WY Director of Conservation Programs

The Nature Conservancy•Lander, WY

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Wyoming Director of Conservation Programs oversees all aspects of a significant program area encompassing a large, complex geography. Provides strategic leadership and support for the Conservancy’s conservation planning work and establishes overall conservation priorities for one or more divisions or major initiatives. The Wyoming Director of Conservation Programs serves as the principle contact to government agencies, other conservation organizations, foundations and the academic community. They may play a leading role in donor identification, cultivation and stewardship for the program. The Director of Conservation Programs disseminates best practices, provides training and analyses to best implement organizational measures of success, and develop key partnerships with public & private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions, innovative scientific methods, analysis, tools and frameworks to address the natural system needs. They establish the Conservancy as a major conservation partner within the area of responsibility, define conservation priorities in Wyoming, lead and manage team(s) which supports and improves conservation efforts, and builds strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field. They engage local community support for local conservation efforts, negotiate complex and innovative solutions with government agencies and landowners to conserve and protect natural communities, and develop and implement conservation strategies.

Requirements

BA/BS degree and 10 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Fundraising experience, including identifying donor prospects and donor cultivation.
Experience directing a major program or project of strategic importance, including management/supervision of multi-disciplinary teams and meeting deadlines.
Experience working with current trends and practices in relevant discipline(s) and geographic regions.
Supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance.
Experience in partnership development with non-profit partners, community groups and/orgovernment agencies.
Experience negotiating.
Experience influencing, developing and implementing conservation policy and plans at the state or country level.
Experience with financial management of a large program.
This position will require up to 40% travel.
This position requires a valid driver's license and compliance with TNC’s Auto Safety Program.
Employees may not drive Conservancy-owned/leased vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on behalf of the Conservancy if considered "high risk drivers."
Employment in this position will be contingent upon completion of a Vehicle Use Agreement, which may include a review of the prospective employee's motor vehicle record.

Nice To Haves

Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
10-12 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
Knowledge of methods and standards of biodiversity information systems and initiatives and experience conceiving and implementing strategic initiatives.
Communicating clearly via written, spoken, and graphical means in English and other relevant languages.
Politically savvy.

Responsibilities

Serve as a key member of the Wyoming BU’s Senior Leadership Team.
Duties include strategic planning, resource allocation, employee engagement, and partnership building to increase awareness of TNC Wyoming’s work to internal and external audiences.
Create, execute and evaluate impact of Wyoming BU’s conservation program portfolio, ensuring strategies and tactics are aligned and effective enough to meet WUSCAN Division Priorities and 2030 Outcomes.
Align and mentor staff to achieve programmatic goals.
Direct mid-course corrections and decisions to transition out of work that is least impactful or can be successfully executed by others.
Ensure that the BU meets division expectations and deadlines pertaining to annual conservation portfolio review and division priority strategy reviews.
Serve as a natural partner and assist on donor engagement events; create and develop funding proposals for individual donors and foundation in collaboration with Development Team colleagues.
Serve as point person for all HUB metric development and reporting to Division Conservation Portfolio Director and NAR partners.
Ensure that BU teams meet division expectations regarding Hub reporting deadlines.
Act as staff liaison to Wyoming Trustee Strategic Program Review Committee (SPaRC) and participate/engage Trustees to provide insights, ideas and resources to support TNC work.
Recruits, retains and manages high quality and effective multi-disciplinary staff with responsibility for performance management, training and career development.
Broad management and leadership responsibility for 10+ staff members, both internal and external to the organization.
Develops long-term strategies and achieves strategic goals and objectives.
May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances.
Makes independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, ambiguous information, experience and judgment.
May require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally and evening and weekend hours.