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Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF or Federation) is America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state/territorial affiliates and more than six million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes. The Federation's mission is to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitats and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, connecting children with nature, and addressing the causes and consequences of climate change.

The Director of Operations is an integral part of the National Advocacy Center’s (NAC) leadership team. The Director is responsible for working with the Vice President of Operations, Vice Presidents of National Advocacy, Conservation Strategy, Conservation Policy and International Conservation along with AVPs, to achieve the goals of the organization’s strategic plan. They will act as a trusted advisor to the VP of National Advocacy, and will develop and maintain high-level oversight of all aspects of operations, administration, and financial management. As a member of the Program Operations Department the Director of Operations will work to establish best practices within the NAC and will be held accountable to advocating for equitable distribution of funding, staffing, opportunities, and compensation for staff (especially for staff who hold marginalized identities).

This position reports directly to the VP of Operations with a dotted-line report to the Vice Presidents of National Advocacy, Conservation Strategy, Conservation Policy and International Conservation.

The NAC is currently located in Washington, DC. This role will require monthly travel to DC if candidate is not located in DC metro area (due to COVID-19 all NWF employees are working remotely until further notice).

Principle Duties (major areas of responsibility):

Staff Management:

• Supervise the NAC’s Manager of Operations;
• Support and inspire an environment and culture at the NAC that advances NWF core values and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice;
• Administer HR policies, support Center’s recruitment, hiring and retention with equity, justice, and inclusion at the forefront, assist in the resolution of personnel issues;
• Assist in covering NAC Operations staff vacancies;

Financial Management:

• Provide strategic, high-level overview of the NAC’s budget and performance;
• Directly responsible for managing annual budget of approximately $18 million;
• Act as lead Operations and budget manager for NAC program staff, leading the NAC Operations Team to ensure sound financial management including tracking expenses and revenues; manages the development and monitoring of the NAC’s budget
• Develop and implement budgets through projections, cost classifications, transfers and year-end carryovers; prepares and monitors NAC budgets consistent with NWF’s financial reporting system;
• In tandem with NAC Operations team, oversee and approve all expenses, including salary allocations; all contract and grant agreements; and process payments as needed
• In tandem with Philanthropy and Finance staff and the NAC Operations team, assist program staff in grant applications and reports, including tracking grant reporting requirements and ensure that all requirements are met;

Internal Relations:

• Work closely with Strategic Operations Leadership Team and other Operations staff on best practices, policies and procedures to ensure sound management of NAC operations;
• Nurture strong, working relationships with the center’s leadership and program staff to support the needs of the NAC and expand the Center's relationship and collaboration with other internal departments and staff;
• Promote a productive, interactive, collaborative and fun work environment;
• Oversee regular staff meeting agendas with the NAC team, including advancing the NAC’s growth, capacity, and competency in their commitment to equity and justice;
• Assist the NAC in operationalizing and embedding equity and justice into their organizational policies, practices, and programs;
• Communicate policies and procedures to office staff;

Operational Management:

• Lead NAC Operations team to maintain and promote a safe, efficient and productive office environment;
• Assist with internal meetings, visits, retreats and special events and projects;
• Ensure systems and procedures are current and functional.

Required Competencies:

The Director of Operations is expected to exemplify the National Wildlife Federation’s core values (collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus) and demonstrate leadership competencies including:

Self-Awareness and Learning:

• Demonstrates awareness of multiple group identities and their attendant dynamics and consistently brings a high level of self-awareness, empathy, and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions and builds awareness through continued learning.
• Builds awareness through continued learning.
• Ability to understand individual experience and identity and how these are shaped by systems of power, privilege and oppression at NWF.
• Cultivates a growth mindset for learning, including soliciting and responding to feedback from others.
• Welcomes each experience as an opportunity to learn and grow and shares these experiences. Practices both/and thinking that looks for connections between different ideas and perspectives.
• Models making space for other voices and ideas that have historically and currently been devalued, noticing responses that may be rooted in white supremacy and shifting those responses.
• Demonstrates awareness of the impact of oppression on people in the NWF community and the impact that actions and inaction can have. Changes behaviors to reduce harm
• Committed to ongoing learning to deepen understanding of racism, anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and other types of structural oppression and ways to challenge them. Models open conversations around these topics and encourages inquiry and learning within the organization.

Authentic Relationships & Community Partnerships:

• Proactively builds and sustains robust, authentic, productive working relationships with colleagues and community partners across race and other group identities.
• Strong ability to repair: Able to recognize when there is a breach in a relationship, acknowledge role in creating that breach, and act proactively to repair that breach. Able to coach others on repair.
• Successfully works to address grievances and works towards restorative solutions.
• Ability to openly hold space and invite others into conversations
• Builds high levels of psychological safety and courage. Frames work as learning and asks for help.
• Follows through on shared commitments
• Considers physical and emotional well-being

Open and Authentic Communication:

• Communicates in ways that honor each person’s inherent dignity and agency, and leads with respect and compassion.
• Communicates clearly, honestly, and authentically with colleagues. Uses clear and precise language when referring to equity and justice concepts.
• Works to align intent with impact in interactions
• Works proactively to resolve conflicts and misunderstandings, especially across differences, and attend to conflicts as opportunities for learning and growth.
• Consistently gives both positive and developmental feedback to support learning, excellence, and personal growth and proactively asks for what is needed to be successful.
• Practice and model behaviors that contribute to an organizational culture in which each person's full humanity is recognized and affirmed.
• Interrupts statements or behaviors that cause harm to others, particularly to people of color and from other marginalized groups. This includes our own behavior, as well as the behaviors of others.

Human-Centered Innovation:

• Seeks solutions by cultivating empathy, taking risks, trying new approaches, learning from mistakes, learning from others, and continually improving our efforts
• Courageous and proactive about developing solutions that are rooted in principles of equity and justice.
• Adept at shifting away from the white supremacy cultural norm of perfectionism, towards norms that embraces risk-taking and mistakes as opportunities to learn.
• Cultivates empathy for others in order to understand experiences and concerns, and respond meaningfully.
• Practices both/and thinking, welcoming multiple perspectives and accepting ambiguity.
• Demonstrate the courage to take risks that work towards greater equity.
• Learns from the wisdom of Black, Indigenous people and people of color, without expecting individuals from these communities to take on the burden of teaching.
• Develops trial solutions so that we can get rapid feedback and improve efforts

Facilitation:

• Effectively holds space with empathy and utilizes strong active listening skills
• Communicates clear guidelines and instructions
• Effectively decenters whiteness in facilitation spaces

Qualifications:

• College degree required
• Formal training in financial administration and budgeting strongly preferred
• Minimum 5 years relevant experience in a budget preparation and/or management, grant management, operations, preferably in a nonprofit setting
• The employee's actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus.
• Ability to understand and/or contribute to the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives set forth by the National Wildlife Federation
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to deal appropriately with confidential and sensitive matters
• Must have demonstrated budget and personnel management experience, and demonstrated problem solving abilities
• Must be a strategic thinker, well organized, positive communicator; relationship builder and have a demonstrated ability to set goals and priorities, and meet deadlines
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, spreadsheet, and database management

Travel Requirements:

Approximately 2-3 times per year; 2-4 nights, in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.

Compensation and Benefits:

The starting salary for this position is $95,000, depending on experience.

We are proud of our designation by Mogul as a Top 100 Workplace with the Best Benefits in 2021! We value work-life balance and a family-friendly atmosphere with flexible scheduling. We want you to be able to integrate work and personal life with attention to your self-care, so that your work schedule is not depleting. We offer benefits so you feel restored and fueled through the day and week.

We offer these supports to help manage your mental, emotional, and physical health:

• Paid time off: Vacation that starts off at three weeks accrual, unlimited wellbeing (this time can be used for physical, spiritual, emotional, cultural, religious or financial wellbeing for yourself, a partner, or family member – including pets), 10 holidays, and 3 floating holidays
• We close down for a paid winter break between December 25 to January 1 to recognize end of-year stress, and time for reflection, rejuvenation, and spending time with family.
• Up to 16 weeks of fully paid Family and Medical Leave
• Low-cost health, dental, and vision insurance options – all outpatient mental health is covered at in-network rates
• Therapist available at no cost
• Pet insurance and discount perk program
• Annual wellbeing allowance

In addition to your salary, we offer the following supports to your personal finances:

• Retirement plan with immediate match and vesting
• Annual year end retirement contribution
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Adoption and Surrogacy assistance
• Pet adoption stipend
• Student Loan management

Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s benefits package at https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers.

COVID Consideration:

The National Wildlife Federation closely follows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease and has implemented processes that promote the safety of our employees, candidates, and communities. Because the health of our employees and candidates is a top priority, we conduct our hiring process virtually via phone or video until further notice. We are currently starting our positions as remote, and are continuing to explore what our future of work will be moving forward. Proof of vaccination will be required to join the National Wildlife Federation.

Application:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume.

Operations Staff are instrumental in breaking down silos around the organization and creating a more unified, collaborative and transparent workforce. This work requires intentional collaboration and relationships with numerous individuals, programs, teams, and departments – of which there are various individual personalities and group/team dynamics to navigate. To be successful in this role Operations staff must prioritize proactively building and sustaining open and authentic relationships and communication with staff across the Federation, with no direct management. How would you provide advice, best-practices and feedback to ensure a productive, collaborative working relationship? Please respond to this question in your application.

We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world. We recruit, employ, train compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at nwf.org/equity.

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, therefore our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge that translates to our openings. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.

Please let us know if you require accommodations during the application or interview process by reaching us at hrhelp@nwf.org or 703-438-6244.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.