Job Description

Mojave Desert Land Trust - Santa Rosa, California, United States

Position Title: Chief Conservation Officer

Position Type: Permanent Position

Application Review Begins: Monday, May 05, 2025

Application Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2025

Institution: Mojave Desert Land Trust

Department/Division: C-Suite/Executive

Field (e.g., systematics):

City: Santa Rosa, California, United States

General Information: Mojave Desert Land Trust seeks an experienced, visionary Chief Conservation Officer to lead its strategic conservation initiatives, ensure operational excellence, manage effective partnerships, and support overall mission impact.

Qualifications/Requirements: The Chief Conservation Officer (CCO) provides exceptional leadership for MDLT’s conservation programs—the organization’s largest branch. The CCO leads strategic conservation initiatives, ensures operational excellence within conservation activities, manages a talented team, and fosters partnerships to support mission impact.

As a core member of MDLT’s organizational leadership and conservation work, the CCO plays a pivotal role in connecting all staff with work in the field and is a strategic thought partner for the Executive Director and others. It is essential that the CCO understands desert ecosystems, brings a strong academic and professional conservation background, and has demonstrated leadership skills and can mentor, inspire, and support a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences.

The ideal candidate is an experienced conservation professional with the proven ability to navigate complex, changing conservation situations and provide topical expertise and ideas relevant to MDLT's core desert ecosystem focus. They will have outstanding interpersonal and relational skills and excel at developing, leveraging, and sustaining MDLT's conservation work with integrity, accountability, and humanity.

Responsibilities: Compensation
This is a full-time, exempt, benefit-eligible position. The CCO’s anticipated annual salary range is $105,000–$120,000, commensurate with knowledge, abilities, and experience.

MDLT’s comprehensive benefits package includes:
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits: the organization pays 80% for employee, 50% for dependents
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with 3% company match
• Paid time off, including vacation, holidays, administrative time, personal time, and sick time as well as a paid Winter Break between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day
• Flexible 9/80 schedule in which employees work 80 hours over a two-week period with an extended weekend every other week

Location
The CCO must be located within a reasonable commuting distance to MDLT headquarters in Joshua Tree, California.

Flex scheduling for occasional weekend and evening work and eligibility for hybrid/remote work 1–4 days/month are possible.

Start Date
Summer 2025

Application Instructions (submission methods, etc.): Visit potrerogroup.com/mdlt and select “Apply Here.” Please include a resume and a cover letter describing your qualifications that match the position criteria.

Interested and qualified candidates should apply by May 30, 2025, for priority consideration. The position is open until filled.

For More Information
More information about Mojave Desert Land Trust can be found at mdlt.org.
For additional information regarding this opportunity, please contact Andrew Leider, Managing Director, at aleider@potrerogroup.com. #J-18808-Ljbffr

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