail cameras. • Light carpentry. Work Environment Time outside will be spent in the beautiful and biodiverse Virginia Piedmont region on private lands in Rappahannock, Fauquier, and adjacent counties. You will be joining a small team of passionate environmentalists in a casual work environment. Salary and Benefits: $57,000 with annual performance-based raises. Benefits include: • Mileage reimbursement at the current federal rate for work related travel. Does not include commute to/from the office. • Full-time employees accrue 160 hours of PTO annually, plus 10 paid holidays. The employee will enjoy a flexible work schedule and generous compensatory time policy. • We offer competitive health, dental, and life insurance, as well as a retirement match. To Apply: Please send a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references in one PDF document to jobs@cliftoninstitute.org. IMPORTANT: Subject line of the email should be “Your Last Name_Wildlife Steward”. Please include your undergraduate GPA and your iNaturalist username if you have one. The target start date is January 15, 2027. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
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