Manager, Midwest Urban Forestry

American Forests is recruiting a Manager of Midwest Urban Forestry to join its Urban Forestry Field Delivery team. American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organisation in the US, established in 1875 and working for over 150 years to restore urban forests and forested landscapes. Since 2018, the organisation has supported communities by using the power of trees to address environmental injustices, setting a goal of delivering the technical expertise, workforce and funding opportunities, and policy guidance needed to help US cities commit to and progress toward Tree Equity.

The Urban Forestry Field Delivery team delivers tools, resources and technical assistance to city and state leaders. The Manager will work closely with the Director, Pacific Northwest and West Coast Urban Forestry, to deliver best-in-class data tools, planning and planting support to American Forests’ partners. The role focuses on the Midwest region, where aging infrastructure, declining tree populations and limited municipal resources increase vulnerability to heat, flooding and invasive pests. Priority focus is on supporting American Forests’ existing Catalyst Fund grantee-partners — primarily municipalities leading local urban and community forestry projects across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The Manager will foster strong working relationships with municipalities and state agencies in the Midwest, connect them with American Forests’ tools, resources and expertise, and deliver technical assistance to address barriers to prioritising, planting, managing and protecting urban trees where they are needed most. Technical assistance may include developing and implementing strategies around community engagement and management; developing local policies, ordinances and standards that strengthen protection and management of urban forests; planning and implementation of tree planting, protection and maintenance programmes; cross-team coordination around workforce development, youth and volunteer engagement; and convening partners at city or state-wide scales.

Responsibilities are roughly 75% delivering expertise to states and cities (maintaining regular communication with grantee partners, city staff, state agencies, community-based organisations and other regional partners; delivering on project scopes, timelines, budgets and deliverables; stewarding partner relationships; proactively developing new relationships, project opportunities and technical assistance offerings); 15% supporting teamwide initiatives (contributing to workshops, trainings, webinars and presentations; training and assisting partners in using Tree Equity Score, Tree Equity Handbook and other tools; contributing to a technical assistance library); and 10% operations and administration (managing administrative tasks, participating in team meetings and planning sessions, managing and reporting regional project information via Airtable and Microsoft Office tools).

Required qualifications include 3–5 years of professional experience in urban forestry or a closely related field, ideally in the Midwest, with familiarity working alongside municipal or state agencies, community-based organisations and other local or regional partners. Education or credentials in urban forestry, urban planning, landscape architecture, environmental science or a related field are preferred. ISA Certified Arborist and/or Certified Urban Forest Professional certification is strongly preferred, or the ability to attain certification within 3 months. Candidates should bring demonstrable knowledge of urban ecology, urban forestry and arboriculture standards, municipal operations, canopy assessment and community-based approaches to tree planting and care. Experience in policy, planning or community engagement is also valued, along with experience collaborating with racially, culturally and economically diverse audiences; experience supporting and coordinating a portfolio of projects in a remote work environment; familiarity with social equity and environmental justice principles; and experience working with grants, contracts or public funding.