Careers

Description:

Are you passionate about elevating the voices, choices, and actions of Tribal Nations, Indigenous communities and organizations in conservation? We’re looking for a skilled relationship-builder and an excellent communicator who is grounded in cultural knowledge and capability gained through experience and motivated by working collaboratively with others. Are you a community builder, bridge builder, storyteller, advocate, educator? We’re looking for someone with lived and professional experience with Indigenous communities. The IRR program has a relationship first focus, and a new strategic plan ready to be implemented. In this role, you’ll collaborate and find alignment with colleagues who work within individual business units and outside of the North America region, including the Global director of Indigenous Rights and Sovereignty. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the ongoing mission of conservation by directing the work of our team! 

The Indigenous Right Relations (IRR) Director oversees all aspects of the Indigenous Right Relations program including the Buffalo Restoration Program, the Land Return & Stewardship Initiative and other numerous projects. This role establishes the Conservancy as a major conservation partner, plays a leading role in public and private fundraising for the program and leads and manages a team which implements conservation efforts.  

This role manages a team of eight, including supervising five staff members. They establish overall priorities for the IRR program and serve as the principle contact to internal business units, external partners, Native Nations and other Tribal and Indigenous organizations. They disseminate best practices, provide training and analyses, and develop key partnerships. The IRR Director works within a matrixed decision-making structure and uses influence, relationship and expertise to provide strategic leadership. They build capacity for TNC’s North America Region to be in right relations with Indigenous communities by informing conservation practices, increasing resources and enabling conditions, and developing tools for colleagues and partners to achieve our objectives: 
•    Embed processes and practices across North America conservation priorities 
•    Co-create with business units and initiatives  as they apply and discover new ways of working with Native Nations, Indigenous communities and others 
•    Guide and align leadership to set a regional tone and consistency on how to authentically work in right relations and create the enabling conditions to adopt strategies, approaches and operational practices
•    Track the organization’s partnership progress towards right relations with Native Nations and Indigenous partners

This role builds strategic, functional and technical capacities in the field, and develops key partnerships with internal staff, external partners, and Tribal and Indigenous communities and other organizations. This role relies on identifying and resolving complex matters and to widely communicate solutions and best practices, and develop innovative methods, analyses, tools, and frameworks to address the programmatic needs. The IRR Director works with individuals and teams across a breadth of experience, ranging from those new to working with Native Nations and Indigenous communities to those with experience and with deep, long-term relationships.
This position may work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances. May require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally and evening and weekend hours.

Skills/Eligibility: