New Mexico has a proud tradition of preserving and celebrating its rich cultural history and heritage. This history is woven into the landscape and is an essential part of The Wilderness Society’s (TWS) work to protect public lands and connect communities across the state to our wild places. We seek a highly innovative and skilled advocate and campaigner to achieve new public land protections, defend existing land protections and bedrock environmental laws, and ensure that all New Mexicans equitably benefit from our public lands. This individual will also work to achieve energy and climate program and defense campaign goals, including defending places too wild to drill, facilitating the country’s transition to clean energy, and ensuring public lands are managed as part of a solution to climate change. They will help lead our Urban to Wild-Albuquerque Metro campaign, which is focused on ensuring Albuquerque residents have an equal opportunity to experience, appreciate and advocate for the region’s parks, open space, and public lands that connect us to the state’s rich cultural heritage from the urban to the wild.
Reporting to the New Mexico State Director and working with programs across the organization, the New Mexico Deputy State Director will develop and execute organizational priorities and initiatives throughout New Mexico. They will engage in a range of campaigns through partnerships, coalition building and coordination, campaign planning, outreach activities, advocacy, communications, and other efforts. They will represent TWS in coalitions, in communications with elected officials, agency officials, and other decision makers and their staff, and in the media. The preferred location for this position is Albuquerque, NM however other areas in New Mexico may be considered.
This position plays a critical role in establishing and reinforcing an inclusive organizational culture that is grounded in trust and accountability to shared goals and outcomes. TWS has made diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic priorities for the organization. This leader will integrate these priorities throughout our New Mexico work, from expanding our partnerships to bringing an equity lens to all facets of our program. Across our team, we aspire to be campaign-oriented, nimble, collaborative, innovative, transparent, and supportive of staff – our greatest asset.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The Wilderness Society values being “humble as individuals and proud as a team,” and we work hard to develop collaborative, cross-departmental teams to implement our plans on the ground. The Deputy State Director will help set the strategic direction for our work in New Mexico, lead efforts on the ground to implement these strategies and help fundraise and develop new opportunities for the program. Additional responsibilities include:
· Develop and maintain a powerful, diverse constituency throughout New Mexico, cultivating key individuals, organizations, and other entities (including federal and state agency personnel and the state’s congressional representatives) to secure long-term support for TWS’s goals and programs.
· Develop and maintain strong working relationships with partner organizations and other social justice advocates, congressional staff, and public land user groups.
· Represent TWS at public and private gatherings and educational events, raising awareness of national and local organizational priorities and programs.
Develop and implement civic engagement strategies in support of conservation campaigns.
· Work closely with TWS’s Philanthropy staff to develop and implement a fundraising strategy for the Urban to Wild campaign and other assigned campaigns, including work with individual donors and foundations.
· Prepare and implement annual work plans and budgets for key New Mexico campaigns.
· Develop fact sheets, talking points and other outreach and advocacy materials, partnering with TWS’s Government Relations and Communications staff as needed.
· Recruit, train and supervise interns, volunteers, and contractors as needed.
· Assist the State Director in promoting a culture within the state and regional offices, and throughout the organization, that is collaborative, innovative, adaptive, transparent, supportive of staff, and focused on collectively maximizing our conservation gains.
· Travel as needed throughout the state, to Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
· Perform other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
The Wilderness Society’s New Mexico program has established clear goals for protecting public lands across the state, defending bedrock conservation laws from attack, and ensuring that all New Mexicans equitably benefit from our public lands. We value strong communicators, research skills, and interest in developing policies and programs that can achieve lasting protections for our public lands and positive change for our communities. We pride ourselves on having staff that know the community and can organize and work with everyone across the region.
Experience, Competencies, and Education
· Minimum of five years of experience working in advocacy, grassroots organizing, public policy, political campaigns, or a related field.
· A history of successfully developing collaborations, alliances, and partnerships with key leaders among diverse ethnic and racial groups, as well as other interests.
Track record working successfully in teams representing a rich mix of talent, backgrounds, and perspectives—across race and gender.
· Demonstrated ability to advance strategic thinking, craft a compelling vision, and generate support for that vision, set priorities, and balance short- and long-term demands, as well as regional and national goals.
· Demonstrated ability to work successfully with donors, foundations and corporations to raise money.
· Demonstrated ability to effectively represent issues and positions to the media.
The Wilderness Society offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance; sick and vacation leave; a sabbatical program; and a retirement plan. TWS is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair treatment of our employees and constituents across culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, veteran status or sexual orientation.
As an organization, we aspire to being inclusive in the work that we do, and in the kind of organization we are. Internally this means working as a team that listens to different points of view, recognizes the contributions of every employee and empowers each employee to bring their whole selves to work every day. Externally this means ensuring that public lands are inclusive and welcoming, so that our shared wildlands can help people and nature to thrive. We are committed to equity throughout our work, which we define as our commitment to realizing the promise of our public lands and ensuring that all can share in their universal benefits.
To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society.
For consideration, please submit your resume & cover letter through our online application system.
