Position Description: The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is seeking a Director of Conservation Programs that will be responsible for providing oversight of the organization’s portfolio of grants, agreements, and contracts. This position will develop funding opportunities, design and administer grant programs, and work closely with our partners. They will also provide leadership to achieve all stated outcomes and ensure overall compliance.

Responsibilities:

• Provide oversight of NACD’s grant/project portfolio, as well as leadership and guidance to staff, partners, and contractors
• Lead development and implementation of project programming; ensuring that programs and projects are:
  • Equitable, accessible, and inclusive
  • Compliant with all requirements (e.g., milestones are completed on-time, outcomes/deliverables meet or exceed quality standards)
• Identify opportunities to promote NACD programs; collaborate with staff (e.g., Communications Team, Region Reps), subgrant recipients, and funding partners to develop and promulgate success stories and other communications
• Develop and maintain partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders
• Lead lifecycle administration of NACD’s grant and contract portfolio, such as:
  • Monitor NACD performance, progress, budgets, and spend (including subawardees)
  • Review and submit required reports (e.g., quarterly and final performance reports; SF-425; requests for payments or advances)
  • Proactively grant expiration dates and progress towards meeting requirements; initiate and process amendments
  • Support audit and close-out activities
• Guide development and implementation of all subaward (pass-through) grant activities including, but not limited to:
  • Solicitation and evaluation strategies
  • Outreach strategies and activities that promote grant programs to potential recipients, partners, and other stakeholders (e.g., solicitations, webinars, FAQs, communications)
  • Develop processes, standards, and templates for solicitations, subawards/MOUs, processing amendments, and close-out
  • Processes and systems to monitor subawardee progress, budgets, and cash flow needs; correspond with subawardees regarding performance or other issues
  • Lead process for subawardee reports (e.g., provide subawardees guidance; develop or update reporting requirements and submission portal; review reports to ensure compliance with NACD reporting requirements; aggregate subawardee reports to develop NACD reports
• Support development and marketing activities including, but not limited to:
  • Track and identify funding opportunities; disseminate relevant opportunities to members (e.g., maintain information hubs) and establish process for issuing reminders for deadlines
  • Engage with potential partners to understand their goals and requirements, budgets, etc.
  • Coordinate proposal workstreams and milestones to ensure timely submission
  • Support proposal preparation process, including development of the technical approach and budgets, review of the entire package to ensure quality and compliance with funder requirements, and submission
  • Support negotiation of deliverables, outcomes and metrics, and other terms and conditions
• Collaborate with NACD’s operations to develop and implement financial policies, procedures, and processes; support financial audits as requested
  • Develop and implement risk management procedures, ensuring that NACD’s programs and initiatives are in compliance with sponsor/funder requirements and federal regulations, laws, and policies
  • Monitor appropriateness of expenditures on awards and subawards
• Support NACD’s Board of Directors, Committees, affiliates, and other stakeholder groups
• Supervise four full-time FTEs
• Other duties as assigned

Location: This position is a telework/remote position and reports directly to the Chief Program Officer.  

To apply: Email resume, cover letter, portfolio and two writing samples to the attention of NACD HR with ‘Director of Conservation Programs’ in the subject line to hr@nacdnet.org no later than Friday, November 24, 2023, to receive priority consideration.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field, advance degree is preferred
• At least eight (8) years of relevant experience
• Experienced in staff leadership and management
• Understanding of 2 CFR and administering federal grant and cooperative agreements
• Experience managing subgrant programs
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to details
• Ability to develop and track budgets using Excel and other tools
• Strong leadership skills and ability to coordinate large-scale projects
• Strong fiscal management skills, such as budget development and management, and maintaining internal controls
• Travel required (up to 30%)

 Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with and/or knowledge of conservation districts, agriculture, or environmental issues
• Experience developing and responding to funding opportunities

About National Association of Conservation Districts

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is the nonprofit organization that represents America’s 3,000 conservation districts and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. Conservation districts are local units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with millions of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on all private lands and many public lands in the United States. NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

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