Director of Development, Global Protect

Who We Are:

The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that we can create a world in which people and nature thrive. We’re rooted in our Mission and guided by our Values, which include a Commitment to Diversity and Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures. Whether it’s career development, flexible schedules, or a rewarding mission, there are lots of reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want a better insight into TNC? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube or Glassdoor.  

Our goal is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that all our colleagues around the globe feel a sense of belonging, and that their unique contributions to our mission are valued. We know we’ll only achieve our Mission by hiring and engaging a diverse workforce that reflects the communities in which we work. In addition to the requirements in our postings, we recognize that people come with talent and experiences outside of a job. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of inclusion! Please apply – we’d love to hear from you. To quote myriad TNC staff members, “You’ll join for our mission, and you’ll stay for our people.”

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Director of Development, Global Protect is responsible for leading on all aspects of the development program to secure significant financial resources in support of TNC’s Protection goals and the Global Protect business unit.   

The Nature Conservancy's mission drives us to conserve representative and resilient land, ocean, and freshwater habitats around the world so that people ​and nature thrive together. Conservation of these systems is built on a foundation of ecosystem prote​ction, but our definition of "protect" is broader and more inclusive in today's warmer, more crowded world, where we face the interconnected global crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and in​equity. Indeed, TNC's 2030 Goals demand that we strongly invest in protection efforts, while embracing broader and more inclusive approaches to protecting our oceans, freshwaters, and lands.​  

Our Global Protect programs include global strategies to protect a representative, effective, durable, and inclusive 30% of the planet. We have 3 priority pathways aligned with TNC’s global campaign: Transformative Management and Protection – accelerating global 30x30 commitments and implementation and a ‘One Conservancy Protection Initiative’ to support the organizations highest priority protection work; our Enduring Earth collaboration to unlock unprecedented Project Finance for Permanence (PFPs) initiatives around the globe; and Nature Bonds, a critical mechanism to secure global commitments and financing through debt conversions. . We also seek to actively elevate underrepresented systems through durable Freshwater and Ocean Protection efforts and the science and leadership that underpins all of our work.  

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Director has an opportunity to grow the donor base for Global Protect and works within an excellent fundraising team/infrastructure. The Director is externally and internally focused with two main responsibilities. First, they are responsible for growing our protection focused donor prospect pipeline and for continuing to manage a portfolio of prospective donors. Second, they are responsible for socializing Global Protect priorities to key audiences internal to the Conservancy and coordinating, networking, and partnering with fundraisers internally to support their work with donors that support and/or are interested in Global Protect priorities or to grow new interest.  

Specifically, the Director is responsible for: 

• Working with Global Protect leadership and other TNC leaders and development staff to develop, execute, and communicate a development vision and fundraising plan for the Global Protect business unit that aligns with TNC’s global campaign and multi-year fundraising goals, with accountability to achieve these goals.  
• Directly – and through supporting fundraisers throughout the organization – to raise at least $10 Million in gifts and pledges annually for the Global Protect business unit at the least restricted level possible. Leads fundraising efforts with others to help raise at least an additional $20-25 Million annually to directly support protection priority programs around the organization.  
• Leads and manages the Global Protect fundraising team, including two direct reports and multiple indirect reports, to execute on the fundraising plan and support a networked approach to fundraising for Global Protect priorities.   
• Motivating the efforts of a multi-disciplinary network of staff and volunteers in activities related to donor identification, cultivation, and solicitation, participating in some cases as the direct relationship manager and in other cases as an active team member to fundraisers across TNC.  
• Growing the donor prospect pipeline for Protect. The pipeline goal in the first year will be to identify and begin relationships with 15 new individuals and foundations that can make 7 figure+ philanthropic gifts to TNC (some managed by Director and some managed by fundraising colleagues within the Principal Gifts team and/or Regions or State Chapters).    
• Ensuring responsiveness to donors/prospective donors and to fundraisers throughout TNC related to engaging them in TNC Global Protect priorities.    
• Ensuring the fundraising goals for the Global Protect Team and the progress against those goals are clearly tracked and monitored.  
• Leading the feasibility analysis related to the health of the donor pipeline and adjust the fundraising plan accordingly. 
• Establishing and monitoring activity level benchmarks and measures of success pertaining to pipeline growth, donor engagement, # of solicitations, dollars raised annually.   
• Serving as a liaison with the principal gifts fundraising team and network, the global priority development team, as well as other key relationship managers and senior conservation staff to build the best and most robust donor strategies and solicitations – ensuring we represent and communicate the synergies between all of the global priority areas to our donors. 
• Serving on the Global Protect Leadership Team and contributing to the overall strategy and vision of Global Protect priorities, including alignment with management priorities, communications, and financial management and related systems. 
• Partnering with leadership to leverage their contacts, relationships and talents related to donor and investor pipeline development and donor and investor engagement and stewardship.   
• Working closely with and managing relations with key stakeholders including senior management, internal teams, donors, investors and volunteers to achieve program goals. 
• Coordinating with, and influencing, a network of internal relationship managers to grow their understanding and awareness of Global Protect priorities around the world to help advance bigger gifts for global protection work.   
• Socializing our Protect program and priorities to fundraisers and key leaders throughout the organization.