European Program Director

Based on its successful efforts to catalyze ocean recovery in the U.S. and Latin America, EDF is well suited to be a valuable resource to European fisheries as they consider establishing catch share programs. EDF seeks a European Director for the Oceans Program to lead the development and implementation of program strategy, working with pivotal government decision makers and industry and NGO partners in the EU to build capacity to design catch share programs. The European Program Director will be the Oceans Program’s principal representative in Europe, coordinating and developing EDF’s resources on catch share program design, implementation, and policy in service to the European community. The European Program Director will be a member of the Oceans Program Leadership Team and will also liaise regularly with and contribute to EDF’s global Oceans initiatives. S/he will be based in Europe.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

The European Program Director will perform the following and other duties as assigned:

• Serve as the Oceans program’s primary representative in Europe, acting as a resource for European policy makers and fishery managers.
• Analyze complex fishery management programs and develop strategies to eliminate overfishing, rebuild depleted fisheries and strengthen commercial and recreational communities through the adoption of catch shares or other effective accountability measures.
• Serve as the primary liaison between EDF and its European consultants and staff, contributing to their objectives and ensuring timely and thorough communications to the Oceans management team on all significant program developments.
• Work collaboratively with EDF’s Oceans Team to identify projects and issues key to the work in Europe, finding ways to integrate their findings, thinking and projects into European work, and assigning European project staff to serve as members of functional teams.
• Forge alliances amongst disparate interest groups and coordinate between citizen and environmental interests. Help build regional and national coalitions, and promote conservation leadership in the commercial and recreational fishing communities, as appropriate.
• Coordinate the European region’s work with appropriate European agencies including the European Commission, Council of Ministers and Parliament, member state fisheries ministries, and other relevant ocean conservation agencies.
• Engage scientists, policy experts, and others to solve complex fishery management problems; represent the Oceans program in European fora and other leadership efforts.
• Engage the media to effectively advance project objectives and communicate project results to a broad array of audiences.
• Supervise the program and operational work of the European program and maintain a unified sense of teamwork between members of the each team, and across countries, as appropriate.
• Work with Environmental Defense Fund development officers to identify potential funding sources and secure grants to help maintain and expand the program’s funding.
• Help to prepare and supervise the annual budget for the European program.
• In coordination with the Oceans Program Leadership Team, provide leadership and strategic direction for the EU program to ensure the efficient use of resources and achievement of group and individual goals.
• Support the work of the Oceans functional teams by working collaboratively with them to identify projects and issues key to the work in Europe, finding ways to integrate their findings, thinking and projects into European work, and assigning European project staff to serve as members of functional teams.

Qualifications

The successful applicant will have the following minimum qualifications:

• Knowledge of European and member state oceans & natural resource conservation laws and regulations.
• Minimum 10 years of experience, with a significant amount of time spent working with relevant European and member state governmental agencies, industries, and NGOs on natural resource or fisheries management.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage a growing program and staff.
• Demonstrated expertise on the biological, economic, and management issues related to major European fisheries, especially commercial and recreational fisheries, or an analogous natural resource management issue.
• Demonstrated ability to work constructively with nonprofit colleagues and partners, scientists and economists, industry leaders, regulators and public policy decision makers.
• Ability to use science, law, economics and advocacy to initiate and win positive environmental change.
• Experience achieving results in environmental policy and politics.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Bachelors Degree required. Law degree or a Masters or Ph.D. in marine biology, natural resource economics, or related discipline, highly preferred.
• Fluent in English and one other European language, Spanish and French preferred 

Environmental Defense Fund is an equal opportunity employer. EDF’s Diversity Mission Statement can be viewed at http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=48276 .