Executive Director

NOPC Executive Director Job Announcement

The National Ocean Protection Coalition (NOPC) is a coalition of more than 50 organizations representing national, regional, and local perspectives from across the United States. We work to create and enhance equitable and effective U.S. marine protected areas – special places in the ocean that help to ensure a healthy ocean for the benefit of people and serve as a refuge for the wildlife that call these underwater places home. By convening people and organizations, we strategically activate our collective power to advance conservation for a healthy ocean. NOPC is committed to reflecting and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) throughout its work and it will advance priorities driven by an overarching strategy rooted in inclusion that begins with small, yet meaningful steps for incremental and deep-rooted change.

NOPC is a fiscally sponsored project of Resources Legacy Fund (RLF). RLF builds alliances that advance bold solutions to secure a just and resilient world for people and nature. RLF partners with philanthropy, community groups, government, science, and business to promote smart policies and ensure equitable public funding that protect nature, address the climate crisis, and advance environmental equity and justice. Across the American West and internationally, RLF manages complex, multi-year grantmaking programs and fiscally sponsors projects that accelerate change on environmental and equity issues. To learn more about Resources Legacy Fund, visit https://resourceslegacyfund.org.

Executive Director

The Executive Director provides leadership and guidance to a large and growing coalition, leading and carrying out strategies, policy initiatives, outreach to partners, grant-making, fundraising, and organizational logistics. The Executive Director reports to the Director of Fiscal Sponsorships. This full time position is exempt, preferably based in Washington, DC, requires some travel (10-20% of time), and duties include: 

• Provide leadership and strategic vision to the program.
• Manage a small team of staff and consultants to support the mission of the program.
• Oversee all grants and contracts provided by the program to strategically advance program priorities.
• Develop program funding in consultation with the Director of Fiscal Sponsorships.
• Cultivate strong and cooperative working partnerships and engage with foundations, consultants, and other domestic and international partners.
• Convene meetings of partners, consultants, and or/staff as needed to advance program objectives.
• Ensure the accuracy and quality of written products.
• Research, prepare, and assemble documents which may include presentations, general correspondence, reports, and other materials.
• Oversee monitoring and evaluation of the results of projects and program elements. Ensure program administration, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation is conducted in a manner that meets program criteria and achieves program outcomes.
• Analyze policy and recommend means of engagement on key issues.
• Ensure collaboration and team performance, including coordination with consultants and staff to ensure efficient operation and information flow.
• Take a leading role in organizing the defense of marine protected areas from Executive or Legislative branch attacks.
• Undertake special projects as needed.

Qualifications:

Note: These qualifications are guidelines, not hard and fast rules, so if you have 75% of the qualifications listed, we encourage you to apply.  Experience can include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work that helped you to build the competencies, knowledge, and skills needed for this position. Applying gives you the opportunity to be considered.

• Advanced education, knowledge or work experience that includes environmental conservation or a related field with a preference for background and experience working on issues relating to marine protected areas.
• Exceptional composition skills. Ability to synthesize extensive information from multiple sources into a lucid, cohesive written product. With an understanding of tone and style, compose written information that effectively communicates the desired message to the intended audience(s).
• Flexibility in working style, marked by an ability to work closely with a wide range of personality and organization types and teams.
• Exceptional organizational skills and the ability to manage extensive documentation and written information.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills to ensure full-circle communication with program staff and thorough dissemination of important tasks, projects, and meetings. Skillful in adjusting communication style to interact with clients, staff, and grantees in a professional, courteous, and tactful manner at all times.
• Ability to resolve conflicts professionally and maintain patience, grace, and humor under pressure.
• Ability to adhere to numerous deadlines, conflicting priorities and handle multiple tasks efficiently. Ability to receive, balance, and handle direction and input from multiple colleagues.
• Technological abilities to ensure compliance with confidentiality policies and procedures necessary for the protection of RLF data, and to efficiently complete tasks.
• Capacity to respond rapidly and appropriately to changing priorities, objectives, and situations; self-starter with a sense of initiative and good judgment.
• Ability to perform tasks with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, as well as anticipate informational needs as situations and projects develop.

As a member of the RLF team, the NOPC Executive Director: 

• works well independently and as a part of a team;
• conceives of individual actions as part of a greater whole;
• accepts and integrates methods of environmental conservation in work production;
• possesses high standard of integrity and a professional, courteous manner of communication;
• adheres to RLF standards of quality, presentation, protocol, and confidentiality;
• possesses self-awareness: accepts responsibility and recognizes accountability when necessary;
• takes initiative and sees a project through to completion; seeks new challenges and professional opportunities within a diverse group;
• demonstrates flexibility in working style and range of work performed;
• demonstrates strong work ethic, attention to detail, and a consistent commitment to thoroughness and quality; and
• thrives professionally in an innovative, constantly expanding work environment.