Schmidt Marine

The Environment Portfolio at The Pew Charitable Trusts

For more than 25 years, Pew has been a major force in engaging the public and policy makers about the causes, consequences, and solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Our environment work spans all seven continents with more than 250 professionals working at the local, national, and international levels to reduce the scope and severity of global environmental problems, such as the erosion of large natural ecosystems that contain a great part of the world’s remaining biodiversity, and the destruction of the marine environment.

Pew has worked in the United States and Canada since 1990 to protect large-scale ecosystems and more recently expanded our land conservation efforts to Australia’s Outback and Chilean Patagonia. Safeguarding these places offers an opportunity to conserve wildlife habitat, shorelines, and landscapes for current and future generations. Our work relies on the sciences of conservation, biology, and economics to advocate for practical and durable solutions to the loss of biodiversity.

In the sea, reforms to how our oceans are managed are essential to address overfishing, pollution, and loss of habitat. Pew began its oceans program in the United States, focusing on ending overfishing and protecting fragile marine habitat. Starting in 2005, Pew’s ocean conservation program expanded around the world and played a significant role in reforming marine fisheries management in the European Union and on the high seas and creating marine reserves around the world. Our work is grounded in the best available science and pursues domestic and international conservation measures that are long-term and provide permanent, durable protections for marine ecosystems.

Enduring Earth

The need for durable, landscape level safeguards to help stem recent decades’ dramatic decline of global biodiversity and to build resilience to climate change has fostered the development of new mechanisms to identify, conserve, finance, and manage critical ecosystems. One of the most promising is the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP). The PFP model is a holistic approach to conservation that protects ecosystems at a large scale, works to ensure conservation management is properly resourced and durable and engages local communities. Because the PFP model requires comprehensive planning and design that involves a wide range of stakeholders, PFPs address the piecemeal approach to conservation whereby conservation landscapes receive varying levels of protection without consideration for ecological connectivity, sustainability, and community development needs.

The Enduring Earth initiative is an unprecedented new collaboration between Pew, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and ZOMALAB aims to help meet these ambitious and important goals. It is built around the innovative PFP conservation finance mechanism. PFPs have the potential to catalyze and spur tremendous investments from private, government, and multilateral funds to permanently conserve some of the world’s most spectacular and ecologically important marine and terrestrial natural ecosystems and their associated ecosystem services. In addition to safeguarding nature across a range of geographies, a tenet of this initiative is to ensure that expanded protection and improved management of conservation areas provide economic benefits to local communities through tourism and other enterprises based on sustainable uses.

Position Overview

The principal associate, Enduring Earth, is based in Washington, DC, and is eligible for up to 60% telework. The position will report to the senior manager of the Global Finance for Permanence Initiative and will work closely with the project team in DC to advance the Enduring Earth goals and objectives.  In particular, the principal associate would provide core support to the team, including the development and management of contracts, organizing key stakeholder meetings, coordinating with project leadership, managing information flow, and helping to track and manage tasks and follow up activities associated with work plans and milestones.

The principal associate works closely with staff across the environment portfolio and other Pew departments as well as Enduring Earth partners. The position has a set time frame that could be extended based on program success, funding, and board decisions on continued support.

Responsibilities

• Provide support to ensure the effective development, delivery, and implementation of the Enduring Earth objectives and goals through coordination with program colleagues and internal and external partners.
• Provide support to multiple stakeholders and track multiple projects and initiatives concurrently.
• Provide support to the Pew EE team in identifying research needs and completing research and developing reports on key topics.
• Organize and facilitate internal planning meetings and manage meeting logistics, including supporting travel and/or virtual participation; taking minutes; managing action items and assigned tasks; and ensuring compliance with Pew policies and procedures.
• Communicate with and, where necessary, assist in drafting contract documents for partners and consultants working in support of the partnership.
• Significant use of initiative and independent judgment in managing projects with stakeholders from Pew’s program and operations areas as well as external partners.
• Oversee project management, tracking project timelines, and ensuring timely implementation of milestones.
• Draft internal updates and memos about Pew’s engagement in the Enduring Earth partnership.
• Prepare presentations for internal and external meetings, reports/articles on the work and partnership, and information for Pew communications team.
• Ensure all project work is carried out consistent with Pew policies, guidelines, and protocols.
• Contribute to and participate in environment portfolio tasks as assigned, as well as broad Trusts-related projects and activities, as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• At least six years of applicable experience in conservation related projects and project management.
• Strong knowledge of and interest in marine and terrestrial landscape conservation, trends, and approaches.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines with minimal supervision, and experience in project management.
• Ability to work independently, as well as in a team setting.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills. Ability to synthesize material and to focus quickly on the essence of an issue and the means to address it.
• Ability to set short- and long-term planning goals in line with program strategy. A task-oriented style, with focus on achieving clear and ambitious goals. Demonstrated ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization. Ability to develop and move projects forward with a high degree of independence.
• Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills, including the ability to develop and maintain productive relationships with colleagues and partners from diverse backgrounds who may have disparate or conflicting goals or approaches. Highly diplomatic; able to work productively with a wide array of people and institutions.
• Ability to achieve results in a complex working environment.
• Seasoned judgment. Able to make sound decisions, justify recommendations and be professional in communications with consultants, partners, and stakeholders.

Travel

Domestic and international travel may be required (consistent with COVID-19 safety protocols).

Total Rewards

We offer a competitive salary and benefit program, including: comprehensive, affordable health care through medical, dental, and vision coverage; financial security with life and disability insurance; opportunities to save using health savings and flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits to help prepare for the future; and work/life benefits to maintain a good balance.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Pew considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity, military/veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.