Conservation International (CI) envisions a healthy, prosperous world in which societies are forever committed to caring for and valuing nature for the long-term benefit of people and all life on Earth. Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, CI's mission is to empower societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. CI's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) works to engage the private sector as a positive force for ensuring natural diversity of life, healthy ecosystems and sustainable growth. 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 who have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship and the promotion of low-carbon growth. The senior director will work in partnership with Conservation International's climate team and manage a portfolio of leading domestic and international companies engaged in climate leadership efforts, including the development of forest carbon projects. The senior director will manage existing accounts and cultivate key prospects in agriculture, energy, mining, forestry, finance, entertainment, retail, tourism and other sectors.  The senior director's will help CI meet its corporate contribution goals and establish mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with leading businesses and trade associations. Although the senior director will focus on building relationships with corporations involved in climate leadership and forest carbon, the senior director will also coordinate negotiations of corporate partner agreements covering other areas of program activity, such as field conservation projects, business tools for conservation, joint communications initiatives, involvement in leadership forums and sponsorship opportunities. The senior director manages multi-faceted relationships with large scale 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 major corporate account relationships, the senior director will integrate input from various divisions of CI, as well as CI's executive leadership and legal and finance departments, in all phases of the relationship including concept development, proposal writing, deal negotiation, reporting, evaluation and communications.   

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 10 years of 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 the establishment and stewardship of 6-8 figure, multi-year partnerships with Fortune 500 corporations - both domestic and international - 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: Bachelor’s degree