Director, Habitat Markets

When it comes to natural resources in this country, we don’t have a scarcity problem. We have an inefficiencyproblem. Current policies and market failures encourage waste and fail to reward environmental innovation.  The result: scarcity and conflict. EDF is uniquely equipped to help fix this problem by accelerating the development of systems that make conservation and efficient land and water management profitable.  We believe that such will be critical to helping the nation meet one of its greatest challenges: how to support a growing population without continuing to overspend our precious natural capital.
 
Overall Function 
The Director of Habitat Markets leads the development and implementation of EDF’s program to develop habitat credit trading markets in the U.S. including traditional conservation and mitigation banking systems and more novel recovery credit trading systems such as have been piloted at Fort Hood in Texas. The Director will guide a team of highly skilled EDF staff and consultants in implementing a strategic plan which is directed at making habitat credit trading a ubiquitous conservation tool throughout rural America and one that provides secure income streams for rural landowners and managers.  A strong but not exclusive focus will be on implementing habitat credit trading on lands impacted by energy development and military activities. 
 
The successful candidate will have deep experience in building programs to implement transformative change conservation practice and associated policy. S/he will be a visionary leader, capable of inspiring a team with great geographic spread. The Director will be responsible for refining our strategic plan for habitat credit trading and adapting that plan to an ever changing politically and economic reality. The opportunities to implement habitat credit trading are numerous so the successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring that we invest resources and effort only in the projects and policy change opportunities that most effectively and efficiently advance our objectives.
 
The Director will establish and maintain close collaboration with EDF’s key government, industry and NGO partners to achieve goals and objectives. S/he is responsible for effectively communicating to a diverse set of partners, decision-makers, industry professionals and funders which includes frequent public speaking, interacting with media professionals, communicating through social media tools and through other written media.
Key Responsibilities

• Supervises, manages and creatively motivates biology, policy, economics, science, communication, and administrative staff and consultants to achieve program goals.
• Raises, directs, manages and has direct responsibility for budget, including planning the budget, working with development staff to prepare proposal budgets, and the expenditure of professional fees.
• Initiates and negotiates collaboration, partnership, and other agreements with economic interests.
• Develops and implements cross-program partnerships and joint programs with other EDF programs.
• Provides regular and direct briefings to EDF executive staff, trustees, and funders on program progress and strategic direction.
• Negotiates, initiates, implements, and oversees partnerships to develop large-scale ecosystem restoration projects.

 
Qualifications 
The ideal candidate will be a seasoned conservation professional with 12 to 15 years of experience working in a position of significant responsibility. The ideal candidate must possess outstanding strategic thinking, planning, and communication skills and be an innovative thought and action leader who demonstrates collaborative teamwork, flexibility, adaptability and creativity. S/he should have a solid of the industries that we seek to influence including especially the energy sector. Experience in partnership with various U.S. military branches is a plus. The Director should have sophisticated understanding of business, finance and economics.  S/he will have experience working with current trends and practices in relevant discipline(s) and regions, coupled with a working knowledge of scientific information needed to facilitate EDF’s involvement in habitat credit trading. A graduate degree in a relevant discipline (business administration, law, policy, conservation science) is highly desirable.
 
The ideal candidate will have strong program building skills. S/he will have strong negotiation and deal-making skills, a strong focus on - and track record with - pragmatic, market-based solutions to conservation problems as well as demonstrated experience influencing, developing and implementing effective strategies to achieve desired outcomes. In addition, the ideal candidate will have experience with and an ability to communicate and collaborate effectively and build relationships with diverse partners and decision makers. Experience with high level conservation contacts (partners, community, government, etc.) and fundraising is required. 
 
This individual will possess excellent management experience, including the ability to build a team and inspire and motivate team members, set goals, and lead efforts to achieve and sustain excellence. They will also have successful experience developing, directing, and managing multiple projects. The ideal candidate must have strategic planning and management skills to implement program goals.
 
The ideal candidate will work with EDF staff and our allies to identify the largest solvable problems and propose solutions to address them. S/he will build durable relationships with key stakeholders and across the country.
 
Location: The position will be based in either EDF’s Sacramento or San Francisco office. 
 
Note:  Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, EDF is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate.
 
Environmental Defense Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer