Director – Gulf and Southeast Oceans Program
Overall function: EDF’s Oceans Program works to improve the health of the oceans via innovative and durable solutions to today’s toughest fishery management challenges. The areas of responsibility for the Director of the Gulf and Southeast Oceans Program shall include but not be limited to:
- Supervise the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Oceans Program regional team as one cohesive and integrated unit that leverages the strengths and experience of staff across the region. Responsibilities include: supervising the program and operational work of the region and maintaining a unified sense of teamwork between the oceans program staff in Texas and North Carolina; enhancing communications and coordination within the region and maximizing the efficiency of operational support; and reviewing and updating as necessary the budgetary and strategic planning documents and work plans for all major program initiatives in the region.
- Serve as primary liaison with other Environmental Defense Fund regional and national Oceans Program staff and contribute to their objectives.
- Analyze complex fishery management programs to find ways to eliminate overfishing, rebuild depleted fisheries and strengthen commercial and recreational communities through the adoption of catch shares or other effective accountability measures.
- Forge alliances among disparate interest groups to coordinate citizen and environmental groups in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast, help build regional and national coalitions, and promote conservation leadership in the commercial and recreational fishing communities
- Engage the media to effectively advance project objectives and communicate project results to a broad array of audiences. ·
- Coordinate the region’s work with the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other federal, state and interstate fishery and ocean conservation agencies.
- Engage academic scientists, policy experts, and others to solve complex fishery management problems.
- Represent the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Oceans Program at regional advisory board and national trustees meetings as needed.
- Work with Environmental Defense Fund development officers to identify potential funding sources and secure funding to help expand the program.
- Prepare and supervise the annual budget for the regional program.
- Function as a member of the Ocean Program’s Leadership Team in order to improve effectiveness, including collaborative decision-making and coordination, across the Ocean Program.
Professional and Personal Qualifications:
- Knowledge of federal and state ocean conservation laws and regulations.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively manage a growing program and staff.
- Ability to use science, law, economics and advocacy to initiate and win positive environmental change – experience achieving results in environmental policy and politics.
- Minimum ten years of experience with significant time working with state and federal natural resource management agencies, state legislatures, or the U.S. Congress.
- Demonstrated expertise of the biological, economic and management issues related to major U.S. fisheries, especially commercial and recreational fisheries.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work constructively with nonprofit colleagues and partners, scientists and economists, industry leaders, regulators and public policy decision makers.
- Bachelors Degree required with a Law Degree, Masters or PhD. in a marine biology, natural resource economics, or related discipline highly preferred
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