Strategy, Planning & Operations Lead, Nature

Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; Washington, D.C.

Nature Program Description:

NRDC’s Nature Advocacy team is comprised of sector and place-based work that supports NRDC’s long-term strategic goal in protecting the nation’s oceans, lands, food, and agriculture. These teams are charged with leading, scaling, and operationalizing the people, structures, partnerships, and programs needed to execute the Nature advocacy strategy for maximum impact.

NRDC’s Nature team is seeking to hire a Strategy, Planning, & Operations Lead to work in one of our five main U.S. offices: Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica, or Washington D.C.

The Opportunity:

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Nature and working closely with the Deputy Program Officer, the Chief Strategy Office, and the NRDC’s Operations team, the Lead of Strategy, Planning, & Operations (SPO) will be an integral part of the effort to drive and realize impact.

The Lead will be responsible for (1) facilitating strategic planning through determination and alignment of advocacy priorities across the team; (2) ongoing assessment to ensure the team’s strategies, structures, and work plans are aligned and optimized for delivery against NRDC’s institutional priorities, and remain responsive to evolving trends and external needs; (3) assessing and measuring progress against work plans to report outward to key constituents; and (4) overseeing operational processes within the team to ensure effective resource allocation, financial management, and compliance with NRDC-wide policies and best practices.

The Lead will collaborate closely with the SVP and leaders within the team on strategic planning for the departments that comprise the Nature Program (i.e., Oceans, Lands, and Food & Agriculture) across NRDC’s focus regions within the US (i.e., The West, Mid-West, North-East and South-East) and internationally (in coordination with our International Program colleagues).  The Lead will also coordinate with the Equity & Community Partnerships team within Nature to ensure alignment and effective integration of community-centered perspectives, environmental justice considerations, and measurement of equitable outcomes in the organization’s strategic plans and priorities. Outside of intra-program coordination, the SP&O Nature lead will be a critical integration point across departments – with SP&O counterparts in other portfolios, with enabling functions such as Communications, Government Affairs, and our Equity and Science Centers, as well as our Finance, HR, and DEI teams.

The Lead will manage a small team of individuals that will support this work.

Responsibilities

Lead the team’s strategic planning and results management efforts (~50%):

• Engage in institutional strategy development and implementation, executing on consistent and cohesive planning and organizational performance management processes in conjunction with the Chief Strategy Office.
• Serve as an advisor to NRDC’s Advocacy Leadership and SVP team to support identification of priorities, with consideration for strategic choices, tradeoffs, equity, and NRDC’s unique value in each area of focus.
• Facilitate the process of sector and geographic strategy development and execution within the team, including supporting the performance monitoring of activities to assess impact against goals.
• Support adaptation and continuous learning through feedback and update cycles for strategies and workplans.
• Support translation of high-level strategies to annual workplans.
• Serve as a strategic convener to develop and regularly assess strategic plans and priorities through coordination across the organization
• Provide regular reporting and line of sight to senior leadership and the Executive Team on progress against priorities, changes to the activity portfolio, and emerging risks and opportunities, in conjunction with the Chief Strategy Office and Deputy Program and Policy Impact Officers.
• Ensure regular integration of equity and community-based perspectives to achieve equitable outcomes within the strategy and metrics development and implementation process, in collaboration with E&CP and EEJC teams.
• Strengthen resilience of developed strategies and priorities by facilitating regular integration of emerging trends analysis, external partners, and teams across the organization to ensure strategies are responsive to a rapidly evolving landscape.
• Work with communications teams to elevate success stories and compelling impact narratives uncovered during the impact monitoring process.
• Regularly gather and inventory wins within each area of responsibility, filtering back up to an institutional repositor.

Oversee the team’s operational processes (~50%), in collaboration with an Operations Lead who will report to you and who drives and executes day-to-day operations work:

• Financial Management:
  • Partner with the SVP to implement the annual budgeting process as set forth by the Accounting & Finance team. Drive execution, develop resource allocation recommendations to align with priorities, and monitor grant spending.
  • Promote fiscal responsibility and compliance with policies and procedures as set forth by the Accounting & Finance team.
• People and Culture:
  • Manage people strategy in collaboration with the SVP, including headcount budget, compensation, performance review and promotion processes in accordance with the framework set forth by Human Resources.
  • Promote employee engagement, team and people development (including investing meaningfully in the development of junior staff), ODEI and culture-building opportunities.
• Workplace Strategy and IT liaison:
  • Oversee the communication, implementation, and compliance with new and existing workplace policies, procedures, and guidelines.
  • Coordinate with team on IT compliance and systems use.
• Risk Management & Legal Operations:
  • Help coordinate contracting, federal/state/local lobbying, lawyer ethics, risk assessments, and other compliance processes as needed.

The Lead will be able to:

• Successfully work as part of a senior leadership team driving innovative strategic and operational plans, moving fluidly between being a strategic adviser and thought partner to other senior leaders in Advocacy, and the detail-oriented work associated with implementation and execution.
• Understand and promote thinking around strategic choices, data-informed decision making, disciplined prioritization, and consideration of equity and tradeoffs through working as an advisor and trusted leader to senior leaders across the organization charged with strategic decision-making.
• Expertly facilitate complex planning discussions and serve as a key influencer in decision-making, while engaging with teams holding diverse perspectives and expertise.
• Provide judgment on operational issues and support consistency across NRDC.
• Successfully build and nurture a team, providing opportunity and investing meaningfully in the professional development of team members, and building a culture of inclusion.

Importantly, you will demonstrate a genuine alignment with the values of NRDC and seek to apply your passion and skills to tackle the most important challenges humanity has ever faced.

Qualifications

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We strongly encourage individuals from marginalized or underrepresented groups, especially in the field of environmental conservation, to apply. We understand that some candidates may be discouraged by an extensive list of job requirements that they may not fully meet – however, we encourage you to apply regardless. We do not seek a "perfect" candidate, but rather individuals who embody our core values and display the competencies to succeed in the role. If you are passionate about the role, thrive in a culture like ours, and are determined to push boundaries to achieve success, we invite you to apply.

• Minimum 10 years of directly related experience, plus at least 3 years of experience successfully managing teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field required, or equivalent combination of education and or work experience.
• Forward-looking and strategic thinker with a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving.
• An authentic, trusted leader, with energy and resolve.
• Superb facilitator and collaborator
• Excellent communication skills, strong listener
• Focus on action, even in the face of ambiguity and complexity
• Experience in and deep commitment to incorporating and growing the use of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles in strategic goals, work plans, team culture, and operations.
• Drive and passion to pursue challenging goals aggressively while fostering positive/collaborative environment.
• Experience successfully managing budgets, including prioritizing and reallocating funds to make the best use of limited resources for strategic purposes.
• Strong organizational skills and proven ability to manage people, projects, and relationships in a complex/matrixed organizational structure.
• Ability to diagnose complex problems, assess risk, generate solutions, and make decisions.
• Experience with public speaking and ability to communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
• Ability to travel as needed to NRDC’s US and global offices (approx. 20% of the time).
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $178,000 to $205,000.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.

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For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.