Reports to: Associate Director of Conservation Corps
Start date: ASAP
Pay rate: $28.34/hour
Schedule: Full time, 36 hours per week
Mission: We unite people to protect, promote, and care for the forest preserves in Cook County.
Our community advocates for the responsible management of the nearly 70,000 acres of forest preserves in Cook County through advocacy, engagement, and stewardship of the land. Some of the best natural areas in Illinois are right here in Cook County, right outside your urban backdoor. Join our team and help us ensure they are here for the next 100 years.
Friends is an organization that gets things done with our members, volunteers, staff, board, and partners. We believe in work-life balance and are here for the marathon, not the sprint (not that we don’t sprint on a regular basis).
Operating Budget: $3,750,000
Summary: Friends of the Forest Preserves (FOTFP) seeks a Crew Manager to lead our Palos Conservation Corps Crew, based in Willow Springs, Illinois. Conservation Corps members work year-round to remove invasive species and restore native habitats throughout the forest preserves in Cook County. Participants gain valuable skills and certifications that could lead to a long-term career in natural land management or other environmental jobs. We are seeking a Crew Manager to provide strong leadership in achieving the goals of the program.
To apply: Submit cover letter, resume, and two references via the Friends’ website at https://fotfp.org/who-we-are/jobs/. Incomplete applications may not be considered. Please NO calls, faxes, office visits, or emails.
Friends of the Forest Preserves strongly encourages people of all identities to apply. We strive to include people of every race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, and/or sexual orientation. Friends is an equal opportunity employer, in addition to observing all legal protections of special status, promoting diversity in the conservation community.
We unite people to protect, promote, and care for the forest preserves in Cook County. Through advocacy, ecological restoration, and Conservation Corps, we promote responsible management of the nearly 70,000 acres of forest preserve land – right outside your urban backdoor for all of us to enjoy. Some of the best natural areas in Illinois are right here in Cook County.
Political Advocacy
Friends provides oversight by attending all Forest Preserve District board meetings, making policy and budget recommendations, and fending off land grabs. We also believe that in order for the Forest Preserve District to properly function, it needs an independent board of forest preserve commissioners.
Restoration
For many years, the forest preserves weren't getting the attention they deserve – invasive brush turned thousands of acres into impassible thorn thickets, preserve land was sold, and trash littered the landscape. Through government and foundation funding, we hire contractors for large-scale, on-the-ground restoration projects such as removing invasive species, restoring hydrology, and conducting controlled burns. We also coordinate volunteer workdays year-round to maintain the progress we've made and move forward in restoring native species.
Conservation Corps
Our conservation corps programs are among the most important work we do. We recruit high school students and young adults, often from low-income neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago, to not only learn about conservation, but also gain vital leadership and teamwork skills that can be used outside of the forest preserves. Friends corps members plant seeds and remove the invasive species that are the cancer of our ecosystems. They are paid for their restoration work while learning about careers and higher education in related fields.
