Climate Intersections Lead

About NetHope

NetHope enables humanitarian and conservation organizations to better serve people and places throughout the world through digital and data technologies and partnerships. Working at the intersection of the international NGO sector, private business and digital innovation, NetHope is a Membership organization currently serving over 60 leading humanitarian, development, and conservation organizations around the world. NetHope empowers our Member organizations to collaborate, innovate, and leverage the full potential of information and communications technology to support their work in 190 countries. NetHope and our Members partner with over 50 of the world’s leading technology firms to create innovative solutions to existing and emerging challenges, and to reimagine how technology can improve our world.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting time at NetHope as the organization rounds a very successful 20th Anniversary year and has secured new, multi-year funding in support of a range of programming. Working in collaboration across the NetHope Member organizations, corporate partners, and internal teams, the Climate Intersections Lead will head the start up and scaling up of NetHope’s new Climate Intersections Initiative, operating with a 2027 vision of building new cross sector coalitions for climate resilience and to reduce the adverse impact of climate change on vulnerable people in part through the use of digital technologies, data and partnerships. This program will forge new connections, leveraging the global NetHope Member and partner community working on the full range of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, to help more people live together safely and well in the face of an unavoidably changing climate.

The Climate Intersections Lead will be an effective leader, listener, facilitator, problem solver and conceptualizer in two ways: first, via convening, partnering and coalition building among actors and organizations across the NetHope ecosystem, and second, via identifying creative new opportunities to pilot and scale up digital technology and data solutions. These coalitions, partnerships and solutions will all converge on helping vulnerable communities be more resilient over time when faced with the impacts of a changing climate. Wherever possible the program will seek to generate digital innovations and social interventions with dual impact at the nexus of mitigation and local resiliency.

Climate Intersection Lead

NetHope is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial, and enthusiastic professional to lead our Climate Intersections program. The position will report into the global innovation lead for NetHope who is also the Senior Director of The Center for the Digital Nonprofit, NetHope’s IT industry partnership portal and incubation platform for new program ideas. The Climate Intersections Lead will build and scale the new Climate Intersections Initiative with the goal of using data and digital technology at the nexus of international development, global conservation and climate mitigation to help vulnerable people in vulnerable places live together safely and well in the face of a changing climate. The Climate Intersections Program is baseline funded for the next five years, and the Lead will be expected to help fundraise for program expansion.

The Climate Intersections Lead will build, shape and drive this initiative through engaging with NetHope Member experts in humanitarian climate action and global conservation, digital technologies from leading industry innovators, and outside stakeholders in the pursuit of new and/or scalable solutions to support the most vulnerable in a world characterized by unavoidable change.

Specific responsibilities include:

Management and Leadership
• Hire, lead and manage up to two FTEs to support the initiative
• Provide sound leadership, direction, and clear communication to staff so they can thrive and be the best they can.
• Lead the team to work laterally with other NetHope teams, the NetHope Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and others to achieve program outcomes.

Research, Conceptualization, Communication

• Conduct targeted follow up research with NetHope Members, partners, indigenous people, and vulnerable communities impacted by climate change in support of making “good ideas” actionable
• Work to align humanitarian and conservation organization on joint needs and goals
• Use NetHope Strategic Alignment research and other sources to inventory climate programmes and activities of Members in support of pilot development and pathways to deliver novel digital solutions throughout the initiative
• Present Climate Intersections findings and learning at the NetHope Global Summit and in other thought leadership venues
• Collaborate closely and effectively with core program funders and other supporters
• Develop metrics for success, tracking and reporting back to NetHope Senior Leadership Team (SLT), board, funders, Members and others

Digital Innovation

• Strong understanding of the role data and digital technology can play in having a positive impact on climate action and human development
• Ability to identify and assess potential digital solutions and their impact
• Background of awareness and experience regarding digital solutions that have been tried in the past
• Credible interlocutor with NetHope IT industry partners, digital program leaders in NetHope Members and others

Program Management

• Communicate and report back to SLT, Members, donors and others on a regular basis about project performance
• Develop and track KPIs, project milestones, activities, output, outcome, and impact measures
• Monitor timeline and risk in the program and be proactive in notifying NetHope leadership and identifying solutions
• Assist NetHope fundraisers identifying new prospects for initiative funding, drafting and pitching concept notes and proposals to donors.
• Work with NetHope administrative staff to manage budgets, restricted funds flows and recognition, deliverable schedules, and the like.

Qualifications:

Personal Characteristics

• A passion for NetHope’s mission and an appetite for working collaboratively, effectively and nimbly in a virtual, fast-paced, networked organization
• A results-oriented diplomat, and a facilitative program leader, highly experienced with creating highly functioning working relationships in a multi-stakeholder environment
• Cultural sensitivity and one who values and encourages a diversity of backgrounds, thought, and perspectives in life and work
• High integrity and a strong sense of ethics
• Committed to doing the work to maintain a high trust working environment
• Resourcefulness and good judgment
• Someone always on the lookout for ways to improve, to apply best practices, enable clarity, innovation, and simplicity—and leave order in their wake
• A colleague with grace, humility and humor, as committed to the success of those around them as they are themselves

Knowledge and Skills

• A senior level, facilitative leader and communicator, experienced and conversant with the range of climate activities in the NetHope humanitarian and conservation Member and corporate IT partner community
• A person equally at home in the realms of climate mitigation, international development, and digital transformation
• An experienced manager of teams and coach of talent, working to ensure that NetHope is performing and succeeding at the level of the program and the level of the staff doing the work
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills with an ability to develop strong concept and pitch materials, manage reporting frameworks, and synthesize the story for stakeholders, participants, funders and others from multiple quantitative and qualitative data points
• Multilingual verbal and written communication skills highly desired.

Education and Experience

• The Climate Intersections Lead will have at least 10+ years of experience, with at least five years managing complex coalitions with product innovation and execution across multiple geographies as key components
• The successful candidate will have experience across the broad spectrum of issues represented in the NetHope Member community of global humanitarian and conservation organizations and technology partners
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred

Successful candidates will have demonstrated experience in:

• Technical familiarity with climate adaptation and resilience in developing country contexts
• Experience in humanitarian or conservation nonprofits devising platforms for environmental action with five or more years of field experience in developing countries, leading, or supporting climate adaptation and resilience projects
• Fundraising and grant development and execution
• Managing dispersed teams
• Budget development and oversight
• Managing others, empowering them to make decisions, especially in a matrixed or virtual organization
• Effectively communicating key data, including presentations to senior management, the Board, or other outside partners/influencers/clients
• NetHope Member experience highly valued, other NGO and industry experience a plus

Reporting and Working Conditions:

• NetHope is a virtual organization, so our team, our Members, and our Partners are located around the world. Due to the global nature of the organization, meetings may be required at any time of the day to meet with our collaborators or team members in varying time zones. To meet these needs, NetHope embraces flexible schedules for team members, and we work with each other to be located globally, but still maintain a reasonable work time balance.
• As a global organization, we welcome qualified applicants with diverse backgrounds from various locations, and who may have non-traditional work patterns.
• NetHope values open, honest communication, a commitment to creative problem solving, an ethic that we only succeed if we all succeed, and a belief that an organization working as a team on a shared purpose produces the best outcomes.
• This position is 100% remote and virtual. International travel and/or travel within or adjacent to country of residence will be required.