| 

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) seeks to hire an Executive Vice President of External Affairs to be based in the Washington, DC headquarters office.

About National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit that preserves and restores our nation’s native wildlife species and habitats. Created by Congress in 1984, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation sustains, restores and enhances the Nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Through leadership conservation investments with public and private partners, the Foundation is dedicated to achieving maximum conservation impact by developing and applying best practices and innovative methods for measurable outcomes. NFWF directs public conservation dollars to the most pressing environmental needs and matches those investments with private funds. The Foundation’s method is simple and effective: we work with a full complement of individuals, foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations to identify and fund the nation’s most intractable conservation challenges.

NFWF’s partnerships are key to its success. Sitting at the nexus of the public and private communities, the Foundation’s myriad partnerships connect it with potentially every federal and state agency, key industry leaders, concerned private citizens, and non-profit leaders from the international to the local level. The results speak for themselves. Since its establishment, NFWF has awarded over 10,800 grants to more than 3,700 organizations in the United States and abroad and leveraged – with its partners – more than $490 million of federal funds into over $1.6 billion for conservation.

The Foundation operates a portfolio of Keystone Initiatives in four major conservation areas (Birds, Wildlife and Habitat, Freshwater Fish and Habitats, and Marine and Coastal).

The Foundation operates two types of initiatives that enable it to focus on achieving maximum sustainable conservation impact while being responsive to funders, attracting more money to conservation, investing in innovation and best practices, and managing its own financial health.

• Charter - partner driven and needs-based

• Keystone - multi-year initiatives and issue specific

The Foundation has set a high bar for outcome-driven conservation investing. Its aspirations are to be the most effective foundation at investing for maximum conservation benefit and to be recognized as a thought leader in how and where to invest. Science and evaluation are collectively the means to choose the right areas in which to invest. The Foundation intends to take a thought leadership role in conservation investing and evaluation. The Foundation analyzes and synthesizes findings from its conservation investments and shares that information and best practices with the conservation community.

NFWF is made up of 89 professional staff in four offices across the country: Washington, D.C.; St. Paul, MN; Portland, OR; and San Francisco, CA. The Board of Directors is comprised of 30 members, all confirmed by the White House.

Executive Vice President for External Affairs

The Executive Vice President of External Affairs represents a strategic and important leadership role in the Foundation. This person is one of three direct reports to the Chief Executive Officer and should bring a sophisticated and innovative capacity to leverage the Foundation’s brand as a conservation leader to raise significant private and public sector resources. The Executive Vice President should bring an engaging capacity and excitement to reach out beyond the nonprofit universe, to work with a new set of partners in the private sector to leverage for-profit markets to achieve conservation objectives. In addition to providing internal leadership, the Executive Vice President will expand the reach and influence of the Foundation through interactions with public, private, and philanthropic leaders. The Executive Vice President should be an individual who thrives on working with leaders who are passionate about investing in the Foundation’s conservation mission and vision.

The Executive Vice President should also have a proven track record of success working with high net worth individuals, managing and developing a team of fundraising professionals, and possessing a demonstrated capacity to engage a high powered nonprofit board of private and public sector leaders. The Executive Vice President will work to create an alignment among the key external affairs functions of the Foundation – Development and Marketing, Communications and Public Relations, and Legislative, Congressional and Agency Relations.

Moreover, the Executive Vice President should be viewed as a motivating leader who serves an important and strategic role in shaping strategy, guiding the external relations policies and practices of the Foundation, and supporting the interests of the Board. In this role, the Executive Vice President will need to be a person eager to work in an innovative, entrepreneurial and high energy, results-oriented organization.

The Executive Vice President will also provide day-to-day direction to the Development and Marketing, Communications and Public Relations, and Congressional and Agency Relations staff. Because of the breadth of the overall External Affairs program, the Executive Vice President must possess both a vision and an ability to analyze and synthesize complex information that supports the Foundation’s business and strategic goals.

The Executive Vice President must cultivate strong and cooperative working partnerships with government agencies, corporations, foundations, and other conservation partners, and have the presence and stature to engage the highest levels of leadership in these organizations.

The broad goals for the Executive Vice President include:

• Explore and implement opportunities for creative partnerships and philanthropic investment opportunities that promote investment at a greater scale in all areas of the Foundation’s work.

• Design a strategy which aligns the Foundation’s brand as a conservation leader to materially advance revenue objectives of the organization.

• Leverage and expand opportunities for the Foundation’s Board to fully engage in philanthropic activities which dramatically increase unrestricted resources to support innovative program expansion.

• Work in close partnership with the CEO and other senior management in order to insure a working culture for all staff that is positive, creative, and highly collegial.

The Executive Vice President should ideally embody the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

Professional Qualifications:

• Demonstrate a record of innovative leadership within the nonprofit, philanthropic, private or public sector.

• Experience building a comprehensive fundraising operation which aligns all aspects of revenue development.

• Experience working and thriving in close partnership with an engaged Board of Directors.

• Experience working with complex budgets, possessing sophisticated financial analytical skills and an interest in evaluation and performance measurement metrics.

• Ability to generate and deliver clear and persuasive oral and written communications.

• Ability to inspire trust, to organize people into teams and to motivate team members to work well together.

• Ability to lead and manage a dedicated professional team.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate commitment to the Foundation’s mission.

• Ability to listen to others and learn from their best ideas.

• Intellectual curiosity, coupled with an innovative and entrepreneurial drive.

• Humility and grace, flexibility, an ability to give credit and recognition to others.

• Impeccable integrity, high energy level, and the possession of a sense of humor.

Compensation

Compensation for the Executive Vice President includes a competitive base salary and a comprehensive package of employee benefits.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should e-mail a cover letter explaining how your skills and background fit this position and a resume to resumes@explorecompany.com.Please refer to NFWF in the subject line.

Daniel Sherman
President
Explore Company
301.933.8990 fax

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Download This Job Posting

Web site by Marc Nathan and Simply Computers Plus