Director of Conservation

Taking care of our environment has never been more important than it is today. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is looking for a** Director of Conservation - Natural Area Management** to join a team committed to protecting our most important natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain.

NCC is the nation’s leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962 NCC and its supporters have protected 15 million hectares (more than 35 million acres) of ecologically significant land across Canada. NCC takes a collaborative, science-based approach to achieve conservation success for the sake of nature and Canadians. With a national office in Toronto and seven regional offices across the country, NCC delivers results you can walk on.

**Position Summary**

**Reporting Relationships**

The DoC reports directly to the Senior Director of Conservation, Alberta. The DoC position leads the Natural Area Management team and will supervise all Natural Area Managers in Alberta. The DoC works closely with their peers in Alberta and across the country to ensure close coordination and consistency.

**Duties and Responsibilities**

1. People Management
- Lead a team of experienced professionals to deliver land stewardship activities, monitoring and reporting, and property improvement projects
- Hire and supervise any employees and contractors within area of responsibility
- Implement NCC’s staff performance management program for the Natural Area Management team, including annual goal setting, individual professional development plans, periodic reviews and regular feedback on performance
- Implement NCC Alberta’s Health and Safety Management Program for the Natural Area Management team, including risk assessment, training, safety equipment management, safe work delivery and incident management; ensure contractors are aware of property-level risks relevant to their work
- Foster a collaborative, supportive, and positive work environment for NCC staff

2. Property Stewardship
- Oversee development of multi-year property management plans for fee simple properties; ensure implementation of property management plans via annual stewardship workplan delivery
- Ensure NCC properties and associated assets are safe, and are managed consistent with NCC’s legal obligations and internal stewardship policies, standards, procedures and guidelines
- Assist Natural Area Managers with legal, asset management and stakeholder issues; find solutions for complex problems
- Oversee Indigenous partner, industry and other public access to fee simple properties
- Support delivery of stewardship projects and activities on partner conservation lands

3. Community and Partner Liaison
- Lead meetings with leaseholders, landowner partners and neighbours to maintain positive relationships and manage issues
- Participate in government relations and Indigenous partner meetings, as requested
- Represent NCC at external events, including regional community events and conservation-related conferences and workshops

4. Finance and Administration
- Develop and manage to 3-year business plan, annual stewardship workplan and budget
- Ensure all property records - including contracts, management activity records and monitoring reports - are current in NCC’s Land Information Systems
- Maintain accurate property, leaseholder and contract information to support property-related invoicing and payments
- Provide periodic reports to the Regional Board and Committees, National Office, Regional Vice President, external partners and donors
- Participate, as required, in Regional Board and Committee meetings and present reports and proposals within land conservation.

**Position Requirements**
- Possesses at least a 4-year Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science/ Studies, Natural Resource Management, Conservation Management or related discipline or a 2-year Diploma and 2 additional years of experience
- Proven ability and at least 5 years of direct people management experience; willingness delegate decision-making authority and empower staff; able to provide to provide strong leadership, development and coaching to direct reports
- At least 5-years' experience delivering conservation or environmental management activities and projects in a rural setting
- Experience preparing annual workplans and budgets, based on funding available and priority needs; proven operational and project management acumen, able to effectively lead a variety of resources to deliver to plan and budget
- Experience resolving land management issues and negotiating land-related legal agreements (e.g., leases, infrastructure access agreements, licenses of occupation, regulatory permits, etc.); proven negotiation and conflict resolution skills
- Proactive and creative problem solving, with an ability to anticipate and resolve problematic situations before they arise; willingnes