Arlington, Virginia, USA

This is a virtual position that is flexible within the Americas where TNC has an established entity. This position is not eligible for relocation, visa or immigration assistance.

#LI-REMOTE
#PDN

The mission of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we develop innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the world’s toughest environmental challenges so that people and nature can thrive. Our work is guided by our values, which include a commitment to diversity and respect for people, communities, and cultures. From a rewarding mission to career development and flexible schedules, there are many reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want to know more? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube to hear stories from staff or visit Glassdoor.

One of TNC’s primary goals is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that employees around the globe have a sense of belonging and feel that their unique contributions are valued. We know we’ll only achieve our mission by hiring and engaging a diverse staff that reflects the communities in which we work. Recognizing that people bring talent and skills that have been developed outside the scope of a job, we take a holistic approach to recruitment that considers life experience in addition to the professional requirements listed in our postings. Please apply – we’d love to hear from you.

TNC spends up to $1B every year in its effort to advance its mission of conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. In 2021, TNC committed to a set of incredibly audacious 2030 goals in order to better guide the organization towards greater impact. To meet our goals, it is imperative that TNC’s portfolio of global conservation work delivers the level of conservation impact that our planet requires.

In conjunction with the launch of the 2030 Goals TNC launched the first ever organization-wide practice of portfolio management (PM). Three years in, the PM function at TNC is at a critical junction, helping TNC’s regional and global leadership as well as middle management utilize the full power of the portfolio management approach to better manage the performance of the organization’s teams and business units towards achieving our 2030 goals by evaluating progress and supporting prioritization and de-prioritization of work that informs resource allocation at each level of the organization.

The Program Director is a member of the Conservation Impact System Team in the Chief Conservation Office (CCO). They report to the Managing Director of Portfolio Management and will be responsible for the implementation of Portfolio Management, which entails: supporting the organization in its evaluation of strategies that happens at the business unit level (Strategy Reviews), the conservation prioritization and de-prioritization decisions that are made based on those evaluations (Portfolio Reviews) as well as the resource allocation decisions and fundraising focus that result from those prioritization. They are responsible for implementation of the Portfolio Review process alongside and in support of the organization’s conservation leadership. The Program Director is responsible for implementing the management processes that enable a shared understanding of prioritization and performance by the Chief Conservation Office, Executive Team (ET), Board, and leaders throughout the organization. They are responsible for understanding the current state and performance of TNC’s portfolio of conservation strategies in order to assess their impact and return on investment. They are responsible for ensuring all PM practices, especially Strategy Reviews, are fully integrated with the Conservation Impact System, generating accelerated learning and adaptive management of our highest impact strategies. They partner internally and externally to advance the rigorous, evidence-based assessment of performance and impact in the conservation space, with the goal of directing resources towards the most promising conservation solutions.

The Program Director is responsible for oversight and improvement of the management processes that enable effective Portfolio Management across the organization. They will also be responsible for understanding the current state and performance of TNC’s conservation portfolio, assessing and benchmarking performance, adjusting and implementing reviews of the portfolio with conservation leadership, and facilitating/tracking the multi-million-dollar discretionary funding process for TNC’s highest impact strategies as well our highest potential impact strategies. The amount of the discretionary funding has been $25-$50M per year. The future allocation amounts are to-be-determined. Portfolio Management plays a central role in influencing TNC’s 2030 Campaign. This role will collaborate with Development and Finance to ensure that we are directing a disproportionate amount of our financial resources to our highest impact work. Additionally, because Portfolio Management is playing an increasingly important role in helping steer the organization towards the achievement of our 2030 goals, this role will employ change management best practices to ensure the shift in how TNC works is durable and embedded in the organization’s processes, systems, and culture.

The Program Director should surface best practices from within and outside TNC on portfolio management. The Program Director should possess excellent attention to detail and an ability to manage complexity and interdependencies across a variety of workstreams. It is preferred that the Program Director has experience with lean and agile approaches to project management.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Guide and facilitate the portfolio review process for TNC, setting minimum standards for business units across the organization and coordinating the CCO and Executive Team’s engagement in those reviews.
• Organize, synthesize, and present Portfolio Management process, results and learnings and risks to TNC executive leadership as they pertain to Portfolio Management.
• Develop and rollout frameworks that assist leadership and conservation teams with evaluating progress (Strategy Reviews), conservation prioritization decisions, (Portfolio Reviews), and resource allocation decisions (Budget Reviews and Fundraising Focus).
• Be the primary partner to Development and Finance to ensure that the outputs of Portfolio Management are impacting the organization's resourcing (budgeting and fundraising).
• Develop and rollout communications strategies that build understanding and inspiration of the role that Portfolio Management can play in helping us achieve our 2030 goals.
• Facilitate resource allocation decisions with the CCO, and partner with the Chief Finance Office on resource allocation processes using conservation information at an ET level.
• Develop and disseminate tools and frameworks for Portfolio Management at TNC, including through identifying and reporting best practices internally and in other external impact-oriented organizations. Convene relevant internal parties to share best practices and learnings.
• Capture TNC's Portfolio Management process and share our tools and resources with external organization's attempting to follow a similar path.
• Employ change management best practices to ensure Portfolio Management is driving the organizational change the CCO envisions in a durable and lasting way that impacts our processes, systems and culture.
• Lead business requirements for internal information technology systems that support measuring performance of units and strategies.
• Support and at times, lead collaborative efforts with other teams within the CIS to help provide a holistic system of support for conservation managers and teams.
• Track learning and feedback as the function continues to test frameworks/approaches.
• Analyze data, synthesis insights and suggest action items for leadership and management.
• Requires willingness and ability to travel up to 10% both domestically and internationally, and to work occasional weekends and evenings.

• BA/BS degree in Business, Finance, Natural Resource Management or related areas of study and 10 years of related experience or equivalent combination in the conservation field and/or private sector environment such as management consulting or investment banking.
• Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization, including with senior management and with TNC partners.
• Experience in resource allocation processes including budgeting, distribution of philanthropic funding or private sector investments.
• Experience in supporting the prioritization of complex bodies of work.
• Experience leading and managing complex projects and strategic initiatives in an unstructured environment.
• Project management experience and experience meeting deadlines and work with common project management tools (Smartsheet, Asana, Trello).
• Experience in positioning and making recommendations on complex decisions for organizational leaders.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working in a flat team structure and successfully collaborating with peers.
• Self-starter with ability to generate work plans with limited support in line with the overall Conservation Impact System outcomes, goals, strategies, and plans.
• Experience in utilizing a data-driven decision-making process for resource allocation including distribution of budget resources, philanthropic funding or private sector investments.
• Experience in tracking performance of a portfolio of investments/grants/projects.
• Experience developing business plans or major strategy assessments, particularly with conservation forms of valuation, deal structuring, negotiations support, financial modeling and analysis, business planning.
• Ability to diagnose complex problems and identify solutions.
• Ability to connect systems and processes that support financial and impact tracking.
• Excellent communication skills, written, spoken and graphical.
• Knowledge of politics and society with respect to environmental and international affairs and politically savvy.
• Willingness to learn and develop expertise in new conservation strategies, economic drivers, management tools, and global affairs.
• Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.

Since 1951, TNC has been doing work you can believe in. Through grassroots action, we have grown from a small non-profit into one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than 1 million members, over 400 scientists, and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and partners, we impact conservation around the world!

TNC offers competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our Culture Tab on nature.org/careers.

We’re proud to offer a flexible work environment that supports the health and well-being of the people we employ.

This position may be based anywhere in the Americas where TNC has an established entity, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times. For U.S. based applicants only, the starting pay range for this position is generally within the range of $120,000 – $130,000 for annual base salary and is based on location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. For all other applicants, pay ranges will be in local currency, the pay range will be based on the local labor market, and not tied to the above pay range. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment and used to determine your actual pay range. Additionally, for all applicants, actual pay will fall within a range based on a variety of factors including, for example, the candidate’s qualifications, specific skills, and experience.

To apply for job ID 55720, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/ by 11:59 PM EST on October 25, 2024. Need help applying? Visit our recruitment page or contact [email protected].

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

The successful applicant must meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy's background screening process.

Do you have military experience? Visit our U.S. Military Skills Translator to match your military experience with our current job openings!

TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to [email protected] with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.

An attractive salary and benefits package is part of TNC’s value proposition to our employees. TNC strives to provide competitive pay and bases salaries on the geographic location of the role committing to being equitable across groups and providing hiring salary ranges when possible.

Since we support flexible and remote work for our employees, many positions have a flexible location within countries where we’re registered as a Non-government Organization and established as an employer. This may mean we’re unable to provide a hiring salary range in the posting for some of our positions. However, candidates invited to be part of our interview process will be provided their location specific range upon request.