POSITION PROFILE
Position
Director of Arizona River Programs
Tucson, AZ preferred
The Nature Conservancy in Arizona
www.nature.org/arizona
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working in all 50 states and five continents to
protect ecologically important lands and waters. Founded in 1951, it is highly regarded for its work and the
way it works – science-based, collaborative, and solutions-oriented – and has more than one million members,
$1.1 billion in support and revenue, and $5 billion in net assets. Building on a heritage of innovative results, it
continues to evolve and expand the scale and scope of its work. Today, it is uniquely poised for even greater
impact on the unprecedented threats brought on by the growing global population with pioneering new
approaches to preserve the natural systems that benefit citizens and societies.
The Arizona Chapter
Since its beginning more than 40 years ago, the Chapter has protected 1.5 million acres, secured the state’s
first water right to protect stream flow and first voluntary land protection agreement, and created a
conservation blueprint for the state – enormous challenges given that Arizona is part of the fastest growing
region in the nation. It is also the third richest state in biological diversity and in the spotlight for some of the
most exciting conservation work anywhere.
As Arizona rebuilds its economy and faces the lingering effects of population growth and drought, the
Conservancy is well positioned to help advance new and creative approaches to serve nature and people and
balance the needs for freshwater, investments in renewable energy, and the health of state forests and
grassland. The sheer scale and complexity of these issues requires visionary leadership and innovation with
bold objectives and collaborations to create tangible lasting results. Guided by State Director Pat Graham, a
stellar board and strong staff, the Chapter continues to evolve to address these challenges. It has instituted a
strong model for interdependence linking economic and environmental stewardship based on transformative
transactions and financial solutions that have bigger impact in a shorter period of time. Its intent is to provide
influence and expertise to ensure that conservation is embedded in decisions made about the state in order to
help shape growth and enable people to live, work and enjoy land and water in ways that sustain nature.
Operations and Reporting Structure
The chapter has five offices statewide, a staff of 65, more than 18,000 members, 12 preserves, $22 million in
support and revenue, $99 million in assets, and an operating budget of $10 million. It operates in a
decentralized model, overlapping with other chapters and worldwide in values, priorities and purpose related
to common goals. The culture is casual, apolitical, supportive, fast-paced, action-oriented, passionate, and
evolving to become more flexible, nimble and innovative to support ongoing change.
The Director reports to Holly Richter, head of Conservation Programs since May 2011. She joined the
Conservancy in 1987 and has worked in various capacities within the Colorado River Basin along the
Hassayampa, San Miguel, Yampa, Babocomari, and San Pedro rivers. Most recently, as Program Director
for the Upper San Pedro for 11 years, she served in leadership positions on the Upper San Pedro Partnership,
was appointed by the Governor to the Organizing Board of the USP Water District and is a recipient of the
Cooperative Conservation Award from the Department of the Interior. She holds a bachelor’s degree in
Landscape Architecture with a concentration in mined land reclamation and a Ph.D in Rangeland Ecosystem
Science specializing in riparian ecosystem modeling, both from Colorado State University. Holly reports to
Pat Graham who joined the chapter in 2001 following a distinctive leadership career in one of the nation's
preeminent wildlife management operations, Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. Other direct
reports to Holly include the manager of Northern Arizona Conservation, director of Land and Water
Protection, and the deputy director of Conservation for Field Operations.
Arizona River Programs
The San Pedro and Verde Rivers are vital tributaries to the Colorado River, its aquifers providing life to
sustain communities, ranches, farms, businesses, and a wide variety of wildlife supported by globally
significant habitats. The San Pedro flows northwest 170 miles from Sonora, Mexico to join the Gila River
and is one of the last major free-flowing river systems in the Southwest. The Verde, one of the state's largest
perennial streams, springs from the ground north of Prescott and travels southeast for 195 miles to meet the
Salt River. On these journeys, the rivers meander through private, federal, state and tribal land, creating the
necessity and opportunity to find ways to build collaborative partnerships to address tangible water issues
and find common ground that meets the needs of people and nature by accomplishing goals for both.
The purpose of this new position is to help operationalize the Chapter's evolving vision for regional water
management, much as it has previously for land conservation, at the ecosystem level. The Director will
impact this by focusing on the challenge of water availability in these two river basins, integrating and
leveraging resources and results in sync with statewide and regional water efforts. S/he will manage two
direct reports -- the Verde River Project Manager and the Upper San Pedro River Project Manager -- and an
operating expense budget of $1.1 million. Working with a broad range of diverse communities and partners,
the team will implement a variety of tangible programs and solutions to conserve and protect water resources
through local demonstration and education projects. These community-based outcomes will serve as a
microcosm for the Chapter’s large-scale conservation vision in terms of its collaborative partnership
approach, use of innovative science and technology and by linking science and policy for successful adaptive
management of the water resources.
Position Responsibilities
The Director of Arizona River Programs will provide strategic leadership and management to enhance
the Verde's and San Pedro’s aquifers and streamflows in support of the Chapter's water management
plans and initiatives. S/he will:
 Serve as Conservancy liaison to local, state and federal government agencies, conservation organizations,
and the academic community, related to water management issues throughout the two river basins.
 Develop and implement effective conservation strategies in close coordination with external partners to
maintain and enhance groundwater aquifer and streamflows along the Verde and San Pedro Rivers,
including support for regional water conservation, recharge and/or reuse projects.
 Supervise staff providing a clear understanding of the group's direction, roles and contributions, and
motivating to achieve and sustain excellence and meet stated goals. Ensure staff performance objectives
and activities are aligned with the Chapter's strategic plan.
 Develop partnerships with public and private organizations to identify and resolve technical and
project implementation challenges and to widely communicate best practices. Use science to develop
and implement essential conservation projects, programs and policy related to water resources.
 Ensure that the strategies and outcomes related to water for the San Pedro and Verde Rivers are
integrated with and promote the goals and objectives of the entire organization, including the
Securing Water Initiative at the state level, and Colorado River Basin Program at the regional scale.
 Participate in the Chapter’s Secure Water Initiative and associated San Pedro River and Verde River
teams responsible for the implementation of strategic plans related to these river programs.
 Provide direction and oversight to diverse hydrologic monitoring and research programs, including
the annual citizen science Wet/Dry monitoring program, which quantifies the wetted length of the San
Pedro River in the U.S. and Mexico.
 Utilize existing scientific data to innovative and develop methods, analyses, tools and frameworks to
address riparian ecosystem conservation needs. Build strategic and technical capacity in the field.
 Serve as the lead representative for the Conservancy on the Upper San Pedro Partnership’s Advisory
Commission, and Executive Committees, and other similar partnership efforts in both river basins.
 Engage local community support through outreach and education for water and riparian conservation
efforts and initiatives.
 Provide fiscal leadership to support the goals and objectives of the regions. Oversee the operating budget
and research availability, applicability and feasibility of private and public funding sources, coordinating
funding and ensuring engagement of resulting relationships.
Position Requirements
The ideal candidate will have at least 7-10 years experience, proven track record in regional water and land
water management issues, river conservation, or riparian management, and a bachelor's degree, or equivalent
combination of education and experience. S/he will have:
 Ability to develop and leverage effective external relationships and partnerships with diverse cultures,
communities and interests; direct experience working with land and water managers, government
officials, developers and ranchers, etc. to accomplish common goals.
 Desire to serve as a catalyst within multi-disciplinary and diverse stakeholder committees and boards for
strong decision-making, consensus building and conflict resolution; know how to bridge urban and rural
viewpoints to enable solutions and models; ability to inspire, influence, develop and implement
conservation policy and plans; politically astute, able to decipher individual motives, understand the
limitations of others, and foster the goals of stakeholders while realizing the Chapter’s goals.
 Working knowledge of Arizona and Western hydrologic processes and riparian/wetland ecology;
expertise in water conservation, reuse and recharge programs, vegetation/watershed management,
rainwater harvesting; understanding of water law and politics; experience linking science with policy
to develop practical on-ground applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations.
 Skills in developing, directing and managing complex multiple projects and programs of strategic
importance by initiating plans and applications that deliver practical, adaptable solutions; highly
organized and able to manage time, diverse activities, interests, objectives and participants to actualize
plans while producing quality results at the local and regional levels.
 Leadership and visionary qualities and the ability to work effectively with and through others in a
decentralized and geographically dispersed organization; ability to motivate to achieve excellence, unite
work around vision, establish clear direction, set stretch objectives, and provide recognition.
 Style that is personable, collaborative, creative, adaptable, patient, and results-oriented; proven
interpersonal, communication, negotiation and listening skills; ability to earn the respect of others;
high integrity and ethical standards, and values and passion that align with the Conservancy.
 Demonstrated ability to identify, attract, work with and be accountable to private foundations, donors
and funders to implement products and outcomes.
 Willingness to travel frequently in the state and domestically as needed. Fluency in Spanish preferred.
To Apply
Applicants must apply on-line by January 31 at www.nature.org/careers; reference job posting #40723. For
more information contact Nancy Palmer, palmercom@cox.net, 602-604-9050. TNC is an Equal Employment
Opportunity Employer.