Senior Program Manager - The Nature Conservancy

Arlington, Virginia, USA

#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 Senior Program Manager is highly organized, strategic, and proactive, and has expertise in program and portfolio management and in marketing and communications. They support and advance the priorities of the Marketing and Communications (MAC) Team through: 

• Managing, tracking, and overseeing the progress of the MAC project portfolio and the development and execution of the MAC strategic plan.  
• Providing strategic support and management of the MAC leadership teams, including driving the priorities of the leadership team to align with the priorities of the business and with successful execution of the strategic plan.   
• May serve as project manager on select priority projects. 

The Senior Program Manager serves as a strategic and operational leader in the management of the priorities of the MAC business unit and in driving the successful execution of the MAC strategic plan. They engage with colleagues and partners to facilitate communication and connection across teams, functions, and projects to ensure that priorities and milestones are coordinated, aligned, and tracked. They ensure that project status is regularly and proactively communicated to senior leadership, and that the leadership team takes agreed-upon action to resolve issues or move work forward.  
  
They serve as the strategic coordinator of the MAC leadership teams. They lead logistics, planning, facilitation, and follow up for regular meetings of MAC leadership, and are responsible for driving forward priorities established by leadership through effective project management. They are responsible for influencing and managing, without formal authority, staff at various levels of seniority to ensure that input is gathered, decisions are made, and work moves forward in line with set plans and deadlines. They proactively and creatively problem-solve when needed. 
  
They may serve as project manager on priority and ad hoc projects, ensuring that projects are appropriately scoped and executed within planned timelines and budgets and in alignment with the MAC Project Management Framework. 

As Senior Program Manager, you will: 

• Drive the development and execution of the MAC strategy and strategic plan.  
• Maintain expert understanding of MAC goals, objectives, strategies, and measurement.  
• Serve as a core connection point across MAC priority projects, campaigns, and initiatives, ensuring that projects are aligned, coordinated, tracked, and managed in line with the MAC Project Management Framework.  
• Ensure that project status is proactively and regularly communicated to MAC leadership and stakeholders, and that risks or issues are appropriately elevated in a timely manner. 
• Have ownership and accountability for directing the work of the MAC leadership teams in line with the highest priority needs of the business unit and in line with the MAC strategy and goals. 
• Serve as the strategic coordinator for the MAC leadership teams, including managing all logistics, planning, facilitation, note-taking, and follow up for regular meetings of MAC leadership.  
• Influence and manage, without formal authority, staff at various levels of seniority to ensure that issues are resolved and work moves forward in line with set plans and deadlines. 
• Drive reporting to ensure leaders have visibility into project status and information to guide prioritization across workstreams. 
• Create high-quality materials—including updates, briefings, presentations, and reports in various formats—to communicate project status and other key information to MAC leadership. 
• Step in to ad-hoc marketing and communications projects on an as-needed basis. This can include a variety of last-minute needs, including anything from a situation analysis, to documentation proofreading and editing, to project managing a marketing initiative. 
• Distill complex information and data into concise, visual-forward materials. 
• Act as a trusted thought-partner for MAC colleagues. 
• Resolve complex issues independently within program area. 
• Responsibility and accountability for meeting project goals and objectives. 
• May serve as project manager on MAC operational projects of various scope and size. 
• May supervise one or more professional staff and/or intern. 

The ideal candidate will have all or some of these qualifications. If you don’t have all of them, apply anyway and tell us about your skills and experience:

• Multi-lingual skills and/or multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience.
• Experience serving as a program manager or portfolio manager. 
• Experience working closely with executive-level leadership. 
• Expert understanding of marketing principles and strategies. 
• Experience managing or directing a leadership team; comfort and experience influencing senior-level colleagues and managing up.  
• Communication skills with ability to articulate ideas in a compelling manner. 
• Experience developing written and visual communications for C-suite level leadership.     
• Experience and expertise in project management. 
• Interpersonal skills, including ability to negotiate, influence, and persuade.  
• Practical knowledge of current and evolving trends related to marketing.  
• Experience leading in a team-based environment with internal and/or external partners.  
• Positive, solution-oriented outlook

• Bachelor’s degree in related field and a minimum of 8 years related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.    
• Experience supervising staff and teams.  
• Experience cultivating and managing client relationships.  
• Experience in project management, developing marketing strategies and measuring results.
   

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Multi-lingual skills appreciated.
• Multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience preferred.
• Management experience that includes ability to lead, motivate, set objectives and manage performance and conflict resolution.
• Fosters an environment of creativity and professional growth.  
• Excellent writing, presentation, communication, mediation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to persuasively convey the mission of The Nature Conservancy to diverse groups including donors, board members, and the public. 
• Expert knowledge of current and evolving trends in relevant marketing disciplines.  Cross disciplinary knowledge to support program objectives. 
• Demonstrated ability in managing the fiduciary aspects of planning and delivery of budgets.
   

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 competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our Culture Tab on nature.org/careers. 

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

The starting pay range for a candidate selected for this position is generally within the range of $97,000 to $117,000 for annual base salary. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. Where a successful candidate’s actual pay will fall within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including, for example, the candidate's location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. Please note countries outside the USA would have a different pay range in the local currency based on the local labor market, and not tied to USA pay or ranges. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment.

To apply for job ID 55956, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/. 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.

The successful applicant must meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy's background screening process.

Do you have military experience? Visit our U.S. Military Skills Translator to match your military experience with our current job openings!

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.

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.