Director of Equitable Conservation
TITLE: Senior Director for Equitable Conservation
CLASSIFICATION: Senior Director
WAGE CATEGORY: Exempt; Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Conservation
REPORTS TO: CEO (dotted line) Vice President for Conservation Impact (solid line)
LOCATION: Remote, National
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ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers is championing a national effort to protect and restore all rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways. Healthy rivers provide people and nature with clean, abundant water and natural habitat. For 50 years, American Rivers staff, supporters, and partners have shared a common belief: Life Depends on Rivers.
The beauty of rivers is that they connect all people and communities – including within our organization. The life experiences, knowledge, innovation, and talent that different people bring to our work provides perspectives, experiences, and competencies which are critical to our effectiveness in protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers, and conserving clean water for people and nature.
JOB SUMMARY
The Senior Director for Equitable Conservation is responsible for leading American Rivers’ equitable conservation work and ensuring the infusion of equity and justice in all American Rivers mission work. The Senior Director for Equitable Conservation serves as an ambassador for American Rivers building partnerships with national groups and coalitions focused on building an equitable movement to reach our ambitious NorthStar goal of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere and to better address the concurrent threats of climate change, environmental injustice, and biodiversity loss. The Senior Director for Equitable Conservation leads, manages, and collaborates across the American Rivers conservation team, including our national experts, regional leadership, and government relations advocates to ensure equity and justice is part of all program work and all staff have a responsibility for advancing equity and justice in our work. This position is responsible for sharing and teaching best practices providing equitable conservation learning opportunities for the Board and staff. The Senior Director for Equitable Conservation serves as part of American Rivers’ Program Team and the executive leadership team.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Report to and serve as advisor to American Rivers CEO on all equitable conservation issues (dotted line report)
- Serve as American Rivers ambassador and cultivate relationships with Equitable Conservation departments at peer organizations
- Guide and direct staff that work with all Conservation national conservation programs, regions and government relations to ensure conservation work addresses equity and justice issues for frontline communities, and qualitative and quantitative metrics are included in annual program plans and staff work plans
- Guide staff that advise and coach Conservation staff to develop equitable approaches to community, tribal and partner equitable engagement
- Pilot and incubate new areas for American Rivers equitable conservation (e.g., Rivers of Opportunity, River Land Back, Water Back and Black Land Retention)2
- Convene Equitable Conservation community of practice (or similar learning and strategy cohort)
- Collaborate with Senior Director of People and Culture to curate staff/Board learning opportunities
- Represent equitable conservation expertise and strategies on the Program and Executive Teams
- Fundraise for cross cutting equitable conservation work to achieve our ambitious goals
- Manage staff of currently one full time Director of Equitable Conservation (Dir I) as well as equitable conservation fellows.
- Develop, implement, model, and maintain organization policies, including onboarding
- Develop organization-wide strategic equity goals
- Assess and track equitable conservation work to measure against strategic goals
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- No less than 10 years equitable conservation-focused experience
- Proven ability to convene diverse teams, partners and constituencies
- Excellent interpersonal, listening, facilitation and communication skills
- Ability to work cooperatively and strategically in a team environment with all levels of stakeholders or independently as required
- Strong project, or grant management skills
- Experience with engagement of dispersed national teams
- Advanced qualifications in, training in, experience with, analysis of and demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice policies and execution
- Experience fundraising for program budgets
- Strong strategic thinking skills
- Excellent writing, analytic and presentation skills with superior attention to detail
- Excellent relationship building skills
- Ability to travel no less than one week per month
- Advanced degree in fields related to equitable conservation and/or 10 years experience in the equitable conservation field
COMPENSATION
The salary range for this position is $100,000-107,500 annually depending upon qualifications and experience. Full-time employee benefits include health, dental, and life insurance; a retirement plan, training budget, sick leave, 11 paid holidays, four weeks of paid vacation, paid sabbaticals every seven years, and a 3% retirement match.
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COMMUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY
Our community’s core values motivate us to Lead with Collaboration, Equity and Trust, Deliver Results, and Ensure Staff and Volunteers Thrive. American Rivers offers staff professional development and training opportunities, engages in equitable hiring and retention practices, participates in transparency reports, provides “no meetings” weeks, Summer Fridays, and hosts Accessibility, Leadership, Parents and Caregivers, and affinity groups and committees led by staff and board members.
American Rivers is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request reasonable accommodation, please contact the Human Resources department at 202-243-7050 or humanresources@americanrivers.org. Please note that one week’s advance notice is preferred.
Applicant must be legally allowed to work as an employee in the United States.
American Rivers is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Candidates of all personal and professional backgrounds are encouraged to apply.