Reporting to the Senior Director (Lens Lead) for Wildlife and Wild Places, the Program Officer (PO) works in close collaboration with the Senior Director of Operations, the Database Manager, and the Senior Program Officer of Wildlife & Wild Places lens, with the primary responsibility of administrating and developing the innovative grant making of the grant programs for the Wildlife & Wild Places lens. The PO is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the daily operations of Research and Conservation grants in the disciplines of Biology, Ecology, and Wildlife Conservation. The PO ensures consistency and timely grant processing for the Wildlife & Wild Places lens, and recruits new explorers and projects from the disciplines mentioned above. The PO prepares reports of grant making activities, disseminates the results of these grants to interested parties, and is the liaison between researchers, committee members, grantees, professional and conservation organizations, and internal NGS and NGP divisions. The PO promotes grantees through all NGS and NGP media divisions and communicates with grantees and NG divisions to develop story/media opportunities. The PO organizes informal lectures by grantees and shepherds grantees among editorial units when they visit the NG campus. Preferred candidates will hold higher degrees in evolutionary biology or ecology, with multiple years of field experience in wildlife conservation.
- Reviews requests for funding within the Wildlife & Wild Places lens. Identifies qualified requests based on eligibility, timeliness, project plan accuracy, viability of methodology, currency and significance of the topic, and relevance to the priorities of the lens (30%)
- Provides feedback to potential and repeat applicants before grant proposal submission, including improvements for project planning and design. Provides technical and specific support to grantees during all phases of grant-making process and project implementation (25%)
- Promotes grantees through all NGS/NGP departments by notifying them of new grants and highlighting projects with good media potential. Draws on expertise to provide scientific context to interested media units. Communicates with grantees to identify story/media opportunities and stays apprised of new discoveries, high profile academic publications, and/or media-friendly results. Serves as point of contact or liaison between grantees and NG media units, and tracks media coverage of grantees (20%)
- Recruits potential explorers and projects through domestic and international professional conferences, meetings, special events, and site visits (10%)
- Supports Lens Lead (Senior Director) of the Wildlife & Wild Places lens on designing strategic priorities, planning of new initiatives, and adaptively managing overall mission and metrics of grant portfolio (5%)
- From the grantee pool, works with Lens Lead to identify potential scale projects, especially those that align within the lens’ current strategic framework (5%)
- Provides scientific support to management team through the scale pipeline for scale projects related to the Wildlife & Wild Places lens (5%)
Minimum Years and Type of Experience
- 5+ years of related experience.
Knowledge and Skill Requirements
- Excellent multitasking and interpersonal skills essential. Oral and written communication skills are a necessity as is knowledge of MS Office. Knowledge of ArcGIS, roundCorner, visual media and databases preferred. Strong understanding of scientific method, knowledge of current trends in field research is required along with a demonstrated interest in the conservation of the earth's natural resources.
Supervision
- None.
National Geographic's headquarters is located in the heart of Washington, D.C. In addition to a unique and dynamic work environment, National Geographic offers its employees a comprehensive benefits package, including health and dental benefits, generous vacation and leave time, a 401(k) plan, and flexible work options. National Geographic is an Equal Opportunity Employer