Director, Budget and Operations - Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C. 

NRDC is seeking a Director, Budget & Operations to work with the Communications Department in our New York City or Washington, D.C. office. 

Position Summary 

The Director, Budget and Operations is responsible for overseeing the operations responsibilities of NRDC’s Communications team, with an emphasis on budget management. Other areas of work will include grant management, contract management, staff training on systems and procedures, oversight of department interns, and coordinating with Communications team managers on HR matters including hiring and onboarding. This position is also responsible for working with the Chief Communications Office to manage key Communications initiatives that relate to how the department functions, such as goalsetting. This role will work closely with colleagues in HR, Finance, Accounting, and Development, among other areas.  

The Director, Budget and Operations will provide management and oversight to a team of four staff - one SP&O Associate and three Administrative Coordinators. They will also serve as a mentor and subject matter expert for NRDC’s Operations function and associated workstreams and processes, ensuring effective resource allocation, financial management, and compliance with NRDC-wide policies and best practices. 

Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions: 

• Streamline and manage the annual expense budgeting process for Communications. Support execution and monitoring of grant spending. 
• Manage and ensure that budget, capacity, and resource allocation align with priorities. 
• Oversee income and grant management for the Communications department—tracking, reporting, and managing all Communications Department income and working with budget code managers to ensure tight adherence to budgets.  
• Produce regular reports on expense tracking; develop systems, templates, and tools for regular and consistent reporting on budgets to managers and throughout the Communications Department.  
• Train others on budget management systems and processes to ensure strong budgeting and tracking throughout the department.  
• Oversee department-wide systems for managing operational responsibilities, such as contract management and grant management.  
• Ensure that institutional policies, procedures, and initiatives (e.g., end-of-fiscal year close-out) are understood and put into practice by the Comms team. 
• Support people strategy in collaboration with Communications leadership and operations leads, including headcount budget, compensation, performance reviews, and promotion processes in accordance with the framework set forth by Human Resources.     
• Promote employee engagement, team and people development, ODEI and culture-building opportunities, in alignment with NRDC policy and values.   
• Work closely with Chief Communications Officer to coordinate among the Communications leadership team and to cascade key initiatives throughout the department.  
• Support management and consistency in hiring and onboarding practices.  
• Manage a team of Operations and Administrative professionals in support of the initiatives described above. 

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned. 

Qualifications

Minimum Education & Experience:  

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field. 
• Minimum 8 years relevant experience, plus minimum 2 years experience managing people and/or a team. 
• And/or equivalent combination of education and experience. 

Skills, Abilities, Competencies  

• Strong work ethic and interest in collaborative and supportive management. 
• Experience managing staff, including strong team management and team-building skills. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 
• Strong planning and project management skills. 
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of business contracts and negotiations. 
• Vendor management skills. 
• Budget management skills. 
• Strong organizational and project management skills essential. 
• Strong attention to detail. 
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment  
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.   
• Strong project management skills and the ability to juggle multiple projects at once.  
• Ability to travel to NRDC U.S. based offices, approximately 10-15% annually 
• Forward-looking and strategic thinker with a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving.    
• An authentic, trusted leader, with energy and resolve.  
• Superb facilitator and collaborator   
• Excellent communication skills, strong listener  
• Experience in and deep commitment to incorporating and growing the use of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles in strategic goals, work plans, team culture, and operations.   
• Drive and passion to pursue challenging goals aggressively while fostering positive/collaborative environment.  
• Experience successfully managing budgets, including prioritizing and reallocating funds to make the best use of limited resources for strategic purposes.  
• Strong organizational skills and proven ability to manage people, projects, and relationships in a complex/matrixed organizational structure.  
• Ability to diagnose complex problems, assess risk, generate solutions, and make decisions. 

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $141,000 to $155,500.  

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence. 

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws. 

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs. 

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422. 

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.