NA Ag Water Policy Accelerator Program Director

The Nature Conservancy • Fort Wayne, IN

17d • $97,000 - $130,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Water Policy Accelerator Program Director will be responsible for managing the operation and scaling the impact of the Water Policy Accelerator, initially within the Nature Conservancy and potentially in the future with external partners. They will be responsible for: Designing a strategy: The WPA faces critical strategic questions around the best path towards rapidly scaling impact on state policy. The Program Director will lead the ongoing and iterative process of creating a strategy that identifies new issue area expansion, developing service offerings to meet demand, and balancing the WPA’s need to be responsive to emergent issues while advancing long-term initiatives. They will work collaboratively with conservation and government relations staff to do this. Leading the team: The Program Director will directly manage the existing WPA team and be responsible for identifying necessary new hires. They will oversee team operations to ensure operational rigor, efficiency, and high-quality outputs. They will foster a collaborative and positive working environment. Developing products & services: The WPA has embraced a product & service approach for delivering value to internal partners. The Program Director will enable the identification, incubation, and development of new products and services with an eye towards scalability and replication. Building key partnerships and fostering collaboration: Given the North America Region (NAR) emphasis on leveraging state policy to achieve conservation outcomes, the WPA is a key partner to many in pursuing these goals. The Program Director will be the key liaison and informational point of contact with other TNC programs & teams, and inspire a highly-networked WPA team that can cultivate new projects and opportunities. This will include management of the WPA’s advisors and collaboration with the North America Policy and Government Relations team, state government relation professionals, and the Global Conservation Campaigns team. The Water Policy Accelerator (WPA) is a newly emerging center of excellence within The Nature Conservancy’s North America Agriculture program and is designed to enable the acceleration of state policy solutions for TNC’s water conservation goals across the United States. The WPA Program Director will be responsible for leading the WPA team, including strategic scaling of the WPA beyond its current scope, new product development, and team operations, growth, performance, and management. The WPA was created to facilitate the discovery of policy opportunities and the design of new policy at the intersection of water and agriculture. As a partnership between the North America Agriculture Program and the Global Conservation Campaigns Team, the WPA has been able to achieve success in its initial proof-of-concept phase through its coordinated support of state wetlands policy response and forward-looking research into the effectiveness of state nutrient reduction policies. To build upon this success, the WPA is ready and has received leadership approval to scale its capacity and expertise to provide policy research and design for a broader suite of water policy issues.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and 7 years related experience; or equivalent combination, including 2 years in process management.
• Experience developing and managing multiple cross-functional projects.
• Experience with current and evolving technology and tools related to business process management.
• Experience with organizational change management principles and techniques.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams across multiple organizational levels.
• Experience, coursework, or other training in principles, practices, and procedures of relevant field.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead collaborative, complex, and diversified projects, coordinating the work of other professionals, managing budget, and ensuring accountability.
• Work proactively towards implementing organizational and departmental strategic goals.
• Direct or participate in negotiations for complex, high profile or sensitive agreements.
• Ensure compliance with TNC policies and procedures and external (donor/legal/IRS) requirements; decisions may have organization-wide impact and bind the organization financially or legally.
• Facilitate strategic dialogues with senior-level stakeholders, in order to articulate a vision, synthesize and vet plan of action, identify key issues, develop potential solutions, and implement plans to deliver targeted outcomes.
• Lead new programs/initiatives that will ensure program and organization-wide goals and strategies are achieved.
• Maintain confidentiality of frequently sensitive and emotionally charged information.
• Manage and implement strategic initiatives with broad impact by collaborating with key stakeholders to enhance overall performance in accordance with short and long-term objectives.
• Act independently and resolve complex issues within scope.
• May develop and administer budget, evaluate results, and develop corrective strategies, as needed.
• Supervise one or more administrative or professional staff, including training, professional development, establishing clear directions, setting “stretch” objectives, and overseeing execution of day-to-day work.

Benefits

• TNC offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with an 8% employer match, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, other life and work well-being benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director