The Program Lead, Cities oversees all aspects of our Cities program area, currently focused in Chennai but with the future possibility of expanding to other cities in India. The Program Lead, Cities provides technical, strategy and managerial leadership to our emerging urban conservation work in India and serve as the principal contact to government agencies, other conservation organizations, and the academic community. She or he manages a small team of dedicated conservationists and coordinates with other departments and teams within the organization.
The Program Lead, Cities oversees our broader cities conservation work, currently focused in Chennai. S/he provides technical and scientific support and leadership as a subject matter expert for urban conservation in a variety of initiatives, including urban water body restoration, green/nature-based infrastructure, urban conservation planning and other priority urban conservation initiatives. She or he will build upon the current body of work to have a cohesive and comprehensive cities conservation strategy focusing on Chennai with the option to expand to additional cities in the future. S/he builds strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field and collaborates with other scientists, practitioners and institutions to enhance Conservancy practices. The Program Lead, Cities also negotiates complex and innovative solutions with government agencies, corporations, and local partners to conserve and protect natural communities and develops and implements conservation strategies. As the lead of this work, s/he will also manage the team members, consultants, and partnerships in order to ensure effective and successful delivery of our priority projects. The Lead will also help establish the Conservancy as a major partner within the Indian urban conservation space and represent the organization in a variety of fora.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE
- Expand and solidify cities conservation program and strategy with support from the team.
- Support current team members to effectively implement complex projects with our partners, including restoring a major urban water body and building out additional conservation initiatives.
- Recruits, retains and manages high quality and effective multi-disciplinary staff, consultants, and partners with responsibility for performance management and successful delivery of projects.
- Responsible for ensuring the program achieves strategic goals and objectives
- Makes independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, ambiguous information, experience and judgment.
- Acts as a technical liaison within and outside of the organization, may provide trainings and SME on urban conservation, including urban conservation planning, water body restoration, green infrastructure, urban tree canopies, and other urban conservation initiatives.
- Collaborates with a wide range of partners to identify projects, associated research needs, present technical concepts and support fieldwork.
- Establishes and maintains optimal performance standards within budget. Responsible for all financial management aspects of a program/project.
- Co-leads program fundraising, including overseeing grants, contracts, proposals, and donor reports.
- Negotiates complex agreements, managing risks and anticipating challenges.
- Resolves large-scale, complex problems through systematic and thorough studies and program or project management.
- Manages program staff and has responsibility for performance management, development and objectives.
- Persuasively conveys the mission of TNC to diverse groups including major donors, corporate executives, board members and others critical to the organizational overall prosperity.
- May require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally and evening and weekend hours.
- Fundraising experience, including identifying donor prospects and donor cultivation.
- Experience directing a major program or project of strategic importance, including management/supervision of multi-disciplinary teams and meeting deadlines.
- Experience working with current trends and practices in relevant discipline(s) and geographic regions.
- Supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance.
- Experience in partnership development with non-profit partners, community groups and/or government agencies.
- Experience influencing, developing and implementing urban conservation projects, programs, and/or plans at the city, state, or country level.
- Experience with financial management of a large program.
- Fluency in English and Hindi or Tamil.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Masters or PhD in related field and 10 years experience in urban conservation or urban planning practice with strong interest in conservation.
- Extensive experience with urban projects, such as urban water body restoration, sewage waste treatment using nature-based solutions, green infrastructure, urban tree canopies, urban conservation planning, and/or climate resiliency measures, amongst other urban conservation issues.
- Knowledge and familiarity with major initiatives for cities, such as Smart Cities Initiative and JNNURM before that
- Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
- Developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
- Knowledge of methods and standards of biodiversity information systems and initiatives and experience conceiving and implementing strategic initiatives.
- Politically savvy.
- Proven negotiation skills.
- Solid communications skills in both written and spoken English.
- Ability to diagnose complex problems and identify solutions