Overview

Job Purpose: To provide strategic direction to the organisation’s plant conservation activities worldwide.
Contract Type: Full-time
Duration: Permanent
Location: BGCI Offices, Kew, London (flexible working arrangements possible)
Remuneration: £50,000 – £55,000 dependent on level of qualifications within a broad range (experience, education, training), performance related to fundraising, budget management, people management and other measures.

Position Summary

BGCI is seeking to appoint an experienced, committed, passionate, and self-driven Director of Conservation Policy and Practice to provide strategic oversight and leadership in the development and implementation of BGCI’s activities related to plant conservation, addressing policy, conservation prioritisation and practical action.

About BGCI

There are an estimated 3,000 botanic gardens and arboreta in the world attracting 750 million visitors each year. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is at the centre of this network. Our members include the largest, most renowned botanical institutions on the planet – Kew, New York, Missouri, Singapore, Sydney and Shanghai – and they also include many smaller botanical institutions situated in the world’s plant diversity hotspots. All of these partners share a commitment to making sure that no plant species becomes extinct, and they have a combined workforce of many thousands of horticulturists and scientists working towards that end.

BGCI’s mission is to mobilise botanical expertise and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet. Our theory of change is that by leading, influencing, and empowering our membership and partners, we can better conserve plant diversity, encourage people to live in an environmentally sustainable way, and provide benefits for people as well as the ecology BGCI BGCI Vacancy Announcement 2 of the planet. Specifically, BGCI supports its network of specialists to carry out plant conservation prioritisation, planning, action, and monitoring, thereby preventing plant species extinctions and promoting sustainability. BGCI’s goal is that botanical organisations in our network will play a critical role in preventing plant species extinctions and creating a more sustainable planet. Our work towards achievement of the goal can be broken down into the following work streams: Saving Plants, Inspiring and Leading People, Sharing Knowledge and Resources, Addressing Global Challenges through Public Engagement and Education, and Ensuring an Effective and Resilient BGCI.

BGCI works closely with and provides the Secretariat for the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation (GPPC) and through this network leads in the development and implementation of global plant conservation policy, operating within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Conservation prioritisation and practical actions carried out by BGCI, the botanic garden community and beyond are guided by a suite of data tools developed and managed by BGCI, including GardenSearch, PlantSearch, ThreatSearch and GlobalTreeSearch. New tools which are under development include the GlobalTree Portal, a conservation action tracker, a plant material exchange platform, a pedigree module for plant breeding, and a propagation database. With the recent adoption of the CBD’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), BGCI will be playing a lead role in developing the plant conservation response to this through the development of a set of post-2020 plant conservation actions. BGCI is looking for a strategic, output-oriented individual, who will guide the development and delivery of plant conservation action in the post-2020 environment across the botanic garden community and beyond to ensure maximum impact for plants and people.

Detailed Position Description

The Director of Conservation Policy and Practice will be responsible for:

Providing strategic direction and responsibility for the organisation’s plant conservation and policy activities

• Leading BGCI’s work in developing, supporting and communicating global plant conservation policy:
  • In collaboration with the co-Chairs of the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation (GPPC), leading the development of the plant conservation response to the Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • Maintaining close collaboration with the CBD Secretariat.
  • Providing the Secretariat to the GPPC.
  • Leading and supporting consultations with members of the GPPC.
  • Providing support of the GPPC co-Chairs in organising meetings of the GPPC.
  • Communicating and promoting global plant conservation policies to the botanic garden and wider plant conservation community.
  • Advocating on behalf of plant conservation with the wider biodiversity community. BGCI BGCI Vacancy Announcement 3
  • Advising on and participating in other multilateral environmental agreements and policies with a bearing on plant conservation.
  • Supporting local/regional policy engagement needs for BGCI’s national conservation programme development.
  • Monitoring and reporting on progress in global plant conservation across a range of indicators involving relevant stakeholders at national and global levels.
• Overseeing and guiding BGCI’s Conservation Prioritisation and Planning Programme:
  • Providing strategic direction for BGCI’s conservation prioritisation work beyond the completion of the Global Tree Assessment, working in close collaboration with the Head of Conservation Prioritisation and Planning.
• Overseeing and guiding BGCI’s conservation action programme:
  • Providing strategic direction for BGCI’s programme of practical plant conservation action in close collaboration with BGCI’s Director of Regional Programmes and Head of Conservation Action.
  • Overseeing BGCI’s Ecological Restoration, Seed Conservation and Plant Health programmes, in close collaboration with the managers of these programmes.
• Leading on the development of new projects and fundraising for plant conservation and plant health.
• Leading the production of BGCI’s bi-annual journal – BGjournal:
  • Deciding on themes for issues;
  • Commissioning and editing articles;
  • Working with a designer on final layout and production.

Providing strategic leadership for the organisation:

• Deputise for the Secretary General as required, both internally and externally, and flexibly undertake any other dutiesthat may arise, develop or be assigned in line with the broad remit of the position.
• Participate in the Senior Management Team.
• Support the Secretary General at meetings of the BGCI Board, International Advisory Council, and Development Committee.

Person Specification

Candidates for this post will have a proven record of accomplishment working in biodiversity conservation or environmental policy. The post holder will have strong organisational, management, BGCI BGCI Vacancy Announcement 4 communication and strategic skills. Knowledge of the conservation role of botanic gardens and contacts within the wider biodiversity community will be important.

Essential

• Eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.
• 10+ years of experience working in the environmental and/or conservation sectors.
• Strong track record of building international and strategic partnerships across sectors (private, public and civil society).
• Experience of developing environmental policy and implementing successful action plans.
• Strong management experience including overseeing organisational development, motivating and developing staff, developing organisational culture and responding to complex staffing needs with empathy, fairness, consistency and appropriate confidentiality.
• Cultural empathy and respect, working with a diverse, global community.
• Experience of development and fundraising from a variety ofsources (e.g. government, trusts and foundations, philanthropy).
• Ability to work robustly within challenging and unpredictable environments, to troubleshoot and problem-solve difficult situations calmly and effectively, and manage risk, recognising potential impact of decisions across all parts of the organization.
• Proven experience of setting, overseeing and working to targets, budgets, and deadlines.

Desirable

• Experience of working with the plant conservation community.
• Demonstrable track record of securing significant income (corporate, public sector, individual philanthropy or trusts and foundations).
• Experience of training and capacity building in a conservation context.
• Knowledge of biological databases, tools and support services.
• Basic command of French or Spanish (able to read, write or speak).

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit a CV and a cover letter of two pages maximum, explaining the candidate’s motivation and providing concrete evidence of why they are suitable for the position.

Please send your CV, cover letter and the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to info@bgci.org 

The Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form can be downloaded from https://www.bgci.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Equality-Diversity-Monitoring-Form.doc

Closing date for applications is 24 February, 2023.

BGCI is committed to putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our organisation. We are committed to ensuring a working environment in which all individuals are free from discrimination and in which opportunities are equal to all. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector.