Food and Agriculture Program Director
Type: Full Time
Start Date: Immediate
Description:
The Worldwatch Institute seeks a strong professional to lead its international food and agriculture program work. The Food and Agriculture Program Director will report to the President and provide leadership on Worldwatch’s research on food and agriculture issues, represent the Institute before public and private decision makers, write and speak widely on the issues, develop a range of partnership relationships, and lead the Institute’s fundraising efforts in this field.
Through its Food and Agriculture Program, Worldwatch promotes the transition to a sustainable global food system, with the aims of boosting productivity and incomes, decreasing the environmental degradation associated with farming, enhancing potential environmental benefits, and increasing resilience to human-caused climate change while encouraging economic progress. The Food and Agriculture Program highlights the benefits to farmers, consumers, and ecosystems that can flow from food systems that are flexible enough to deal with a shifting climate, productive enough to meet the needs of expanding populations, and reliable enough to support strong rural communities.
Through the projects envisioned and executed by the Food and Agriculture Program Director, Worldwatch seeks to accelerate the transition to a food system based on the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, the principles of agro-ecological farming and agroecosystem management, and intelligent and informed consumerism. Target audiences include government officials, farmers, food activists, private sector executives, investors, academia, and the general public.
Responsibilities:
The Food and Agriculture Program Director will be responsible for the following:
- Lead the Institute’s Food and Agriculture Program, working with the President and Board of Directors;
- Increase funding for the Institute’s food and agriculture work, with a focus on foundations, international institutions, and government ministries;
- Build the Food and Agriculture Program, including development of new fields of research and advocacy, formation of new partnerships, and the recruitment of new staff members and senior fellows;
- Represent the Institute before domestic and international policymakers;
- Contribute to the Institute’s publications and website, as well as to outside publications, and speak at public events.
Preferred Skills and Experience:
- Extensive professional experience working on the nexus of food, agriculture, and sustainable development;
- Project management experience;
- Successful fundraising track record;
- Relevant university degrees and solid grounding in agricultural policy, science, and economics;
- Strong network of policy contacts in the field;
- International experience and connections;
- Exceptional writing and speaking skills.
Location: Washington, D.C. The Worldwatch office is a few minutes' walk from Dupont Circle and its Red Line Metro stop.
Salary and Benefits: Competitive full-time salary based on experience level, with generous health plan, leave, and retirement benefits.
To Apply: Please send us your resume, a writing sample, and a brief cover letter describing your qualifications for the position. Send all application materials to jobs@worldwatch.org, and include “Food and Agriculture Program Director” in the subject line. Position will remain open until filled. No telephone calls, please. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will contact only those persons selected for an interview.
About Worldwatch: The Worldwatch Institute is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that blends interdisciplinary research, a global focus, and accessible writing—making it a leading source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Our work aims to speed the shift to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society, and lays out a roadmap for how to achieve that vision.