National Parks Conservation Association
NPCA is an independent, nonpartisan voice working to protect and strengthen America’s favorite places
NPCA is an independent, nonpartisan voice working to protect and strengthen America’s favorite places
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National Parks Conversation Association (NPCA) is the nation’s oldest and largest national parks nonprofit, advocacy organization. NPCA has an exciting opportunity for an Associate Director – California Desert to join our Pacific Regional Office.
This endowed position, titled the Ruth Hammett Associate Director – California Desert, will defend and protect California Desert Parks’ long-term future. The Ruth Hammett Memorial Desert Protection endowment honors the life and legacy of Ruth Hammett, a longtime supporter of NPCA and our national parks, to support the work of the California desert region.
When you join NPCA, you will become part of a highly supportive community that believes in respect through understanding and is guided by our core values: Commitment, Inclusion, Integrity and Respect. Our core values embolden us to achieve excellence, unite us and fuel our commitment to become leaders fulfilling our shared mission of protecting and enhancing America’s national parks for present and future generations.
California desert (e.g. Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Morongo Basin, Coachella Valley, Victor Valley, Barstow)
$70k – 75k (Grade N)
We offer competitive compensation and benefits including a four-day, 32-hour work week, paid sabbaticals for staff after seven years of service and more. Learn more about our benefits.
The California Desert Associate Director manages all aspects of the California desert program including advocacy campaigns to protect the parks and adjacent lands, staffing, external relationships, and public outreach. Specific campaigns include work on national monument creation and defense, protecting desert land, water and wildlife resources, building a broader movement to protect the California desert, and highlighting publicly the values and need to protect the California desert.
The California desert contains nearly 25% of all the national park lands in the lower 48 states and faces significant threats to its wildlife, ecological integrity, and its natural and cultural resources. It is also a frontier for scientific discovery, one of the most protected landscapes in the nation, and a place where landscape-scale conservation has and can continue to be achieved.
Strategically Lead California Desert Advocacy Campaign Work: (50%)
Community leadership/movement building: (20%)
Advocacy relies on community relationships and as such this role is very public facing. We work across a broad geography, with diverse communities, stakeholders, and interest groups. We seek a thoughtful leader with the ability to become an expert on desert issues and policy and build community around conservation issues, to become a trusted and respected ally in this region that supports others, builds relationships, builds coalitions, and can support and create policy change on the local, regional, state and national level. This will include work with and building trust with rural communities, communities of color, tribes, faith-based groups, and new audiences who may not have had access or exposure to conservation or national parks issues. We seek to broaden the movement to protect the desert, and the Associate Director will lead that effort to build community, build grassroots and political power, build national park champions, and deepen the engagement of our friends and allies.
Team leadership, staff management and field office operations (30%):
This position manages the California desert program including one staff person, part-time consultant(s) as needed, the program budget, and relationships at the local, county, state, and federal level. The Associate Director makes decisions about strategic direction, campaigns, resource allocation, and capacity to engage on issues. The Associate Director assists NPCA’s Development staff and the Pacific Region Director in fundraising for programmatic needs. A leader with a strong ethic of collaboration, empathy, vision, strategic thinking, and who focuses on empowerment of staff and community is essential.
The Associate Director position requires a set of core competencies to perform the functions outlined above.
Significant travel required across the California and Southern Nevada deserts and across Southern California. Occasional travel to Sacramento and Washington, DC will be required.
Tagged as: Advocacy, Conservation, leadership, Media Relations, Policy
We’re protecting and enhancing America’s National Park System for present and future generations. National Parks Conversation Association (NPCA) is the...
Apply For This JobWe’re protecting and enhancing America’s National Park System for present and future generations. National Parks Conversation Association (NPCA) is the...
Apply For This Job