Vice President, Animal Agriculture Systems

• Strategic vision: Works with Food, Water, Markets, Priority Places, Policy, and Development staff to develop and implement strategies that will measurably reduce the impacts of producing livestock and the terrestrial feed ingredients required for production. Develops and implements responsibly produced livestock and feed crops for individual companies as well as entire industries. Develops WWF’s long-term livestock and feed plans and strategies, and balances long-term needs with short-term demands in establishing priorities and delivering results in a timely way. Supports the conservation of priority places in the US and globally through targeting of key livestock and feed production systems that affect biodiversity conservation globally.
• Negotiations and partnering: Works closely with all Food, Water, and Markets programs to develop far-reaching partnerships that reduce key environmental impacts of producing livestock and the feed it requires. Engages the key partners, both external and within the WWF Network to integrate more sustainable livestock and feed production efforts globally to leverage change on the ground. Engages with strategic corporate partners (producer groups, brands, traders, and retailers as well as entire sectors. Represents WWF-US’ commitment to measurable results in a short period of time through collaboration with a variety of stakeholders to build and implement an integrated livestock and feed strategy and work plan. Ensures positive working alliances with key stakeholders.
• Communications and fundraising: Serves as the WWF-US champion for all programs and activities related to the measurable reduction of the key environmental impacts of livestock and feed production. Represents WWF-US and serves as its public face on livestock and feed production activities, including representing WWF on livestock and feed in all significant domestic events and global events as appropriate. Engage policymakers and institutions to build public awareness and public policy commitments through such efforts as behind the scenes negotiations as well as comprehensive campaigns. Develops annual fundraising targets and leads major fundraising efforts for livestock and feed work with support from the Development staff. Accountable for annual fundraising goals as well as providing timely information about the results achieved.
• Team building and management: Builds and leads a team that manages WWF-US’s livestock and feed work as well as our relationships with all partners. Recruits and leads a team to execute the livestock and feed strategy for engaging with specific producers, producer groups, influential individuals, or institutions, public or private. Sets goals and expectations, drives success, and measures and communicates progress on an ongoing basis. Creates opportunities for recognition and development. Provides feedback, counseling and coaching to staff in the unit and beyond as appropriate.
• Cross-cutting innovation: Seeks opportunities to develop performance-based approaches or identify or test technologies that reduce or mitigate the adverse impacts of producing livestock and feed. Supports efforts to develop and field test producer performance indicators, knowledge-sharing platforms and other ways to encourage continuous improvement tools and practices that produce significant and measurable reductions of environmental and social impacts and help producers significantly reduce their key impacts. Works with entire sectors to treat sustainability as a precompetitive issue, share information to increase the speed and scale of improvements, and report collectively on the results they have achieved.
• Creativity and institutional learning: Develops new and creative solutions that will leverage livestock and feed producers to contribute to conservation through their production systems. Works with traders, meatpackers, brands and retailers to develop viable business models that support more sustainable production of livestock and feed. Solves problems and makes things happen under complex circumstances.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Relationships

• Internal: Interacts regularly with Food, Water and Markets staff, the relevant WWF-Network global practices as well as other WWF offices working on livestock and feed production issues. Provides leadership and knowledge expertise within the WWF Network to support this important work.
• External: Maintains regular contact with existing and prospective partners, organizations and other institutions. Interacts with businesses, other NGOs, producers, academic and other experts and researchers, consultants, and government, multi-lateral and bi-lateral staff. Participates in fora, workshops and conferences on behalf of WWF in order to build and maintain a livestock and feed network through regular contact with others in the US and around the world. 

Supervisory Responsibility

• Manages the Animal Agriculture and Feed team and support staff as well as consultants and external experts as needed.