Vice President for Programs

Overview

The Alliance seeks its next Vice President for Programs (VP) to lead its work to protect, restore and conserve the Great Lakes and their waters for the people and wildlife that depend on them. The VP will lead advocacy, research and relational work that enables the Alliance’s success as an advocate for the world’s largest source of fresh surface water. They will implement current programs, seek out and build new strategic opportunities, and manage a team of experts and advocates to advance every aspect of the Alliance’s programs.

The VP serves as a strategist, program leader and manager. They work collaboratively with Alliance staff and external partners to ensure high-quality delivery of policy analysis and recommendations, advocacy action, strategic convening and relationship growth.

In the coming three years, the VP of Programs will advance work to create:

• Thriving Great Lakes: Our Great Lakes should be healthy, vibrant and sustainable natural resources that support a diversity of fish, wildlife, and people;
• Clean Water We Can Depend On: Our Great Lakes should be shared waters that are safe, clean, and abundant for all communities across our region; and
• A Powerful Great Lakes Movement: Our Great Lakes should unify people across our region, and a strong Great Lakes movement should be able to exert influence on the most critical decisions about our water.

The Alliance plays three critical roles in this work.

We advocate for policies that protect and restore the lakes and enable communities to depend on them. We use our voice and influence to encourage and compel decision makers to make choices that will improve protections for the lakes and the water they provide. The Alliance strives to address priorities identified by a diversity of Great Lakes communities, and to put our resources to work where needed most. Our policy leadership must build a bridge between the halls of power and people who rely on the lakes.

We build and communicate the research and analysis that motivates action to protect the lakes. Our staff, working with scientists, issue experts, volunteers, and community leaders, dig deeply into the data that defines Great Lakes challenges and guides renewal and revitalization. We seek to understand and communicate the science, policies and perspectives that must drive smart decisions for the lakes.

We educate and unite people as a voice for the Great Lakes. The Alliance invests time and resources into building a big tent of relationships to exert power for our waters. This means collaborating with trust, honesty, and transparency to elevate voices, collaborators, and partners from across the region. We build the strength of the Great Lakes movement, create pathways for action, and support people along the way.

The initial goals of this position are:

• By the end of 2025, ensure the Alliance has successfully implemented all annual program objectives and increased its program capacity including planned addition of up to four new regional and state-level advocacy staff.
• By the end of 2027, ensure the Alliance has successfully completed work under its current strategic plan and is beginning implementation of a new strategy that builds on the increased capacity, reputational leadership and campaign structures developed during the prior three years.

The VP is a public figure for the organization who speaks with authority and diplomacy, is regarded as a thought leader on Great Lakes and clean water issues, and exercises the highest level of political, business and relational acumen. The VP must be as adept at cultivating the best from a staff team as they are at leveraging the external relationships and partnerships necessary for advocacy success. They report directly the to the President & CEO and communicate to the organization’s Board of Directors on program progress.

The Alliance welcomes a new VP for Programs in a position of strength. We anticipate a staff of 30 by the end of 2025 who, along with our Board of Directors, includes some of the country’s leading Great Lakes advocates, experts and communicators. The Alliance has a well-regarded record of recent and historic successes dating to 1970. The Alliance’s capacity stands tall among state and regional environmental advocacy organizations across the country, with assets of more than $12 million by the end of 2024 and an operating budget of $6.8 million for 2025.

Responsibilities

The VP serves as Strategist, Program Leader, and Staff Manager.

Strategist

• Partner with the President & CEO to advance the organization’s current vision and strategy to achieve its policy goals.
• Identify and develop new program strategies for adoption by the Alliance and recommend improvements to achieve new policy outcomes.
• Track external Great Lakes and clean water needs, opportunities and trends relevant to organizational mission and vision, and make the case for organizational changes to meet those needs.
• Identify and nurture opportunities to advance program strategies through external partnerships.

Program Leader

• Develop and drive campaigns that address federal, state and local levels of government across the Great Lakes region.
• Lead and grow personal and organizational top-level relationships with institutions and partners that are most critical to the Alliance’s campaign success, such as government decision-makers, businesses, and a range of NGOs including philanthropies, academics, think tanks, civic and trade associations, environmental non-profits, and community-based organizations.
• Provide a voice of authority and insight to the media, partners and decision-makers on any issue relevant to Alliance campaigns.
• Maintain and grow relationships with local, regional and national institutional foundations that can support the Alliance’s work.
• Report to the President and CEO and Board of Directors on key performance indicators that demonstrate progress toward program goals.
• Make regular decisions on tactical changes to the strategic plan and incorporate into project management and work planning systems.

Staff Manager

• Manage a team of Director-level issue experts and advocates to implement Alliance programs.
• Ensure all program staff have access to the mentoring and development opportunities needed to excel in their roles at the Alliance.
• Identify, create and communicate regular short-term successes internally as the organization advances towards long-term goals.
• Facilitate effective collaboration between program staff and liaisons from communications, operations and fundraising teams.
• Solve cross-cutting programmatic challenges, fill identified capacity and decision gaps and give team direction on handling work that intersects across issues.
• Ensure organizational culture and values are present in day-to-day work of program staff.

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Knowledge/Skills

• Track record of designing and implementing campaigns that advance nonpartisan policy reforms at multiple levels of government over multiple years.
• Demonstrated success building winning coalitions of partners to drive policy outcomes across government decision makers, private businesses, and a range of NGOs, including philanthropies, academics, think tanks, civic and trade associations, environmental non-profits, and community-based organizations.
• Healthy, active personal networks in one or more of the Alliance’s priority issue, geographic, and philanthropic focus areas that enhance organizational reputation and fundraising ability.
• Ability to communicate a variety of issue facts and positions clearly, quickly and compellingly to various external audiences including media
• Commitment to ensuring Alliance campaigns, coalitions and policy outcomes reflect the stated needs of communities impacted by water challenges across the Great Lakes, with experience including community input in advocacy strategies.
• Experience working with staff and programs who are funded by philanthropic support and whose work must address funder priorities and grant deliverables.
• Track record of empowering, service-oriented leadership toward peers and direct reports while maintaining high standards of performance and accountability.
• Brings new methods of engaging staff and building buy-in and excitement around program strategy.
• Actively engaged in professional development and ongoing learning networks.
• Commitment to building and managing inclusive internal and external teams that cut across diversities of race, gender, culture, socioeconomic class, and geography.
• Commitment to Alliance values of community, relationships, courage, integrity, and optimism and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice .
• Collaborative, collegial, humble, with a good sense of humor and ability to adapt to diverse work styles; adept at working in teams and independently in both virtual and in-person settings.
• Familiar with Microsoft Office Suite and project management software.
• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of experience, including at least three at the executive level, developing program strategy, implementing campaigns, and managing, hiring and retaining a team of multidisciplinary expert staff.

Job Parameters

• This position is full-time and consistent with Alliance employment policy. The Alliance has defined salary ranges that are evaluated annually. The salary range for this position begins at $140,000 and we will negotiate starting salary with final candidates based on their experience in similar roles, and expertise related to the qualifications.
• Benefits include medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, FSA, 11 paid holidays plus the business days between 12/26 and 12/30 (staff who must work on any holidays may take those holidays at another time subject to the employee handbook). Employees start with 3 weeks' vacation annually + PTO; paid parental leave; Fidelity 401(k) with match of up to 6% of salary after one month of employment.
• This position is remote and will be located within a Great Lakes state, with a preference for the Chicago area. For candidates outside of the Chicago area, monthly overnight travel to the Alliance’s Chicago headquarters is expected. Proximity to a major airport is required for all candidates.