POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Director, The Natural Capital Project
A Partnership Among The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Stanford University The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Stanford University together seek to fill the position of Director of The Natural Capital Project. The aim of the Project is to build a scientific basis, and broad institutional support, for protecting Earths vital life-support services, using innovative conservation incentives. Position Objectives: * Provide central leadership and coordination for this recently launched joint effort. * Working with TNC, WWF, and SU staff, establish Project priorities, strategies, and approaches; provide guidance to Project development and implementation; coordinate financial and administrative support for individual Project sites and supporting efforts; facilitate communication and coordination among Project sites and institutions. * Represent the Project in engagement with private landowners, local communities, government agencies, the private sector, and other key institutions. Principal Responsibilities: 1. Oversee, coordinate, and administer all aspects of the Project, in consultation with key Project members at TNC, WWF, and Stanford. Promote creative thinking, organization, and communication. 2. Establish Project strategies, approaches, and funding priorities, in consultation with key Project members. Guide project development and implementation in each project site, preferably with close engagement in two of these sites. Focal Project sites are in the Sierra Nevada of California, the Upper Yangtze River Basin of China, and the Eastern Arc mountains of East Africa. 3. Organize and run symposia and workshops, convening both core Project members (TNC, WWF staff; Stanford faculty and students) and key partners in other institutions, especially in the public and private sectors. 4. Lead fund-raising effort to support Project efforts, in collaboration with TNC, WWF, and Stanford staff. Assist with proposal development, contact with potential donors, representation at key meetings, and contact with and reporting to existing supporters. 5. Oversee communications, via a web site, written updates, contact with the media, and direct communication with key people and institutions. Qualifications: Applicants must have: 3 years minimum of management experience in conservation programs; Demonstrated ability to raise funds from diverse sources including government, foundations, and the private sector; Ability to foster teamwork within the program, and to lead, inspire, supervise and manage field staff from a distance; Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. The position is based at Stanford University and includes a significant travel schedule. Salary level is commensurate with experience. Application Applications should be sent to: Gretchen Daily Department of Biological Sciences 371 Serra Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-5020 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] If applying by email please put Director, The Natural Capital Project in the Subject field and follow with a hard copy by regular mail. Applications should include a cover letter describing the reason for interest in and suitability for the job, full curriculum vitae, and the names of three referees. Timing: Position will remain open until filled, but applications will be evaluated on 22 Feb 06. Background on The Natural Capital Project The vision of The Natural Capital Project is a future in which conservation is mainstream that is, economically attractive and common- place throughout the world. To achieve this vision, we will work together to develop and deploy conservation approaches that stand out in three respects: (i) in focusing on the protection of ecosystem services, as well as biodiversity, as explicit goals; (ii) in using innovative economic incentives; and (iii) in implementing these incentives in human-dominated, as well as more pristine landscapes and seascapes. We will commence with three strategic and concurrent foci: (1) Advancing the theory We plan to characterize ecosystem services from biophysical and socioeconomic perspectives, greatly advancing the existing framework and the analytical tools that support its application. We will convene problem-solving forums to tackle key issues, from mapping the provision, consumption, and value of services across landscapes and seascapes, to priority setting in a dynamic planning framework, to the design of financial mechanisms that reward conservation in contrasting institutional/cultural contexts. (2) Putting theory into practice We expect to learn by doing by applying the theory in TNC and WWF field projects, to test and refine it in a tightly integrated way. We will focus our problem-solving efforts on three strategically selected places, where together we have strength and commitment, and where insights of broad significance can be gleaned relatively quickly. These places are The Upper Yangtze River Basin in China, the Sierra Nevada in California, and the Eastern Arc mountains in East Africa. (3) Magnifying our impact As we learn, we aim to magnify our impact well beyond these pilot places through a well-targeted strategy of communication and engagement. To achieve this, we will foster new leaders and networks of influence that extend into vital parts of the private and public sectors internationally.
