World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, seeks a Senior Director, Aquaculture.

Location: DC hybrid (preferred) or remote within the US

Major Function

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s leading conservation organization, seeks a Senior Director, Aquaculture who will be responsible for overall strategy development and implementation for WWF-US’ aquaculture work, building and managing a cross-functional, international team working towards a common vision and objectives, and successfully fundraise for and communicate our overall aquaculture efforts.

Position Length: This is a 1-year limited term position

Salary: The expected compensation range for this position is $139,800 to $200,900

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic vision: Works with Markets & Food, Priority Places, Business and Industry Engagement, Policy, and Development staff to develop and implement strategies that will measurably reduce the impacts of feeding, producing and distributing priority aquaculture commodities. Works with and/or creates aquaculture platforms to share knowledge about how to improve performance as well as the impacts of the industries. Develops and implements responsible farmed seafood procurement strategies for individual companies as well as entire industries. Develops WWF’s long-term aquaculture plans and strategies and balances long-term needs with short-term demands in establishing priorities and delivering results in a timely way. Supports the conservation of priority places through “global to local” targeting of key aquaculture commodities that affect biodiversity conservation in WWF’s priority places. Works with and shares information. Learnings, and strategies with the livestock and feed teams in Markets & Food as well as with the Food Practice and WWF offices around the world.
• Negotiations and partnering: Works closely with all Markets & Food programs to develop far-reaching, transformational partnerships that reduce key direct and indirect environmental impacts of aquaculture. Engages the WWF Network and other key partners to integrate aquaculture efforts globally and leverage WWF’s resources toward those ends. Engages with strategic corporate partners as well as entire sectors. Represents WWF-US’ commitment to dramatic accomplishments in 3 years while collaborating with the WWF Network to build an integrated aquaculture strategy and work plan. Ensures positive working alliances with other key stakeholders. Identifies and works with key institutions that have the power to leverage change at speed and scale. Works to influence, shape, and align the strategies of key partners and others.
• Communications and fundraising: Serves as the WWF champion, in the US and globally, for conservation activities related to aquaculture. Represents WWF and serves as its public face on global aquaculture efforts, including representing WWF on aquaculture in all significant global events. Engage policymakers and institutions to build public awareness and commitment through such efforts as behind the scenes negotiations as well as comprehensive campaigns. Leads major fundraising efforts in conjunction with Development staff, including developing, implementing and achieving annual fundraising goals as well as providing timely information about the programmatic results achieved through the funding raised and deployed.
• Team building and management: Builds and leads a team that manages WWF-US’s aquaculture work as well as our relationships with all our partners on aquaculture and feed. Leads the team to execute the strategy for engaging with specific institutions or sets of institutions. Sets goals and expectations, drives success, and measures and communicates progress on an ongoing basis. Creates opportunities for recognition and development. Provides feedback, counseling, and coaching to staff in the unit and beyond as appropriate. Supports the global Food Practice to continue and expand its efforts in aquaculture.
• Cross-cutting innovation: Seeks opportunities to develop performance-based approaches that reduce or mitigate the adverse impacts of aquaculture and the feed that it uses. Supports efforts to develop and field test producer performance indicators and aquaculture improvement programs (AIPs) that produce significant and measurable reductions of environmental and social impacts and help producers position their operations to be certified against ASC standards.
• Creativity and institutional learning: Develops, delivers and helps others implement new and/or creative solutions that will leverage aquaculture markets to contribute to conservation in WWF’s priority places. Solves problems and makes things happen under complex circumstances.

Key Competencies

• Solution-Oriented, strategic collaboration. We bring diverse groups together, working with all parties to understand challenges and opportunities and gain consensus. WWF cannot change the global aquaculture industry ourselves; we need to work with and influence those who can, to make sure they address issues that are critical to our mission.
• Excellent Collaboration and Relationship building skills. We work in a cross-functional, matrixed organization which necessitates the ability to build partnerships and foster unity among diverse groups. Our success depends on our positive relationships throughout the organization and our ability to work as part of a high-level international team and with senior staff from international institutions and partners.
• Integrity is critical to cultivating the credibility and trust needed for businesses and governments to engage with WWF as a reliable source of information and analyses that might help shape their strategies. This integrity means we understand the importance of listening and admitting what we don’t know.
• Excellent communication and public speaking skills are needed to clearly articulate, verbally and in writing, what we are concerned about and why. But communication is not just or even mostly about speaking, it is also about listening. It is about helping people understand how to think about issues, rather than trying to convince them about what to think.
• Leadership is about leading by example and getting people to follow because of the strategies, ideas or sense that is being made. It is also about recognizing talent and finding ways to let people do things that they can succeed in as well as those that are more difficult.
• Empowering, results-oriented management requires exceptional organization, prioritization, and coaching skills to develop and implement programs and teams that produce high-quality work under deadlines as well as the time constraints of others.

Required Skills and Experience

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience including work in most of the following areas: international aquaculture production, aquaculture feed formulations and impacts, alternative feed ingredients and proteins, standards for aquaculture, aquaculture business management, negotiations with internal and external stakeholders, design and negotiation of strategic partnerships that are multi-dimensional and broad-reaching and implementation and activation of partnerships within an organization or institution.
• A graduate degree in a relevant field (such as Aquacultural sciences, Biology, Environmental Studies, , etc.) is required;
• Experience working with governments, NGOs and other global organizations around aquacultural issues is preferred.
• Professional experience within an aquaculture company or input provider is preferred.
• Multiple species experience is required.
• Experience in a developing country context is required.
• Fluency in English is required. Additional language skills are preferred.
• National and international travel required (up to 30%).
• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.

• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:
  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

To Apply:

• Submit cover letter and resume through our Careers Page, Requisition #25019
• Due to the high volume of applications we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone

As an EOE/AA employer, WWF will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status. WWF values diversity and inclusion and welcomes diverse candidates to apply.