Director of Climate Adaptation & Wildlife Resilience

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

Defenders of Wildlife, based in Washington, DC, seeks an interdisciplinary Director of Climate Adaptation within the Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI) to guide science-based strategies addressing climate impacts on wildlife.

The Director will lead a small team of scientists and policy analysts, aligning climate and biodiversity objectives and integrating the latest climate science into conservation planning and advocacy nationwide.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) or equivalent required.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience, including 3+ years managing staff and leading complex interdisciplinary projects.

Responsibilities

• Oversees planning, prioritization, and execution of the climate team’s portfolio of projects.
• Supervises a small team of staff and volunteers, providing strategic direction and accountability.
• Ensures leadership direction is shared with supervisees.
• Leads climate science and policy analyses to improve wildlife conservation.
• Guides interdisciplinary program teams in climate science, social science, and policy analysis.
• Identifies cross-programmatic collaboration opportunities and builds partnerships to advance climate-informed conservation solutions.
• Translates complex data into actionable insights for policy, advocacy, and on-the-ground action.

Skills

Climate science

Policy analysis

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Geospatial analysis

GIS

R/Python

Education

MS/PhD or equivalent

Tools

GIS

R

Python

Job description

Defenders of Wildlife, based in Washington, DC, seeks an interdisciplinary Director of Climate Adaptation within the Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI) to guide science-based strategies addressing climate impacts on wildlife.

The Director will lead a small team of scientists and policy analysts, aligning climate and biodiversity objectives and integrating the latest climate science into conservation planning and advocacy nationwide.