Who We Are: 

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is the leader of a movement to connect everyone in America to the outdoors. A national nonprofit, TPL partners with communities to create high-quality parks and protect public lands—especially in communities that need them most—to improve public health, create social cohesion, strengthen historic and cultural connection to place, and increase climate resilience. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, generated over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit www.tpl.org.  

Position Summary:  

The Senior Program Coordinator will support the Mid-Atlantic and New Jersey teams in advancing park, trail, and schoolyard projects, including initiatives in Newark, Morristown, Camden, and other cities and towns. This role involves research, grant writing support, community outreach, stakeholder coordination, and general administrative assistance to help move multiple projects forward simultaneously. 

The Senior Program Coordinator will help strengthen relationships with civic leaders, nonprofit partners, and community organizations in each project area. They will ensure clear and consistent communication among stakeholders, track project progress, and assist in preparing materials that build public understanding and support. Their work will help catalyze funding and momentum for trail development by supporting community engagement efforts, public meetings, programming, and updates tied to key milestones across all project corridors. 

The Senior Program Coordinator will play a key role ensuring that each project and initiative reflects local community priorities while advancing the broader vision for equitable park access and connected, accessible trails. We anticipate occasional travel across the state of New Jersey and occasionally to other locations in the NY/NJ/PA/CT region for this position. 

This role will participate in and provide support to the Mid-Atlantic program as needed. The Senior Program Coordinator will work with internal colleagues and external agency partners and consultants to process and manage invoices for reimbursement as well as assist in other areas of contract management. The Senior Program Coordinator will also help at events such as groundbreakings, press conferences, openings, and planting days. 

This position will report to the Program Director – NJ Parks and Trails 

Essential Functions:  

Research, grant writing, general administrative assistance 

• Conduct background research to inform park/schoolyard/trail planning and stakeholder engagement. 
• Track and monitor relevant local and state funding opportunities relevant. 
• Assist in drafting, editing, and assembling grant applications, including narrative development, data gathering, and supporting documentation. 
• Support reporting requirements for awarded grants, including collecting metrics, drafting progress reports, and maintaining compliance documentation. 
• Prepare presentations and other materials for project-related outreach. 
• Maintain organized project files, timelines, contact databases, and tracking systems to ensure consistent coordination across multiple trail initiatives. 
• Coordinate meetings with agency partners, consultants, and community stakeholders, including scheduling, preparing agendas, taking notes, and tracking follow-up items. 
• Provide general administrative support to the park/schoolyard/trails team, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations across projects. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

Conduct Community Engagement Activities    

• Create and distribute surveys to capture community input.   
• Maintain and document communication with external partners, including a growing list of community partners and work to build new community relationships.   
• Create and distribute public facing materials such as one-pagers, flyers, etc.    
• Lead or assist with community engagement activities including public events, cleanups, tours, and school workshops.    
• Lead community engagement efforts by managing outreach, creating meeting agendas, and tracking key decisions.   
• Engage schools and youth organizations for workshops and activities.   
• Table at local events.   
• Serve as a point of contact for staff, stakeholders, and the public.   
• Aid with grant applications for community partners.    
• Be creative and thoughtful in the approach to gaining community support in ways that are true to the community in which we are working.    
• Other duties as assigned. 

Program Assistance 

• Work with TPL attorneys and Program Director to develop RFPs, MOUs, and other contracts.  
• Process program-related invoices for reimbursement. 
• Keep track of payments and reimbursements; work with Program Director and budget manager to track expenses against grants and milestones. 
• Assist at playground events such as tours, assemblies, meetings, openings and planting days. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications:  

• Strong commitment to TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization. 
• At least two years of experience in conservation, outdoor recreation, community engagement, or land use planning.   
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across functional and regional teams.   
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize multiple tasks.   
• Evening and weekend work is expected.   
• Travel within the state of New Jersey and the NY/NJ/PA/CT region.  

Compensation:  

Trust for Public Land is a hybrid work environment, and this role will ideally be located near a Trust for Public Land office. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for the Trust for Public Land’s comprehensive benefits program which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, vacation and sick pay plus holidays, a year end office closure, and a 403(b)-retirement plan, currently with up to a 7% company match. We offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience; the anticipated hiring range for this position is $65,000 – 75,000. 

Trust for Public Land’s active goal is to be an inclusive and equitable place to work and build community. As the organization actively works to eliminate racial and other disparities it welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds and/or multicultural skillsets. We are open to the possibility that a great candidate for this job may not precisely meet all the above criteria; if you believe you are the right person for this job and can persuasively make that case, we encourage you to apply.