The Regional Managing Director, North America Region (RMD) provides strategic leadership for the North America Region, which is comprised of 10 divisions within the United States, Canada and 17 countries and territories across the Caribbean by overseeing the development and execution of conservation, fundraising and operational priorities related to TNC’s Shared Conservation Agenda. This position also serves the larger organization as a member of the Executive Council and connects the North America Region with global teams, the global board of directors and transformational fundraising efforts. The RMD supervises 14 leaders and staff and reports directly to the Chief Conservation Officer.
The RMD is the senior executive for the North America Region and is responsible and accountable for advancing the mission of The Nature Conservancy across the region by ensuring a unified vision, respectful culture and aligned set of strategies in relation to the organization’s Shared Conservation Agenda. They represent the region broadly to TNC executive management, the Board of Directors, major private donors, country governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies and NGO partners. They fundraise with public and private donors and ensure that sufficient resources are available to accomplish the region’s objectives.
Utilizing a Shared Leadership approach, the RMD leads and collaborates with the North America Leadership Team to;
- Support and accelerate maximum impact across the entire portfolio of strategies.
- Fundraise, including direct major donor engagement, using systems, incentives and accountability and creating a culture of collaborative philanthropy.
- Develop our people through the incorporation of organizational values and competencies for effective performance management, succession planning, recognition and rewards and building a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment.
- Develop strategic and effective financial management, including aligned resource allocation, long-term sustainability and full cost accounting.
- Connect people and approaches across regional priority strategy teams, steering committees, divisions and individual business units to share scientific research, replicate and scale efforts or increase efficiency and ensure alignment around purpose, process and outcomes.
- Builds networks and capacity between global and regional and divisional business units, optimizing efficiency by balancing centralized and decentralized services and decision making.
- Provide managerial oversight for operational administration, ensuring adherence to legal requirements and TNC policies and procedures.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE
Strategic Leadership and Management:
- Focuses on the role that science plays in the design, implementation and measurement of terrestrial, freshwater and marine conservation and stewardship. An ability to “zoom in, zoom out” from regional view to local view, and experience leading and participating in strategic planning efforts to influence large, complex systems, both natural and socio-economic. An interest and creativity to rethink the status quo in a constantly changing environment.
- Ability to attract, develop and retain staff, trustees, and donors critical to mission success. Focus on building workplace climates that are fair and inclusive, where every staff member feels they belong and can offer their maximum contribution to TNC’s Shared Conservation Agenda. Ability to diagnose needs of staff and support different leadership, management, and work styles within a learning organization.
- Ability to inspire, and be inspired by, a Board of Directors, donors and partners, other leaders and staff, working to align vision and strategy for greater impact.
- An expert at building networks, has broad management and leadership responsibility involving the formulation and evaluation of strategic approach, policies and/or long-term programs, or making decisions, typically having broad organizational impact.
- Overall financial management of the Regional program, including financial goal setting, analysis and corrective action of public and private funds to ensure financial sustainability. Takes steps to remove bottlenecks and obstacles in fundraising and resource allocation.
- Ability to lead and manage change processes with a clear and transparent purpose, cadence and empathy.
World View and Interpersonal Communications:
- Being a global citizen.Exposure to various cultures, geographies, nationalities, ethnicities and points of view, appreciating the basis of each person’s worldview.
- Understands various economic sectors and systems in order to appreciate the vastness of experience, expertise and influence of others outside their field of interest, such as financial, health, manufacturing, technology, government, bio-science, education, etc. and how to incorporate into conservation outcomes.
- Respects and commits to local, on-the-ground involvement with people, communities and cultures with awareness and sensitivity to their economic realities.
- Active listening skills, including awareness of body language, and physical-mental-emotional linkages. Curiosity for the motivations of all parties, seeking intersections among differing perspectives and viewpoints.Treats others at all levels of the organization with dignity and respect.
- Ability to engage others through dynamic, empathetic and articulate presentations and dialogue, conveying contagious enthusiasm that engenders a shared vision for the future.Creates an environment of cross-cultural collaboration across the region so that all can benefit from best practices, successes and failures of others.
- Experience in leading and managing a large multi-disciplinary team, including managing senior level leaders.
- Experience in evaluating and/or negotiating complex, high profile or sensitive agreements.
- Experience working with the politics, society and environmental community of the North America region, preferably with experience beyond the United States.
- Experience communicating with and presenting to diverse audiences including donors, board members, employees, outside partners, or equivalent.
- Experience in fundraising, including cultivation of major donors.
- Fluency in English.
- Willingness to travel 40-50% of time, often to remote locations.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Multi-lingual skills and/or multi-cultural experience appreciated
- Proven experience to engage, motivate, lead, set objectives for a team of professionals.
- Ability to foster an environment of creativity and professional growth in a complex, multi-cultural environment.
- Excellent contacts throughout the region.
- Experience dealing with challenges, identifying important issues and conceiving and implementing strategic initiatives.
- Superb communication and presentation skills; ability to persuasively convey the mission of TNC and regional programs and priorities to diverse groups, including donors, partners, Board members and others who are critical to the organization’s overall prosperity.
The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation, 401k or savings-plan matching for eligible employees, excellent benefits, flexible work policies and a collaborative work environment. We also provide professional development opportunities and promote from within. As a result, you will find a culture that supports and inspires conservation achievement and personal development, both within the workplace and beyond.