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National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Senior Vice President of Program, Science and Evaluation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) seeks to hire a Senior Vice President of Programs, Science and Evaluation 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 to 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 86 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.

About the Position

The Senior Vice President of Program, Science and Evaluation is one of two direct reports to the President of the Foundation and will advance the organization by creating and implementing a vision, conservation strategy, and metrics-based evaluation system for the Foundation’s grant making programs and development. This position will work closely with the Board of the Foundation and must be comfortable presenting to and working with a diverse variety of audiences such as NGOs, corporations, federal agencies, and senior leaders in business and conservation.

The Senior Vice President should be viewed as a conservation leader who serves an important role in shaping strategy, guiding the conservation policies and practices of the Foundation, and supporting the interests of Board. In this role, the Senior Vice President will need to be a person of deep experience and stature in the conservation field, and also be a person eager to work in an innovative, entrepreneurial and high energy workplace environment.

The Senior Vice President is the strategic leader and also provides day-to-day direction to the Program staff. Because of the breadth of the overall program, the Senior Vice President must possess both a vision and an ability to analyze and synthesize complex information that supports the Foundation’s conservation goals. The Senior 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 Senior Vice President should be an energetic and entrepreneurial leader and possess sophisticated conservation, financial, and management capabilities. The Senior Vice President must be able to direct, motivate, and develop a professional staff. This person should be able to articulate a vision that embodies the collective view of the Program staff – this person needs to possess humility and respect in all aspects of their leadership.

The broad goals for the Senior Vice President include:

• In partnership with the President, key senior Foundation leadership and Board, lead in the design of a conservation vision and strategy, develop an implementation strategy, and supervise its implementation - defining and carrying out long-term program strategies and operational objectives in order to ensure that grantmaking activities materially advance the program strategies supported by the Board of Directors.

• Oversee and participate actively in developing and leading program initiatives, including conservation business and integrated funding plans in coordination with the Development, Government Relations and other departments within the Foundation.

• Build an understanding of outcomes-based grant making and capacity in the Foundation.

• Reach out to and offer leadership to the conservation community – establish and cultivate relationships with relevant thought leaders by actively engaging in dialogue and by supporting organization activities.

• Establish the Foundation as a leader in innovative conservation programs and accountability.

• Synthesize science and effective methods of action, identifying targeted outcomes and planning approaches, developing lines of business initiative and defining evaluation strategy.

The Senior Vice President will be charged to carry out the following responsibilities:

• Working with the President and Foundation staff to effectively engage the Board in the strategic direction of conservation efforts to maximize the effect of grant dollars.

• Facilitating timely information flow between Senior Executives and Program Executives and staff to assure the ongoing awareness of important developments necessary to fulfill strategic priorities.

• Assist the Foundation in achieving financial goals by establishing objectives, developing and monitoring budgets, controlling and reducing costs, and optimizing use of assets and proposal review - evaluate results at initiative, program and grant levels for conservation and cost/benefit impact.

• Contribute to team effort by offering information and opinion as a member of senior management, reporting to the Board, integrating objectives with other functions and accomplishing special projects as needed.

• Oversee development of programmatic materials to be presented at the Board meetings, ensuring adherence to timelines by team, appropriateness and accuracy of materials.

• Effectively communicate the Conservation Program’s vision, values, and strategic goals to key internal and external audiences.

• Manage ongoing work of staff by serving as a supervisor, mentor, and coach who encourages collaboration, innovation, excellence, and professional development for all staff.

• Build science and evaluation principles into program implementation processes. Drives consistency and the application of best practices in the implementation of continuity measures.

• Participate in identifying and selecting grantees, methodologies and tools. Incorporate results of evaluation into modifications of programs and strategic and operational plans.

• Participate as a leader within the conservation funding community.

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

Professional Qualifications

• Recognition as a conservation leader who possesses a proven track record of success and accomplishment.

• Demonstrated success as an inspirational manager who has considerable experience attracting, developing, evaluating, and retaining professional staff.

• Proven managerial talent in budgeting, staffing, and performance management, demonstrated track record of partnering and developing consensus within an organizational climate of diverse operational activities.

• Demonstrated experience and understanding in the role science plays in policy development and conservation of natural resources, demonstrated ability to create and implement metrics and evaluation programs.

• Demonstrated ability to identify, analyze and evaluate a large volume of information, and to communicate accurate and timely recommendations to the President, as required.

• Ability to anticipate, influence and assist the organization to assess and rapidly adjust to changing conditions and trends in a multi-cultural environment.

• Comfort in working with NGOs, corporations, federal and state agencies, and senior leaders in business and philanthropy.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex science-related issues to non-scientists and an ability to translate scientific and evaluative metrics to internal and external audiences, board members and others.

• Possessing a practical understanding of the key issues in the environmental field, a sophisticated knowledge of the political implications, and a demonstrated ability to navigate these issues diplomatically.

• The ability and flexibility to travel extensively.

• A have Ph.D., in natural resource management or related environmental fields.

Personal Attributes

• A deep commitment to science-based conservation and the mission of the Foundation.

• Excellent conceptual and critical thinking skills and sound judgment, with strategic orientation and ability to perform tactically, as required.

• Articulate, with proven ability to write effectively and speak persuasively.

• Superlative interpersonal skills, including an ability to listen to others and learn from their best ideas, intellectual curiosity, approachability, and openness to input from all levels of staff.

• High energy level, personable, trustworthy, diplomatic, and in possession of impeccable integrity.

• Exceptional managerial, analytical, strategic, and tactical ability.

• Proven team player and leader able to motivate and inspire staff as well as colleagues to work well as a team.

Compensation

Compensation for the Senior 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. 

Daniel Sherman
President
Explore Company
301.933.8990 fax

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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