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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.

To support our mission, we are seeking a Senior Program Manager for our Mississippi River Program. In this role you will lead the coordination of a cross-team and cross-regional effort at the Federation to restore Mississippi River ecosystems for people and wildlife, and improve the resilience of the region’s ecosystems and communities through deployment of natural infrastructure and sustainable agricultural solutions.

Primary responsibilities will include:

Project Management: The Senior Program Manager will be responsible for guiding and coordinating project management and execution to ensure: efforts are well-coordinated both internally across NWF staff and externally with partners to accomplish project goals; project team meets deadlines for work products; project progress and grant deliverables are carefully tracked and reported; and project is adaptively managed to maximize positive impact. This will include:

• Organizing and leading project team meetings;
• Fostering and facilitating team connectivity and relationship-building;
• Supporting staff leads on different project components;
• Managing listservs and other methods of team communication;
• Developing and managing a project tracking system;
• Grant management and grant reporting;
• Drafting and sharing project updates, blogs, social media posts;
• Amplifying work products;
• Organizing workshops and briefings for external partners;
• Assisting in proposal development; and
• Regularly updating and advising the Senior Director of Water Resources and Coastal Policy, the Associate Vice President for Land Stewardship, and the Director of the Gulf Program on project progress and approaches for strengthening project outcomes.

Policy Research and Advocacy Support: Working closely with the National Advocacy Center’s water and agricultural policy teams, the Senior Program Manager will support the advancement of federal and state policies that enable deployment and protection of natural infrastructure, restorative river management, and sustainable agricultural production throughout the MS River mainstem states. This will include:

• Conducting research on federal, regional, and state policy issues related to flooding, resilience, natural infrastructure, sustainable agricultural practices, and other topics as needed;
• Drafting reports, comment letters, blogs, fact sheets, and other advocacy materials;
• Tracking relevant policy developments in the Mississippi River mainstem states;
• Participating in coalition meetings related to regional Mississippi River policy priorities, and federal policy agenda-setting; and
• Occasional participation in advocacy meetings with Congress, federal agencies, and state-level decision-makers.

Partnership Building: The Senior Program Manager will play a leadership role in coordinating Mississippi River program work with national, regional, and local NGO partners. You will participate in partnership building efforts as relevant with local decision-makers, stakeholders, communities, and community groups. This will include:

• Assist with development and amplification of community resources and tools, as well as place-based examples of natural infrastructure solutions;
• Working closely with project outreach team, build and maintain relationships with important partners and select communities in MS River states;
• Serve as a key point of contact for partners in the MS River states; and
• Assist in the organization of convenings among partner groups as needed.

You will be part of the federally-focused Water and Coasts team based out of NWF’s National Advocacy Center (NAC), but will collaborate regularly with members of the Agriculture/Land Stewardship team, the Gulf Program, and staff and affiliates in the MS River mainstem states.

This position is based at NWF’s National Advocacy Center in Washington, DC, or in a Mississippi River mainstem state, within reasonable distance of a major airport. (due to COVID-19 all NWF employees are working remotely until further notice).

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree;
• Experience with project/program management;
• Highly organized and detail-oriented;
• Demonstrated ability to manage a multitude of projects and meet deadlines;
• Ability to communicate positions clearly both verbally and in writing;
• Self Starter;
• Familiarity with Mississippi River states (mainstem preferred) and associated agricultural, cultural, environmental justice and other natural resource issues;
• Familiarity with federal and state policies and agencies a plus - in particular those with jurisdiction over river and floodplain management, disaster response and mitigation, sustainable agricultural solutions, and restoration of natural systems;
• Experience working with coalitions is a plus;
• Five years or more of work or equivalent experience in project/program management, advocacy campaigns, or other relevant field preferred. A Master’s or other advanced degree in a relevant field can count towards experience.

NWF Values:

Your actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus. Your competencies should include:

• Being motivated by values of equity and responsibility to those most marginalized;
• Consistently bringing a high level of empathy and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions;
• Being committed to deepening an environmental justice approach in policy priorities, program development and partner engagement;
• Actively seeks feedback, direction, and guidance from all team members and keeps staff informed of decisions that impact them;
• Being dedicated to advancing NWF’s internal equity transformation and compelling partners and allies to incorporate equity into their work; and
• Passion for and commitment to NWF's mission

Travel:

Regular travel (~6-8 trips/year) likely when deemed safe and appropriate.

Compensation and benefits:

This position pays between $75,000 - 85,000 annually, dependent upon qualifications and 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, but will transition to onsite work when our offices re-open, expected to be in early 2022. Proof of vaccination will be required as a condition to join the National Wildlife Federation.

Application:

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

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.