What We Can Achieve Together
The Conservation Impact System Team (IST) in the Chief Conservation Office plays a critical role in supporting global conservation implementation. The IST supports conservation teams, leaders, and executives to generate and use evidence in adaptive management and reporting so that TNC can achieve its goals for biodiversity, climate, and people. The IST is comprised of the Conservation Data Team (CDT) and Conservation Strategy Team that partner closely to provide support. The CDT is responsible for conservation data capacity building, data quality, science & systems, and organizational reporting, including reporting and recommendations to executives and the global board.
We’re Looking for You
The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will help the CDT provide more direct and integrated support for conservation data that meets the demand of conservation teams and leaders within TNC’s Africa and Europe Regions to generate and use evidence to improve the quality of their decisions and their impact. The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will cultivate an understanding of what drives customer satisfaction (customer = TNC conservation teams and leaders) in the Africa and Europe Regions and will be charged with ensuring customer success. The lead will serve as a cross‑cultural/organizational broker and learning advocate, ensuring that the products and practices developed in the Africa and Europe Regions or in other regions of TNC are shared and co‑evolve, resulting in a conservation data tool kit that is common to TNC and contextually relevant. The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will build and maintain strong, trusting relationships with key leadership and experts in the Africa and Europe Regions, including monitoring, evaluation, and learning leads, scientists, and portfolio managers. They will collaborate with leaders to ensure CDT’s support is aligned with their vision for conservation data, adaptive management, portfolio management, and scaling strategies in the region. The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will also work with regional leadership to make decisions about where to focus their time and resources, and how to influence enabling conditions. The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will also collaborate closely with their Africa and Europe Regional counterpart on the Conservation Strategy Team. The Africa and Europe Regional Lead will oversee the delivery of CDT offerings, including the vetting, hiring and management of external consultants/contractors who deliver CDT offerings. They will take a learn‑by‑doing approach to the development, implementation, and iteration of CDT offerings to quickly learn what works and what doesn’t work and adjust accordingly.
RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE
Provide targeted coaching focused on the generation and use of evidence in adaptive management, aligned with regional needs. Provide customized coaching, facilitation, and/or direct support to teams, grounded in agile, data science, and implementation science principles and values. Ensure support provided to teams is regionally and culturally appropriate, using a collaborative approach to design offerings and engaging local contractors as needed. Ensure conservation data support provided to teams is aligned with and supportive of the regional portfolio management and reporting processes. Support teams to use evidence syntheses and close key evidence gaps identified through their adaptive management processes and to ensure confidence in their reported outcomes. Support other members of the regional team to use conservation data tools as they support other high priority teams and programs. Build enabling conditions for the generation and use of evidence in adaptive management and prioritization in the Africa and Europe Regions. Build trusting relationships with key TNC leadership in the Africa and Europe Regions. Collaborate with staff in CDT to ensure the region’s conservation data meets data quality & reporting standards and support regional leadership to drive accountability to these standards. Work with the Africa and Europe Regional leadership to identify top priority teams needing conservation data and learning support, and focus support on them. Collaborate with the Africa and Europe Regional leadership to support the use of conservation data in prioritization and strategic decision‑making to advance impact in the region, including partnering to develop dashboards that support portfolio management and specific leadership decisions. Collaborate with other Africa and Europe Regional leadership team members to help influence and advance specific enabling conditions in the region for improving data quality and its use in adaptive management and prioritization, including further integration of conservation and financial data and planning. Grow CDT’s impact. Measure / monitor value provided by CDT support in the region. Identify opportunities to scale up support models in order to meet the broad needs of the region and expand CDT’s impact, partnership with other regional CDT leads. Identify potential opportunities to expand CDT’s value proposition in a way that expands our impact while staying true to the mission of the CDT. Support CDT’s work in other regions by proactively recognizing potential collaboration areas, capturing and sharing learnings, and participating in cross‑regional experimentation.
What You’ll Bring
Master’s Degree in a science‑related field and 4 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience manipulating, analyzing and interpreting statistical or environmental data using Power BI, GIS, and statistical programs, including R. Domain area expertise in one or more of the following: large‑scale protection or management of lands/freshwater/oceans, climate or biodiversity policy, renewable energy siting, natural climate solutions, conservation finance and markets, regenerative agriculture, sustainable fisheries or aquaculture, watershed management, community‑based management, equitable conservation. Experience with monitoring, evaluation, and learning and conservation metrics. Experience with a range of types of data, evidence, and knowledge, as well as analytical approaches or ways of knowing. Record of supporting conservation strategy and decisions with data. Experience writing project proposals and recommendations for decisions. Experience leading or participating on cross‑functional teams. Experience managing complex projects including the financial aspect and coordinating the work of peers and partners. Experience working and communicating with a wide range of people. Deep multi‑cultural or cross‑cultural experience within the Africa and Europe Regions. Willingness to live in the Africa or Europe Regions. Willingness to work a flexible schedule in order to align with a variety of time zones. Experience with self‑directed navigation of complex and open‑ended projects to achieve outcomes. Knowledge of, and commitment to, centering equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion principles and practices in a professional setting. Excellent interpersonal skills.
Desired Qualifications
PhD and 1‑3 years of experience advancing data quality and the use of data in management/business. Record of peer reviewed publications in scientific journals. Record of helping scale conservation strategies or solutions using data, such as through MRV systems for ecosystem markets. Self‑driven with a bias towards action. Ability to leverage the latest technology to achieve desired results. Excitement about working on an agile team that is continually adapting their own ways of working. Experience with Indigenous and Traditional knowledge. Experience with a growth mindset, creativity, and resourcefulness. Experience with strategy or strategic initiatives.
