Arlington, Virginia, USA
This position is negotiable anywhere The Nature Conservancy is authorized to conduct business. Arlington, VA is TNC's headquarters.
#LI-REMOTE

#LI-POST

The mission of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we develop innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the world's toughest environmental challenges so that people and nature can thrive. Our work is guided by our values, which include a commitment to diversity and respect for people, communities, and cultures. From a rewarding mission to career development and flexible schedules, there are many reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want to know more? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube to hear stories from staff or visit Glassdoor.

One of TNC's primary goals is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that employees around the globe have a sense of belonging and feel that their unique contributions are valued. We know we'll only achieve our mission by hiring and engaging a diverse staff that reflects the communities in which we work. Recognizing that people bring talent and skills that have been developed outside the scope of a job, we take a holistic approach to recruitment that considers life experience in addition to the professional requirements listed in our postings. Please apply - we'd love to hear from you. To quote a popular saying at TNC, "you'll join for the mission, and you'll stay for the people."

The Senior Policy Advisor develops and leads efforts to support producer and government engagement in agriculture subsidy/incentive reform and uptake commitments with country-based staff, and identifies and prioritizes windows for action. They drive accountability processes to address interlinkages between agricultural subsidy policy and conservation programs, and help identify and prioritize related policy issues with geopolitical implications for TNC's overarching goals.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

* May supervise administrative and/or professional staff with responsibility for performance management, training and development.
* Design, implement and direct complex agricultural subsidy-related policy engagements impacting biodiversity and climate change in priority countries, setting deadlines and ensuring program accountability.
* Identifies conservation policy and funding opportunities, evaluates the potential for strategic partnerships, and develops and implements strategies.
* Monitor corresponding global Rio converntion instruments (e.g. NBSAP T-18) to build coalitions and support countries to achieve their corresponding related objectives.
* Advise agri-food related Provide Food and Water (internal global strategy team, "Provide") strategies and regional-based teams on agricultural support mechanisms policy engagement.
* Make strategic decisions based on analysis, experience and judgment.
* Incorporate cross disciplinary knowledge to support program objectives.
* May be responsible for leading or co-leading organization-wide programs or projects related to food systems policy and organizing cross-functional support.
* May represent TNC externally with donors and government leaders.
* Make independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, ambiguous information, experience and judgment.
* Accountable to persuasively convey the mission of The Nature Conservancy to diverse groups including key legislators, government officials and others who are critical to the Conservancy's overall conservation strategies.
* Ensures that the program complies with federal lobbying laws and regulations.
* Financial responsibility may include working within/managing a budget to complete projects, negotiating and contracting with vendors, assisting with budget development
* Requires willingness and ability to travel up to 25% both domestically and internationally, and to work occasional weekends and evenings.
* Other duties as assigned.

The challenges facing our planet today require comprehensive solutions that address the well-being of people and nature and lay the foundation for future conservation efforts. Promoting policies that provide benefits to both people and nature is critical to securing lasting conservation outcomes. The work and expertise of The Nature Conservancy's Policy and Public Funding programs are integral to this effort. The Policy and Public Funding business unit is helping to shape the government policies that help make possible achievement of transformative conservation outcomes to address climate change, enhance protection of lands, waters, and the ocean, and provide food and water sustainably. We have an awesome task at hand, and the work that you do here will have a direct impact on our success.

We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. To implement these priorities, we collaborate actively in a non-confrontational manner with public sector agencies, NGOs, academia, business and the finance sector.

* Bachelor's degree in agriculture, political science, environmental policy, business or related field and 6 years of senior management level experience in government relations, corporate sector, or equivalent combination of education/experience.
* Supervisory experience.
* Experience drafting agri-food policy positions and technical documents.
* Experience in agriculture-related resource mobilization.
* Experience conceiving and implementing strategic initiatives, from vision to accountability framework.
* Fluency in English. International work experience.
* Experience in negotiating agriculture and food system-related policy initiatives.
* Experience working with partners and government agencies.
* Project management experience including coordinating the work of other professionals inside and outside an organization.
* Experience in strategy development and implementation.
* Experience building relationships.
* Experience negotiating complex high profile or sensitive agreements.
* Experience with written and verbal communications and presentation skills.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Technical agriculture policy expertise, with a focus on market support mechanisms (agricultural subsidies/incentives).
* Knowledge and understanding of the implementation of the Rio Convention instruments.
* Expertise on Food Systems and markets
* Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural experience preferred.
* Masters degree in related field
* Training in systems transformation.
* 10+ years experience in agriculture and conservation, at least half of which is based outside of US/Europe.
* Self-starter with ability to generate work plans with limited support in line with the overall Conservation Strategies Team outcomes, goals, strategies, and plans.
* Knowledge of politics and society with respect to environmental and international affairs.
* Willingness to learn and develop expertise in new conservation strategies, economic drivers, management tools, and global affairs.
* Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization, including with senior management, Understanding of finance or business development a plus.
* Communicating clearly via written, spoken, and graphical means in English and other relevant languages.

Since 1951, TNC has been doing work you can believe in. Through grassroots action, we have grown from a small non-profit into one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than 1 million members, over 400 scientists, and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and partners, we impact conservation around the world!

TNC offers competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our Culture Tab on nature.org/careers.

We're proud to offer a flexible work environment that supports the health and well-being of the people we employ.

This position may be based in any country where TNC has an established entity, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times. For U.S. based applicants only, the starting pay range for this position is generally within the range of $97,000 - $154,000 for annual base salary and is based on location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. For all other applicants, pay ranges will be in local currency, the pay range will be based on the local labor market, and not tied to the above pay range. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment and used to determine your actual pay range. Additionally, for all applicants, actual pay will fall within a range based on a variety of factors including, for example, the candidate's qualifications, specific skills, and experience.

To apply for job ID 56320, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/. Need help applying? Visit our recruitment page or contact applyhelp@tnc.org.

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to applyhelp@tnc.org with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.

An attractive salary and benefits package is part of TNC's value proposition to our employees. TNC strives to provide competitive pay and bases salaries on the geographic location of the role committing to being equitable across groups and providing hiring salary ranges when possible.

Since we support flexible and remote work for our employees, many positions have a flexible location within countries where we're registered as a Non-government Organization and established as an employer. This may mean we're unable to provide a hiring salary range in the posting for some of our positions. However, candidates invited to be part of our interview process will be provided their location specific range upon request.