Director, Program Operations & Administration, Urban Forestry

About Us

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to large forest landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water, and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for over 150 years. 

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member. 

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President of Program Finance & Operations, the Director of Program Operations & Administration, Tree Equity, is a key administrative and operational partner for American Forests’ Tree Equity Program. This role is responsible for ensuring the efficient and compliant execution of day-to-day activities related to financial budget management, grant lifecycle support, CRM and systems administration, and internal operations within American Forests’ Urban Forestry department and across departments.

This position will serve as a central point of coordination between the Tree Equity Program staff and key internal teams, including Finance & Administration, Operations, and Philanthropy. The Director will provide essential support in financial oversight, grants tracking and compliance, document management systems, and cross-departmental facilitation. Additionally, the Director will support the Tree Equity Chief Program Officer in time management, travel coordination, reporting preparation, and meeting organization and agenda setting.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, resourceful, detail-oriented, and thrives in fast-paced, mission-driven environments. Strong experience with financial management, grants compliance, CRM systems (Airtable experience a plus), and internal systems management is essential.

How You’ll Make an Impact

Success in your first 1-2 years will be demonstrated by:

• Building seamless cross-departmental operational systems that significantly improve coordination, communication, and workflow efficiency for the Tree Equity team.
• Successfully managing budget tracking and financial operations across a complex portfolio of grants and partnerships, with accurate and timely reporting that supports strategic planning and compliance.
• Developing and institutionalizing streamlined processes for grant lifecycle support, including deliverables tracking, proposal submissions, and reporting, in coordination with Finance and Philanthropy teams.
• Enhancing data integrity and usability of the CRM (Airtable or equivalent), enabling better cross-functional collaboration and real-time access to essential program data.
• Becoming a trusted strategic partner and administrative anchor to the Tree Equity Chief Program Officer and other team leaders, helping drive forward program priorities with clarity and consistency.
• Demonstrating consistent, proactive leadership in identifying operational gaps, proposing creative solutions, and advancing process improvements that support American Forests’ Tree Equity mission.
• Fostering a collaborative, inclusive team culture through responsive internal support, reliable execution, and a clear commitment to equity and environmental justice.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Internal Operations, Systems & Administration (40%)

• Serve as a primary liaison between the Tree Equity team and the broader organization on all administrative, logistical, and operational matters.
• Provide executive administrative support to the Tree Equity Lead, including calendar management, meeting logistics, agenda-setting, note-taking, and travel coordination.
• Coordinate and finalize program-related agreements and contracts (e.g., grants, consulting, sponsorships), ensuring timely internal review and execution.
• Maintain and manage a document management system for the Tree Equity Program, ensuring version control and easy access to program documents and reports.
• Support ongoing development, maintenance and administration of the CRM system—Airtable experience a plus—to facilitate cross-team collaboration and data tracking.
• Respond to internal and external inquiries, support knowledge sharing, and facilitate collaboration across departments to ensure alignment and efficiency.
• As needed, provide logistical, administrative, and/or special project/operational or research support for the Chief Program Officer.

Budget Oversight & Financial Operations (30%) 

• Oversee financial tracking and reporting for the Tree Equity Program, including grant/revenue allocations for staff and other expenses, expense tracking, and identifying funding gaps. 
• Act as the program’s administrative liaison to the Finance team and support integration into enterprise systems (e.g., Unanet, Intacct, ClickUp). 
• Prepare and contribute to organizational budget planning, financial audits, and progress reports related to Tree Equity. 
• Manage travel reimbursements, vendor payments, and other financial transactions on behalf of the program. 

Grants Lifecycle Support & Compliance (30%)

• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure programmatic compliance with funder requirements across the lifecycle of grants (individual, foundation, government).
• Develop and manage tracking systems for grant deliverables, timelines, and financial performance.
• Partner with Philanthropy and Finance teams to prepare accurate grant proposals, budgets, and reporting.
• Support Tree Equity staff with training and resources related to grant budgeting, coverage tracking, and documentation standards.
• Provide a portion of operational support to American Forests' $45million pass-through funding initiative, especially on compliance and back-office operations.

Qualifications

While we do not expect any one candidate to possess all of these qualifications, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following: 

• At least 5 years of experience in nonprofit operations, financial administration, or program management, ideally with exposure to environmental or conservation-focused organizations. 
• Proven experience supporting executive-level leaders and managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects. 
• Strong financial literacy and/or accounting experience with budget tracking, grant compliance, and organizational finance systems are a must 
• Familiarity with CRM systems; Airtable administration experience strongly preferred. 
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams); experience with Unanet, Intacct, ClickUp, and Tallie a plus. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; high attention to detail. 
• Demonstrated ability to foster cross-departmental collaboration and communicate across diverse teams. 
• Background in business administration, nonprofit management, policy, or related field required. 
• Commitment to equity, environmental justice, and working with historically underserved communities.

American Forests’ Core Competencies

• Attitude: Brings a positive outlook to work and helps inspire others to achieve excellence. 
• Communication: Produces strong written documents, edits documents effectively, engages in effective verbal communication—1-on-1 and small group—and conducts effective large group presentations. 
• Organization: Prioritizes tasks effectively, accomplishes tasks efficiently, follows through on all commitments, breaks down large projects to make them manageable, and effectively manages complex projects involving multiple actors. 
• Problem-Solving & Creativity: Identifies issues, effectively structures problems, analyzes data to produce insights, and generates wise, actionable recommendations. Understands the limited resources available and produces creative solutions. 
• Representing the Organization: Serves as an effective ambassador, builds connections, and maintains relationships with outside partners, vendors and donors. Brings credibility to the organization in how they present themselves. 

Working Conditions

This is a fully remote position. Up to 15% of travel throughout the U.S. and/or to American Forests’ headquarters in Washington D.C. may be required. 

The individual must be comfortable with prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing at a desk and working on a computer. Reasonable accommodation may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.