WHO WE ARE

Since 1951, The Nature Conservancy has been doing work you can believe in protecting the lands and waters that all life depends on. Through grassroots action, TNC has grown to become one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world working in more than 75 countries and territories. 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 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’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.

The Head, Sustainable Finance Advisory will create and lead a team supporting the identification, scoping, and development of financial solutions to support key conservation priorities at The Nature Conservancy that may not be easily addressable with traditional philanthropy or NatureVest’s core impact investment offerings. The team will focus on designing financial solutions at a regional, country, or jurisdictional level, with a bias toward the early stages of project development. The Financial Advisory Team will sit centrally within NatureVest with a direct reporting line to the Global Head of Impact Finance and Markets.    

NatureVest is the impact investment unit of The Nature Conservancy and part of its Impact Finance and Markets Division. NatureVest’s mission is to create and execute transactions that deliver conservation results and financial returns for investors. Our vision is based on the conviction that capital markets, businesses and governments must invest in nature as the long-term capital stock of a sustainable, equitable and more efficient economy. The Financial Advisory Team will be a new team within NatureVest that seeks to broaden NatureVest’s mandate to include a broader suite of financial solutions beyond investment transactions.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The role of the Head, Sustainable Finance Advisory will be to pilot and build a new function within NatureVest and Impact Finance and Markets Division. This function will bring capacity to support teams across the organization to create new markets and financing models that deliver outsized environmental impact, but may fall outside of NatureVest’s existing impact investment mandate. The Financial Advisory Team will support TNC regional and global teams financial solutions for top conservation problems. The Head will be the first member of the team and will be responsible for piloting a ‘hub and spoke’ model, building central expertise and connect with regional or state based team members that focus on financial strategies for conservation. They will also immediately oversee the hiring of the second central team member and recommend a final central team size. This includes developing a scorecard for assessing the feasibility of market solutions to resolve priority conservation problems across TNC, developing financial solutions, and bringing in relevant internal and external stakeholders for implementation. They should have a strong vision and drive for helping TNC explore how to optimally harness the power of markets in service of conservation. The Head, Sustainable Finance Advisory will report to the Global Head of Impact Finance and Markets, with an additional reporting line to the Managing Director of NatureVest.  The team will be housed within NatureVest and work closely with two other business units in the Division: Corporate Engagement and Carbon Markets.  

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Works closely with TNC business units and regions to identify promising early-stage projects/initiatives in need of market-based support.
• Creates and drives forward workplans aimed at designing market interventions to conservation problems.
• Conducts financial analysis of projects, including cost and revenue flows.
• Oversees a team to be developed based on organizational need and capacity.
• Partners and coordinates work with other functions at TNC, including Policy, Corporate Engagement, and the broader NatureVest team to vet early-stage projects to determine if they are candidates for support.
• Partners with diverse external stakeholders (e.g., local businesses, investors, governments).
• Facilitates knowledge sharing of market-based work across TNC’s global footprint, and uses lessons learned to refine work product, team resourcing, and strategies.
• Makes independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis of ambiguous information, experience and context.
• May require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS degree and 12 years’ experience in a private sector environment, such as management consulting, corporate development, private equity, or investment banking, or in a markets-facing function with a leading conservation organization or government entity, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with quantitative, analytic, and problem-solving skills..
• Experience designing, implementing, and directing complex or multiple projects of strategic importance, including managing finances, supervising multidisciplinary professionals and coordinating the work of partners while meeting deadlines.   
• Supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance.
• Experience developing business plans or major strategy assessments particularly with conservation forms of valuation, deal structuring, negotiations support, financial modeling and analysis.
• Experience working with diverse, cross-functional teams.
• Experience communicating with and presenting to diverse audiences including donors, board members, employees, outside partners, or equivalent.
• Written and verbal fluency in English.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Commitment to the mission and values of The Nature Conservancy, although no prior experience in environmental conservation is required.
• MBA or other relevant Masters degree preferred.
• Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization and with Conservancy partners.
• Multi- lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated. Global experience preferred.
• Experience with international policy development.
• Makes decisions based on incomplete or ambiguous information and assesses/quantifies associated risks.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to build coalitions, work across silos, and create cross-functional teams. 
• Experience in commercial contract negotiation.
• Experience in policy design and analysis.
• Experience in finance (cash flow modeling, capital structuring, raising of equity/debt capital, credit training).
• Demonstrated experience working in a startup, high growth, or other fluid/uncertain environment.

The Nature Conservancy offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package including health care benefits, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) plan to include employer match, parental leave, accrued paid time off, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, a flexible schedule, and other life and work well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits in the Culture Tab on nature.org/careers.

We’re proud to offer a work environment that is supportive of the health, well-being, and flexibility needs of the people we employ!

To apply for job ID 51304, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/ by 11:59 PM EST on May 12, 2022. Need help applying? Visit our recruitment page or contact applyhelp@tnc.org.

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