ABOUT THE FOUNDATION: Wilburforce Foundation is a private, philanthropic foundation that exists to preserve the North American West's irreplaceable biological diversity and ecological integrity. Our mission is to protect wildlife habitat in Western North America by actively supporting organizations and leaders advancing conservation solutions. We believe there are positive, achievable solutions to current challenges based on sound science, conservation policy, and community action, and we believe that conservation is powered by a hopeful vision in which wild places and wildlife thrive in harmony with human communities.

ABOUT THE POSITION: We have an opening for a full-time Program Associate position based in Seattle, Washington. The Program Associate will report to our Program Officer for Yellowstone-to-Yukon (Y2Y). Please review the position description for more information.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Applications must be received by postal mail or e-mail in Wilburforce’s office no later than 12:00 PM MONDAY, October 17, 2011. Applications submitted by email should be sent as in RTF, PDF or Microsoft Word formats. Please do not submit applications by fax, and please do not send applications by both postal mail and e-mail – one of the two will suffice.

Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to:

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Responsibilities: The Program Associate works closely with the Y2Y Program Officer to 1) Implement the Foundation’s conservation strategies for priority regions; 2) Participate in activities that further the Foundation’s understanding of relevant conservation issues, including convening or attending meetings, working with consultants, and undertaking specific research; and 3) Prepare and deliver reports or other presentations on timely issues to the Foundation staff, Board and to external audiences.

Specific Duties:

The Program Associate works closely with the Program Officer to:

· Implement the Foundation’s conservation strategies in priority regions

· Research issues, programs and organizations that are associated with conservation opportunities and/or threats in priority regions

· Review and analyze documents submitted by grantees, and assist in the preparation of written recommendations about grants and programs for consideration by the Foundation’s Board of Directors

· Support efforts to convene or communicate with grantees, funders, and other conservation partners, and facilitate the exchange of information, ideas and strategies

· Inform Foundation staff and Board of current conservation, philanthropic, economic, political or other issues that may have an impact on the Foundation’s strategies or grantmaking practices

· Develop and maintain strong relationships with grantees, funders and other potential partners to advance a conservation agenda in priority regions

· Assist in efforts to work with the Foundation’s capacity building service providers to assess, prioritize and address the capacity needs of individual grantees, or clusters of grantees, within priority regions

· Assist in the development and/or implementation of evaluation activities for the Foundation’s program activities, individual grants, or clusters of grants with priority regions

· Represent the foundation at conferences and meetings with grantees, foundations, government agencies or community officials

· Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications: A Bachelor’s or higher degree

Knowledge of and demonstrated commitment to conservation or environmental issues. Experience with conservation issues in the Yellowstone-to-Yukon ecoregion is preferred but not required

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

An ability to work effectively and efficiently without a high level of supervision

Ability to organize and effectively handle multiple projects, meet regular deadlines with consistency and accuracy, work independently while within a team structure, and work under pressure with ease and humor

Basic understanding of the types of capacities important to nonprofit organizations, such as fundraising, financial management, governance, planning, evaluation, etc.

Ability to attend occasional evening meetings, and to travel for weekday and weekend meetings and conferences

Extensive experience with email and the Internet, and familiarity with MSOffice computer programs, including Word and Excel

The Foundation is a team-oriented work environment, and individuals who work for the Foundation are expected to demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities. All employees are expected to: perform with high standards of integrity; demonstrate maturity; listen actively; value self-understanding; exhibit deep commitment; use good humor; and communicate effectively.