Senior Director, Corporate Relations

Conservation International's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) works to engage the private sector as a positive force for the world's natural heritage. The Center's vision is that industry leaders will become champions of nature conservation by reducing the ecological impact of their operations, harnessing the power of their supply chains to drive widespread adoption of good practices, dedicating financial resources to on-the-ground conservation initiatives, and communicating about results to consumers, shareholders, and employees.

 

As a core staff position within CELB, the Senior Director, Corporate Relations will engage directly with industry leaders in tourism, agriculture, energy, mining, forestry, finance, entertainment, retail, and other sectors. The Director's work will focus primarily on helping meet Conservation International's goals for corporate contributions and for establishing mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with leading businesses and trade associations. The Senior Director will lead the negotiation of corporate partner agreements that typically cover multiple areas of program activitiy, such as funding of field conservation projects, joint efforts to incorporate conservation guidelines into business supply chains, or communications and marketing promtions highlighting the value of partnerships and environmental leadership in business. The Director manages relationships with Fortune 500 companies and interacts with senior executives at those companies to establish partnerships at the 6-8 figure level. In serving as CI's primary point of contact in selected major corporate relationships, the Senior Director draws upon, synthesizes and manages participation from all parts of the organization necessary to ensure the success of the relationships. In a major corporate account relationships, the Senior Director will integrate input from CI's divisions dealing with strategic marketing & global communications, regional programs, conservation science, and  government policy, as well as CI's executive leadership and legal and finance departments, in all phases of the relationship -- from concept stage to formal proposal to negotiated agreement to reporting on results. 

 

CI is seeking an individual who wishes to be part of a team forging strategic relationships with businesses committed to conservation. The ideal candidate should have a minimum of 7 years experience in corporate partnership development, and demonstrated fundraising experience at the 6-8 figure level. 

Among other qualities, the successful applicant must have a collaborative spirit and ability to work in team settings across cultures and internally within a diverse and dynamic institution.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Lead establishment and stewardship of 6-8 figure, multi-year partnerships with Fortune 500 corporations and other contributors (e.g., industry trade associations, private foundations, government agencies) dealing with business engagement on the environment Identify and cultivate relationships with new prospective corporate partners for CI Contribute to, and manage delivery of, subject-matter expertise on implementation of joint projects with industry partners, e.g., providing information to corporate partners on decision-support tools for conservation, and lessons from other corporate engagements dealing with environmental strategies, best practices, financial contributions, and communications Serve on CELB Account Team responsible for reviewing performance of corporate relationships, building campaigns to reach across multiple corporate partners, and evaluating corporate partnership strategy

Working Conditions:  Home base is CI's Arlington, VA,  headquarters     Frequent travel, e.g., 25 percent, to headquarters of corporate and NGO partners and to CI/CELB project sites in the field

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree/7 years

Required Skills: 7+ years experience in corporate partnership development and management Presence and ability to establish strong relationships with senior executives in partner companies Ability to leverage corporate relationships and fundraising in support of CI institutional objectives for communications, marketing and branding Ability to create innovative strategies, partnerships, and programs without existing models Demonstrated fundraising experience at 6-8 figure level Good working knowledge of public policy and private sector developments on the environment at the international, national, state and local levels Excellent written and verbal communication skills Collaborative spirit and ability to work in team settings across cultures and internally within a diverse institution Ability to deliver results while managing competing priorities under tight deadlines Ability to supervise 1-3 corporate account managers reporting directly to the Senior Director Capability to interact effectively with corporate partners and with other non-governmental organizations Passion for international conservation of nature, and commitment to engagement with business to address environmental problems

Preferred Skills:  MBA degree a plus Tourism industry knowledge and experience a plus