Mississippi River Business Process Manager

United States

Location is flexible but must be located in North America within the Mississippi River Basin, with strong preference for a major city easy to travel from, and where TNC has an established office (e.g., St. Louis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Chicago). Hybrid position with majority remote work.

#LI-REMOTE

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 Mississippi River Business Process Manager will organize and support a group of leaders working across the Mississippi River system to collaborate in:

The Manager will maintain strong connections to these key internal partners, and work to efficiently engage members of a small leadership group to meet clear science, policy and communications outcomes. The Manager therefore sits at the hub of this leadership group, which is comprised of 4-7 staff whose positions are dedicated to leading related science, policy, and marketing functions, and key programs and strategies that impact key issues for the Mississippi River at large scales, typically at a sub-basin or larger level. The key strategies include the protection and restoration of floodplains, and reduction of agricultural runoff, with this latter issue the focus of the North America Agriculture Program. Policy and equity enable successful and durable strategies and are therefore critical focus areas as well.

The Manager will also serve as an external point of contact for TNC’s work on the Mississippi River, connecting the right staff person(s) externally as needed. The Manager leads with a strategic mindset and a system-wide perspective, always striving to ensure that the Mississippi River Program adds unique and essential value to our divisions as they aim to maximize their contribution to our 2030 Goals.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Manager will connect staff internally to sustain a system-level perspective for the Mississippi River as it relates to TNC’s 2030 Goals, especially with regard to science, policy and communications. This includes supporting members of the leadership group and others to collaborate efficiently and effectively around these topics, and serving as an internal and external point of contact for TNC’s work on the Mississippi River.

The Manager supports internal engagement on emerging conservation initiatives, coordinates and manages the flow of work among staff leaders, supports leaders and project teams in the identification and development of key performance indicators and metrics, and reports to key stakeholders on progress towards achieving priority goals.

The Manager partners with leaders in the leadership group to strategically assess opportunities and determine the most effective manner to participate and represent TNC and the program internally and externally as necessary. The Administrator develops a strong internal network to match external relationships and partnerships with the right internal leader, handing off requests quickly to the best lead or representative. They connect our leaders and ensure we're responding to existing and emerging strategic external opportunities.

The Manager synthesizes information to support fundraising requests or influence key internal priorities, and they can convey compelling stories about our work across this basin that inspires donors and partners. The Manager will support development staff with stories and information about the Mississippi River, and they may meet directly with interested donors.

The Manager connects with the broad community of staff working within the Mississippi River system and helps them understand how their work fits into the larger agenda for the river and TNC’s 2030 Goals. The Manager is cautious about time spent in meetings, so looks to create essential connections and communications. The Manager may host a "river rally" to bring together all who "touch" this system every two years or so.

The Manager works in partnership with a finance manager, marketing lead and other functional positions, and supervises the program administration team. The Manager leverages resources from other parts of the organization and finds ways to connect and embed the knowledge and experience gained at the Mississippi River Program level into the funding and strategic work of divisions, regional programs, and more, and to strongly communicate how all this fits together and transcends the parts to achieve our 2030 Goals.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Support the development of a Mississippi River science team in sharing systems level scientific information that influences internal and external priority setting;
• Support successful collaboration of the Mississippi River policy team in identifying and pursuing opportunities to influence federal, state and local policies that affect the system;
• Support a marketing and communications team in developing and sharing a comprehensive story about TNC’s efforts to simultaneously protect the Mississippi River and advance our 2030 Goals in a manner that supports fundraising, policy, and partner engagement;
• Support the collaboration among teams working in the upper and lower Mississippi River systems on protection and restoring natural infrastructure in the 100-year floodplain, and enable a system-level perspective on how this work integrates to make a strong contribution to helping people and nature thrive in the Mississippi River and advance TNC’s 2030 Goals;
• Support the connection between NA Agriculture Program and the Mississippi River Program to ensure systems-level work in regenerative agriculture remains a key part of the Mississippi River story;
• Integrate all the above in an efficient and essential manner by connecting an internal network of staff working in the Mississippi River system, helping them to see the system level context in which they are working, and enabling internal engagement and collaboration among divisions as needed to deliver complex conservation and organizational strategies;
• Act independently with a high level of organizational agility, and exercise independent judgment to identify and solve problems early to enable efficient and effective communications and collaboration that is nimble and adaptive to changing internal and external demands;
• Support division conservation managers in preparing reports that informs priority setting, tracks progress and informs portfolio reviews, and which measures and analyzes program effectiveness when necessary;
• Support fundraising by developing and providing information to fundraisers so they can convey compelling stories about our work across the Mississippi River system that inspires donors and partners, and possibly meet directly with interested donors;
• Serve as external contact for the Mississippi River system and work with the leadership group to assess opportunities and determine whether and how to participate and represent TNC and the program internally and externally as necessary;
• Match external relationships and partnerships with the right internal leader, handing off requests quickly to the best lead or representative.
• May supervise one or more administrative or professional staff, including training and professional development;
• Travel occasionally, working long and flexible hours as needed;
• Work environment involves only infrequent exposure to disagreeable elements and minor physical exertion and/or strain;
• Work is diversified and may not always fall under established practices and guidelines;
• Work within scope of program’s strategic goals.

The ideal candidate is someone who is motivated to make a major contribution to the protection of freshwater biodiversity in the Mississippi River system. They must be a facilitative leader who likes to make an organization work, rather than be the subject matter expert, or the most visible person. They like to be a point person who can assess opportunities, connect people, and position others within the network to lead. They must be articulate, comfortable with complexity, and very well organized. The Mississippi River is one of the world’s great rivers and has compelling conservation challenges and opportunities. TNC is a major leader within the system.

• Bachelor’s degree and 7 years related experience or equivalent combination;
• 5 years of project management experience or 3 years acting as a project lead;
• Completed coursework or other training on project management principles;
• Direct experience working on and experience consulting on managing and tracking multiple projects, managing and implementing complex processes time management;
• Experience managing project teams and working with cross-functional staff;
• Experience managing scheduling and logistical aspects of medium to large projects that range from short to long term; and directly using and consulting on project management techniques and tools;
• Experience working with a highly matrixed, decentralized and collaborative organization;
• Experience meeting time sensitive deadlines;
• Experience training staff on how to effectively engage with internal and external parties.

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 a competitive, comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) plan with an 8% employer match, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, other life and work well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our Culture Tab on nature.org/careers. Salary is based on candidate qualifications and geographic location. The estimated salary range for this position is between $71,000 - $99,000, depending on candidate location. The hiring team will be able to provide a narrower range to individual candidates as they move forward in the hiring process.

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

To apply for job ID 53146, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/ by 11:59 PM EST on 4/10/23. 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.

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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.

Where legally permissible, TNC requires all new employees to be fully vaccinated and willing to keep up to date with vaccines that protect against COVID-19. By accepting an offer of employment, you agree to comply with this requirement, unless you are entitled to a legally mandated exemption.

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.