The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America’s bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our staff of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and internationally from our offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Santa Monica; San Francisco; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing.

 

Position Summary

 

NRDC is seeking a Managing Director of the Community, Collaboration, and Capacity Division of the Science Office. The Director will be expected to provide strategic leadership within and on behalf of the Science Office on topics related to the growth and expansion of scientific collaboration and capacity in support of achieving our mission. Reporting to the Chief Science Officer, the Managing Director will play a cross-institutional leadership role to help align the work of the Science Office with institutional strategy. The Managing Director will also help build a collaborative environment for NRDC technical staff and develop mechanisms to grow NRDC’s technical capacity for achieving our organizational mission. The Managing Director will be an important member of the Science Office leadership team and will work in close collaboration with members of NRDC’s Environment, Equity, and Justice Center to develop a vision and strategy for enhanced engagement with community partners at the intersection of science, health, nature, and justice.

 

This position requires a flexible, strategic thinker, that thrives in collaborative environments. The ideal candidate is excited to solve complex and nuanced problems, is a skilled communicator, and is recognized within the external scientific community for technical skills and for his/her/their work with community-based, academic, and other partners.

• Leads the development of the functional and operational strategy of the Community, Collaboration, and Capacity Division of the Science Office.
• Works as a member of the Science Office leadership team and helps to build a collaborative and integrated science community within NRDC.
• Directly manages and oversees multiple people and projects/initiatives of the Science Office, ensuring that staff are supported and coached to increasing levels of performance and that projects are aligned with organizational mission and goals.
• Provides strategic direction to enhance scientific collaboration internal to NRDC and proactively identifies creative mechanisms to enhance technical capacity via partnerships, training, and economies of scale.
• Works in close collaboration with staff in the NRDC Environment, Equity, and Justice Center to create and leverage internal scientific capacity, resources, and skills to achieve the goals and objectives of equity and/or Environmental Justice partners.
• Cultivates strong cross-institutional relationships to help identify synergies and opportunities for science and analysis to inform and shape NRDC’s work.
• Serves as an active member of the Science Office and broader science community at NRDC to provide expertise, leadership, and guidance on how to elevate, utilize, and integrate science into our advocacy.
• Serves as a mentor and role model within the organization, providing as needed expert level guidance on projects and initiatives across the institution and individual program-level projects.
• Maintains an active research profile and engages in externally facing credentialing activities (e.g., report publications, peer-reviewed articles, blog posts, meeting attendance)
• Performs other tasks as needed, as requested by the Chief Science Officer.