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 includes a Commitment to Diversity and Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures. Whether it’s career development, flexible schedules, or a rewarding mission, there’s lots of reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want a better insight to TNC? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube or on 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:
Grasslands are the least protected and most threatened habitat type on earth. The Northern Great Plains with its more than 76 million acres of grassland habitat across five states and two Canadian provinces represents the largest and most intact expanse of grassland habitat in North America. This region is home to diverse wildlife, 20 different Indigenous tribes, and family-based agricultural operations that take pride in grassland stewardship. Unfortunately, many of these grasslands are under continuing pressure of conversion to cropland, woody and invasive plant encroachment, energy development, and a changing climate.
Conserving these globally significant grasslands have long been a priority of TNC, and today we are prioritizing our resources to protect this iconic and ecologically significant landscape by creating a cross-boundary, collaborative initiative – called the Northern Great Plains Initiative – to scale and accelerate our grassland work. To maximize our collective actions, we will channel the knowledge, capacity, diverse partnerships, and relationships within TNC Business Units (state chapters of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nature United in Alberta and Saskatchewan), TNC’s North American Regenerative Grazing Lands program (RGL), federal, state, and Tribal Nation agencies, and the many conservation partners and indigenous and rancher-led organizations.
The Northern Great Plains Initiative Director (Director), who reports to the Great Plains Grasslands Strategy Director, will lead the execution of the Northern Great Plains Initiative (NGPI), which centers on TNC’s 2030 grasslands goals. This role is critical for achieving the scale of outcomes that are beyond the reach of individual TNC Business Units. Serving as a player/coach, the Director will foster the NGPI through a “team of teams” approach that builds a shared vision and collaborative team structure, providing vision and strategic leadership. More specifically, as the Director, you will lead the development, oversight, and accountability for cohesive regional strategies in collaboration with Business Units and RGL and provide leadership on the coordination of staff and resources. You will develop and execute practical applications of scientific concepts, and encourage innovation for conservation specifically land protection. You will be expected to embrace an interdisciplinary and systems wide approach that includes science, policy, and conservation, and that unleashes the full potential of TNC’s highly matrixed expertise across the Northern Great Plains and the larger organization.
As the Director, you will be the spokesperson and key point of contact, both internally and externally, and serve as an experienced advisor, thought leader, and skilled advocate that maintains and strengthens partnerships in the Northern Great Plains – and in appropriate spheres at the national level. You will play a pivotal role in developing complex and innovative solutions; cultivating strategic relationships with NGOs, public agencies, and other key decision-makers; collaboratively developing and advocating for government policy; informing and delivering strategic communications and marketing; supporting and directing science staff to better inform our conservation work; and supporting public and private fundraising, including donor identification, cultivation, and stewardship.
You will also foster design and implementation of strategies that elevates equity in all aspects of our work as we know that inclusive conservation approaches and attention to the distribution of benefits are important for achieving NGPI goals. Importantly, the Director will serve as the lead implementor of these strategies. While leading this initiative, you will ensure that TNC integrates support and advocacy for priorities, needs, and outcomes identified by Tribal Nations and indigenous communities. As part of this support and advocacy, you will supervise the Northern Great Plains Tribal Partnership Director, TNC’s primary liaison with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities in North Dakota and South Dakota.
We’re Looking for You:
Are you looking for a career to help people and nature? Guided by science, TNC creates innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that people and nature can thrive together.
By joining our Northern Great Plains grasslands team, you will become part of a group that is a force for nature, a force for people, and a force for our planet. Our team consists of a dedicated group who are leading the conservation effort on multiple fronts and who expertly bring strategy and action together. As part of the team, you will serve in a player/coach capacity, and be able to think strategically within a complex system (decentralized and geographically dispersed) and make decisions while considering multiple perspectives and effectively evaluating risk and opportunity.