Senior Vice President, Center for Sustainable Lands and Waters at Conservation International

Position summary

Conservation International is seeking a Senior Vice President for our Center for Sustainable Land and Waters to work collaboratively across our global organization to transform development pathways of landscapes and seascapes within priority jurisdictions in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and specific global commodity sectors. The successful candidate will bring a demonstrated track record of visionary leadership overseeing multi-disciplinary teams and programs for conservation success. They will bring an entrepreneurial spirit combined with business acumen to design, plan, and execute strategies for CI’s sustainable landscapes and seascapes priority, one of four strategic organizational priorities. This individual must bring a passion and appreciation for diverse perspectives, talents, and identities and work collaboratively and respectfully at all levels of CI, serving as a role model for CI’s core values.

The SVP oversees the programming and operational management of CI’s Center for Sustainable Lands and Waters, guiding CI’s global approach to delivering ecosystem health by aligning incentives to integrate conservation and sustainable production. The SVP will identify, develop and implement standards and best practices to effectively marshal the organization’s resources to achieve results on a global basis and ensure the Center’s staff have the tools and resources to be successful. The SVP is responsible for ensuring operational excellence, partnership development, resource mobilization, and communication with a diverse group of internal and external audiences in a dynamic work environment. The SVP will lead a global team and play a prominent leadership role in influencing key stakeholders internally, including other global and regional divisions, and externally, including public agencies, private corporations, donors, and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Reporting to the Executive Vice President, Global Programs, the SVP will serve as a leader in CI’s Global Programs Team, a grouping of technical divisions charged with driving programming strategies, supporting regional divisions and country programs, and accelerating and amplifying success to achieve ambitious organization-wide goals. The SVP is also a member of CI’s Leadership Team and serves as a corporate officer with the ability to bind CI to agreements, contracts, and grants.

Responsibilities

• Lead vision, strategy, planning, and delivery for CI’s Center for Sustainable Lands and Waters.
• Ensure high quality, effective and efficient design and delivery on CI’s strategies and initiatives related to Sustainable Landscapes and Seascapes.
• Develop high-impact partnerships with the private sector, government agencies, other NGOs, and multilateral institutions including the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Define and manage the Center’s organizational structure, operations, and communications and coordination processes. 
• Lead the Center’s development of new initiatives, including the identification and pursuit of new resources for regional strategies and action plans.
• Communicate progress on strategies and action plans internally within CI and externally through media, social media, and other targeted means.
• Represent the Center and its work with the CI Board and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to country directors and regional technical staff.
• Fundraise and secure gifts at the multimillion-dollar level from government agencies, private sector corporations, foundation, and high net worth individuals (HNWI).
• Accountable for the overall administrative, financial, and staff functions of the Center and its programs, including ~ 20 team members and an average annual budget of $4-5M generated from a broad range of sources.
• Perform a leadership role as part of the Global Programs unit and the organization-wide Leadership Team shaping broader programmatic and institutional issues.
• Mentor and support staff in career development and play an active role, as appropriate, in the operations of specific Employee Resource Groups (ERG).
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Working conditions

• The position may be based in Arlington, Virginia, or other CI global hubs in Bogota, Colombia; Brussels, Belgium; Nairobi, Kenya; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; or Singapore.
• The position requires international travel for high-level meetings, fundraising, and other events.
• The position requires the ability to work non-traditional and extended hours to meet deadlines support a global workforce in multiple time zones. 

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum of fifteen years related progressive management experience in conservation and/or natural resource management experience and Bachelor’s degree; or equivalent combination of advanced degrees and experience. 
• A track record of conceptualizing and leading complex and high-impact conservation and/or development initiatives in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and/or Latin America.
• Extensive experience working within or in partnership with private-sector corporations.
• Ability to transform the results of research, analysis, application of decision-support tools and projects into broader collaborations with governments, the private sector, and civil society as a means to scale impact.
• Strong executive-level management experience including demonstrated ability to successfully lead, manage, motivate, and hold to account a diversified and globally deployed team of conservation professionals.   
• A proven track record of successful fundraising at the $1M+ level including the ability to identify, cultivate, secure, and steward relationships with government agencies, private sector corporations, foundation, and HNWI.
• Strong interpersonal skills, presence, and ability to effectively build strong relationships both internally and externally.
• Strong analytical, decision-making, and strategic planning skills, combined with clear, concise written and verbal communication skills.
• A strong sense of emotional intelligence and self-awareness and high ethical standards and integrity.
• Additional language skills in Spanish, Portuguese, French, or Bahasa Indonesia preferred.