The Nature Conservancy’s California Fisheries Strategy seeks to achieve sustainable fisheries and healthy ocean ecosystems by transforming fisheries management in California and influencing transformations around the world that support human wellbeing and ocean health. Our strategy is to implement and demonstrate the value of adaptive, cooperative management. This model leverages experimentation and contributions from the private sector to drive innovation and increase management capacity, while also integrating emerging information technologies to streamline critical feedback loops between managers, scientists, and fishermen. Our team partners with fishing communities and other stakeholders to implement this strategy across coastal and offshore fisheries in California, while also contributing to our global and North American fisheries strategies by transferring capacity and sharing relevant lessons, tools, and approaches.
Reporting to the California Oceans Program Associate Director, the Fisheries Project Director provides leadership and support of fisheries conservation strategies, including efforts to improve sustainability of California’s fisheries, advance fisheries science and information, and support conservation and management across marine ecosystems and resources. S/he provides leadership and support for TNC’s conservation planning work and establishes overall conservation priorities in the division or region.
The Fisheries Project Director provides technical and program support to Conservancy field operations in the Oceans Program. S/he serves as a principle contact to government agencies, other conservation organizations, foundations and the academic community. S/he establishes the Conservancy as a major conservation partner within area of responsibility, defines conservation priorities in the area of responsibility, leads matrixed teams which support and improve conservation efforts, and builds strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field. The Fisheries Project Director develops key partnerships with public & private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions and best practices, develops innovative scientific methods, analyses, tools, and frameworks to address the natural system needs, and engages local community support for local conservation efforts. S/he negotiates complex and innovative solutions with government agencies and resource users to conserve and protect ocean health and develops and implements conservation strategies.
RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE
- Develops and implements conservation projects and strategies
- Establishes the Conservancy as a major conservation partner within the area of responsibility
- Leads and manages self and team efficiently and effectively
- Contributes strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field
- Develops communication strategies to widely communicate solutions and best practices
- Assists in developing innovative scientific methods, analyses, tools and frameworks to address challenges
- Builds relationships, partnerships and cooperation from outside parties to accomplish program goals
- Solicits, negotiates and manages contracts or other business transactions
- Establishes and maintains optimal performance standards within budget
- Supports public and private fundraising efforts to meet program needs
- Frequently makes independently strategic decision based on analysis, ambiguous information and judgment
- Negotiates complex agreements, in a political environment
- Engages community for local conservation efforts
- Negotiates complex and innovative solutions with government agencies and stakeholders
- Frequent travel domestically and/or internationally, evening and weekend hours
- May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances
- Experience managing complex or multiple projects, including managing finances and coordinating the work of other professionals and partners
- Experience developing partnerships (with nonprofits, community groups, resource users, and/or government agencies)
- Fundraising experience, including identifying donor prospects and donor cultivation
- Experience negotiating
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 5-7 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience
- Experience managing complex or multiple marine conservation projects
- Demonstrated experience influencing, developing and implementing conservation policy and plans
- Experience collaborating with fishermen, industry representatives and other partners
- Understanding of public policy landscape of conservation in California, especially current trends and practices in fishery management and fisheries science
- Ability to develop practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes
- Demonstrated experience in fundraising
- Demonstrated experience as effective, entrepreneurial project manager
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Politically savvy and demonstrated experienced in partnership development (with nonprofits, community groups, resource users, and/or government agencies)