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Employer: Micronesia Conservation Trust
Job Title: Packard Environment Fellow
Location: Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Application deadline: March 1, 2012
Organization
The Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT) supports biodiversity conservation and related sustainable development for the people of Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. MCT supports conservation across Micronesia by:
- providing long-term, sustained funding through grant programs
- building the capacity of Micronesians and Micronesian organizations to design and manage conservation programs
- providing a regional forum to bring people from government, private enterprise, and community and non-profit organizations together to collectively address the challenges of natural resource management in Micronesia
MCT has pioneered and/or assisted with the launching of several ground-breaking initiatives, including the Micronesia Challenge, Climate Change Adaption Tools for Local Communities, and the Pacific Islands Managed and Protected Areas Community Network.
Job Description
MCT has grown rapidly in the last seven years, changing from a small national organization with a staff of two and a budget of $30,000 to a respected regional organization with a staff of eight and an annual budget of approximately $2 million. Several potentially transformational projects and partnerships loom on the horizon in the next several years, and MCT needs to prepare for a smooth transition to a much larger organization, ensuring that it has the financial and human resources to provide an expanded scope of services to its partners and grantees. Some of these pending changes include its upcoming role as the In Lieu Fee Sponsor for the U.S. military build-up on Guam and MCT’s application to serve as the National (or potentially Regional) Implementing Entity for the Climate Adaptation Fund.
MCT has a Strategic Plan through the end of 2013 which includes a rough costing of activities, but the Board of Trustees has requested that budgets, workplans, and the strategic plan activities be more closely integrated. MCT needs a comprehensive business plan which takes into account the full scope of its organizational, financial and human resource needs, as well as anticipated growth and new funding streams over the next several years. The Fellow will:
- Review documents, including the MCT Strategic Plan, fundraising plan and strategy, theory of change and grant-making strategy, annual budgets and program specific workplans and other related materials.
- Interview grantees and technical partners in order to understand their needs and expectations regarding funding and services from MCT.
- Interview current and potential donors and technical partners to gauge their interest in MCT and project potential and long-term partnership options.
The deliverable for the project will be a draft Business Plan, ready for presentation to and adoption by the MCT Board of Trustees and Executive Staff.
The Fellow will work directly with the Board of Trustees, Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director. S/he will also have the opportunity to work with senior staff from partner organizations in the region, including national and state level government agencies, The Nature Conservancy, and other major conservation NGOs. And finally, there will be opportunities to learn more about the peoples of Micronesia and the wider Pacific, their cultures and traditions.
Supervisors
William Kostka, Executive Director
Lisa Andon, Deputy Executive Director
Mr. Kostka is managing the growth of Micronesia’s first conservation trust fund. He is responsible for the supervision of the MCT staff and grants portfolios, which includes the establishment of endowments to support the Micronesia Challenge and MCT’s core operational needs. He has served as the Co-coordinator of the Pacific Islands Marine Protected Areas Community, a US NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Initiative. Previously he founded and was Executive Director of the Conservation Society of Pohnpei. Prior to that he was an administrator at the College of Micronesia, and owner and manager of an ecotourism business. In 2006 he received a Pew Fellowship (Pew Fellow Program in Marine Conservation), and he is the recipient of Environmental Awards from Conde Nast and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Ms. Andon joined MCT in 2004 after nine years at the Pohnpei State Government serving as an Executive Assistant for the Economic Development Authority and as a Historic Preservationist for the Division of Historic Preservation and Cultural Affairs. She originally came to Pohnpei as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She holds a BA in American Studies from Grinnell College and an MA in American Studies with concentrations in Pacific Islands Studies and Cultural Resource Management from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Salary: $1,000/wk. (Note: Packard Environment Fellows are supported in part by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.)
Qualifications
- MBA candidate (required)
- Strong analytical skills
- Ability to develop a successful business plan
- Comfortable with both for-profit and nonprofit organizational structures
- Knowledge of nonprofit organizational and financial challenges
- Effective written and oral communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills
- Ability to think strategically
- Ability to work in a flexible, informal environment
- Ability to translate complicated economic concepts to a lay audience
- Entrepreneurial attitude
- Commitment to the mission of the Micronesia Conservation Trust
To Apply
Application deadline: March 1, 2012. E-mail a cover letter addressed to Mr. William Kostka and Ms. Lisa Andon c/o The MBA-Nonprofit Connection and your resume to summer2012@mnconnection.org. Please send the cover letter and resume as separate attachments, labeled as follows: MCT-[your last name]-Cover and MCT-[your last name]-Resume. (Please bypass your school's automated application system, which may rename the attachments.) In your cover letter, highlight aspects of your experience that are relevant for this job, and explain why you are interested in working with this organization. The MNC will confirm receipt of your application and promptly forward it to MCT. AA/EOE. This job announcement is being posted at your school through your school's partnership with the MNC. For advice on preparing applications for nonprofit jobs, visit www.mnconnection.org.
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