Director of Science, California Water Program

The Science Director for the Conservancy’s Freshwater Program in California provides strategic, technical and scientific leadership and manages a multidisciplinary team to drive the science, scientific products and scientific collaborations needed to inform and inspire ambitious surface water and groundwater conservation initiatives both in and beyond California. The Nature Conservancy’s California Water Program focuses on achieving resilient and healthy rivers, thriving wetlands and sustainable groundwater-dependent ecosystems by transforming California into a hub of innovation and leadership in conservation. Our team of scientists, technologists and conservation practitioners utilizes place-based demonstration, policy and science to drive California to a sustainable water future.

We will keep this position open to new applications until 11:59 pm PST on June 28. We would appreciate early applications as we expect a large amount to review.

WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER

The Science Director for the California Water Program in TNC’s California Chapter provides science-based leadership to the Conservancy’s teams and initiatives to increase the pace and scale of biodiversity conservation in and beyond California. They work with multidisciplinary teams to identify priorities and strategies for conservation engagement, and to ensure the delivery of the science needed to execute those strategies. They lead and manage a team of scientists to ensure that the Conservancy’s limited science capacity is focused on the most essential issues and at the most strategic level of engagement on those issues. They are a key partner with their counterpart in the Conservation Programs department, the Water Program Director, working to align and integrate the Conservancy’s science, policy, and place-based conservation work, including by collaborating on budgeting, annual planning and developing the team’s culture. They coordinate and collaborate with scientists internal and external to the organization to efficiently address priority questions and position the organization for influence and impact. They themselves advance research initiatives relevant to the Program’s primary strategies and a scientific body of work that models productivity, effective collaboration, thought leadership, and high impact science. They represent TNC and TNC Science externally in various fora, and routinely engage both technical and non-technical audiences including partners, stakeholders, industry, community groups, donors, and the media. They lead and assist in development of funding proposals to advance Conservancy strategies.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Develop innovative scientific ideas and products to advance the Conservancy’s mission, including by leveraging the platform provided by TNC California’s network of land and water holdings.
• Lead, manage and mentor science staff and have responsibility for performance management and professional development.
• Work collaboratively, internally and externally, to develop conservation strategies.
• Maintain, strengthen, and leverage a network of external scientific collaborators in academia, government, for-profit and non-profit sectors to deliver the science needed to advance the Conservancy’s conservation strategies.
• Foster partnerships with a high degree of professionalism, interpersonal skills and awareness of partner differences.
• Work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams, and support program objectives by working in a matrixed organization environment.
• Support development of clear strategic theories of change, and the internal systems to adaptively manage implementation and refinement of those plans.
• Persuasively represent TNC externally as a freshwater science expert.
• Deliver tools, biodiversity data, field services and training for staff and partners.
• Provide guidance and support for research, project development, and monitoring, including research conducted by partners, contractors, and grantees.
• Design and implement field surveys, experiments, and assessments.
• Draft project reports, manuscripts for scientific publication, and other science products, and oversee product development for direct reports.
• Develop and manage grants or contracts and write requests for proposals.
• Co-develop budgets and track spending.
• Work across geographic and ecosystem boundaries in California and collaborate with the science community to enhance the conservation practices of others to further TNC California’s reputation as a global leader in conservation science.
• Persuasively convey verbally and in writing the mission of TNC to diverse groups including senior leaders, donors, board members, business leaders, and elected officials.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, varying seasonally, in the US and/or internationally and may work in variable weather conditions at remote locations, hazardous terrain and/or under physically demanding circumstances.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Ph.D. in science related field and 8 years related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Supervisory experience, including motivating, coaching, leading, setting objectives and managing performance.
• Experience conducting original research and publishing in peer reviewed scientific journals.
• Experience building relationships and collaborating successfully with a broad array of people.
• Experience fundraising and/or writing grants and research proposals.
• Experience designing, organizing and directing multiple complex projects of strategic importance and leading multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience synthesizing and integrating research findings and lessons learned into conservation strategy.
• Experience communicating and presenting effectively to senior management.
• Experience networking extensively in scientific communities and maintaining strong relationships.
• Experience working on socio-ecological, political, and freshwater conservation issues in California.
• Experience with systematic conservation planning, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Experience leading and participating in coalitions that have successfully led to multi-benefit outcomes.
• Demonstrated leadership and visionary qualities and ability to work effectively with and through others in a decentralized and geographically-dispersed organization.

Salary Information:

The starting pay range for a candidate selected for this position is generally within the range of $128,000 – $275,500, depending on your geographical location (some examples below):
Chico and Mendocino County – $128,000 – $229,000
Santa Barbara, Sacramento, San Diego – $140,000 – $252,000
San Francisco and Los Angeles County – $153,000 – $275,000

Where a successful candidate’s actual pay will fall within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including, for example, the candidate’s location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment.