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Job description
POSITION TITLE: Director, International Government Relations
DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM: Conservation Programs
REPORTS TO: Vice President, External Affairs
STATUS: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt
LOCATION: Washington, DC preferred (hybrid); other states considered: AK, CA, FL, MD, OR, TX, VA, WA, WV
ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY
For more than 50 years, Ocean Conservancy has delivered effective, evidence-based solutions for the ocean and all who depend on it. Today, we continue to unite science, people and policy to protect our ocean from the greatest challenges it faces: climate change, plastic pollution and biodiversity loss. We are a 501(C)3 headquartered in Washington, D.C. that inspires a worldwide network of partners, advocates and supporters through our comprehensive and clear-eyed approach to ocean conservation. Together, we are securing a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Director, International Government Relations is responsible for coordinating Ocean Conservancy's (OC) international policy advocacy across conservation programs and the International Government Relations (IGR) team, ensuring OC shows up before governments and institutions with a single, credible voice. The Director runs the cross-program coordination systems that keeps OC's international engagement coherent and coordinates a unified "One-OC" presence at major convenings like Our Ocean, the UN Ocean Conference and UNEA. The Director also builds cross-program capability in international advocacy and diplomacy through shared playbooks, coaching and strategic input.
OC's international advocacy is distributed across conservation programs and the IGR team rather than centralized in IGR alone. The Director's role is to both directly drive and engage in international advocacy, and to also be the connective tissue that helps international efforts across programs add up to more than the sum of their parts. Reporting to the Vice President of External Affairs, the Director will work closely with program leads across OC's conservation portfolio — including Biodiversity, Climate, and Plastics — as well as Communications and Development, to advance OC's international policy goals.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Directly engaging in international advocacy and managing the IGR team
Directly engage with governments and international institutions on behalf of Ocean Conservancy’s ocean conservation advocacy priorities.
Manage IGR team direct reports.
Ownership of the IGR team budget, annual workplan and internal reporting.
Driving international advocacy strategies and coordination across teams
Strengthen program staff’s effectiveness at international advocacy and diplomacy through strategic guidance on coalition-building, diplomacy and negotiation strategy.
Run OC’s internal coordination systems, including cross-program coordination calls and organization-wide global visibility updates.
Proactively identify and address coordination gaps.
Coordinating key international multi-issue events and a unified international calendar
Coordinate a unified “One-OC” approach at major multi-issue convenings (e.g., Our Ocean, UN Ocean Conference, UNEA) — defining institutional success, sequencing engagements and establishing a fair, transparent process for allocating scarce opportunities such as speaking roles, side events and high-level bilateral meetings.
Maintain a shared international events calendar and planning tracker that programs actively use to plan engagements and that surfaces benchmark or venue conflicts early enough to proactively resolve.
Coordinating country and institutional prioritization
Maintain a single, current, shared view of OC’s priority country and institutional targets, including tiering and clarity on where deeper relationship investment is needed.
Ensure country prioritization visibly shapes real engagement decisions — who at OC is engaging which governments and why.
REQUIRED SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE
Significant professional experience (5+ years) in international policy, diplomacy or government relations, ideally within the ocean, environmental or natural resources sector.
Demonstrated ability to build and run coordination systems across multiple teams or stakeholders with competing priorities, without direct authority over those teams.
Track record of building or contributing to international coalitions, including engaging both champion governments and more skeptical or opposed parties.
Familiarity with international policy venues and processes relevant to ocean conservation (e.g., IMO, RFMOs, UNFCCC/COPs, UNEA, BBNJ, Our Ocean) strongly preferred.
Excellent relationship-management skills, with the judgment to navigate sensitive and sometimes competing institutional interests with diplomacy and discretion.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex, cross-program information into clear, actionable guidance.
Highly organized self-starter, comfortable building and maintaining shared systems (calendars, trackers, briefing materials) that other teams rely on.
Highly collaborative, with an appreciation for working across program boundaries and influencing without direct authority.
Willingness to travel internationally for negotiations, convenings and partner meetings, as this position will require international and domestic travel to support key multi-issue convenings, negotiations and partner engagements.
Strong passion for Ocean Conservancy’s mission and values.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
Bachelor degree required, preferably in environmental policy, public policy, international affairs, international relations, marine policy or a relevant related field.
COMPENSATION
Ocean Conservancy is committed to fair pay practices and posts expected salary ranges for each of its positions. Compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s specialty skills, years of experience, location, and unique background. The starting salary range for this role is $130,000 - $140,000 annually. We would welcome the opportunity to connect with potential candidates whose salary requirements may be outside of the expected range.
HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT
Ocean Conservancy embraces a hybrid work environment, which allows our staff the flexibility to work virtually and in-person while building strong connections across the institution.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Ocean Conservancy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
We encourage applicants who have a diverse level and range of relevant skills and experiences to apply. A 100% match is not required. We want to support employees’ career growth and in return, our employees help Ocean Conservancy grow into a stronger, more inclusive institution.
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Worksite address
washington, DC, 20022, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.