Director, Global Plastic Policy & Corporate Engagement

Company Description

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Job Description

Major Function

The Director, Global Plastic Policy & Corporate Engagement provides strategic oversight for the Plastic and Material Science policy portfolio within Private Sector Engagement (PSE) and works closely with the Vice President and cross-functional teams to advance WWF’s No Plastic in Nature goal.

The Director helps assess and define priority strategies for global corporate advocacy and engagement in WWF initiatives. The Director manages relationships and provides strategic input to ensure corporate partner actions, advocacy efforts, and capital investments are coordinated and mutually reinforcing to support No Plastic in Nature. The Director leads the plastic and materials related global policy agenda for WWF’s Plastic and Material Science team, setting objectives, identifying emerging issues, supporting WWF-US’s engagement with the broader WWF global network, and developing innovative approaches to engage corporate partners on policy solutions to address plastic production, use, waste, and pollution.

In addition to setting strategy, the Director is responsible for execution—convening stakeholders, guiding research and analysis, developing WWF positions and external guidance, and supporting implementation with corporate partners. The Director collaborates with the Policy and Government Affairs team, including the Director of U.S. Plastics Policy and Advocacy, to advance WWF’s US plastic related priorities; and coordinates closely with policy and technical experts across WWF to advance international plastic policy priorities.

Serving as a key strategic resource for WWF’s No Plastic in Nature initiative, the Director ensures that WWF’s corporate partnerships, global policy leadership, and investment strategies work together to deliver measurable conservation impact, including supporting team culture, and mentoring and supervising staff.

Key Responsibilities

• Leads technical policy development and corporate advocacy for these topics in support of WWF’s Plastic & Material Science team by coordinating between corporate engagement, Policy and Government Affairs, and conservation goal teams to ensure an effective, consistent approach. 
• Establishes strategy and workplan for intersection of US Plastic Initiative and business engagement in the Global Treaty for Plastic Pollution through the Business Coalition for a Global Plastic Treaty, oversees execution of the strategy and workplan.
• Leads private sector engagement in global policy efforts on plastic issues and facilitates cross-connection to in support of WWF’s work to influence US national and state policy on plastic, led out of the Policy and Government Affairs team, collaborating effectively to execute work, including:
  • Represents WWF in multi-lateral groups, external events, and convenes stakeholders to support WWF’s policy objectives.
  • Writes case studies, technical policy briefs, research summaries, informational documents, and presentation materials.  Composes reports, briefings, and other documents to summarize findings. 
  • Works with relevant teams to help draft policy content, including legislative or regulatory language, budget justifications, and testimonies, to meet policy objectives.
  • In collaboration with the Policy and Government Affairs team, engages company partners to participate in coordinated outreach and advocacy with federal and state policymakers.. Develops shared positions with corporate partners and helps to direct office outreach strategically, based on relative influence.
  • Identify influential companies to target for engagement in events, consultations, and partnership in coordination with Plastic & Material Science corporate engagement director and PSE leadership and relationship managers -.
• Leverages domestic action for international asks. Helps develop WWF positions on key issues and helps coordinate with WWF’s global network of offices to support international campaigns.
  • Supports efforts with media coverage and op-eds on the issues.
• Manages related projects and relationships, and positions WWF as a trusted partner and expert on packaging and material science sustainability issues.
• Responsible for strategic direction of corporate policy multi-stakeholder initiatives, demonstrates effectiveness of programs to advance WWF’s mission.
• Mobilizes around targeted international policy asks. Supports key policy priorities for WWF’s conservation mission and vision of No Plastic in Nature.
• Supervises technical policy analysis and helps to manage policymaker engagement event planning, in coordination with the Policy and Government Affairs team.
• Manages program officers, interns, or other staff as assigned
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Key Competencies

• Cross-Cultural Communication: Able to operate effectively and with sensitivity in cross-cultural and multi-cultural environments
• Empowering / Delegating: Ability to trust and empower the team, providing growth opportunities and sharing responsibilities
• Big Picture Thinking: Does the candidate show the ability to solve complex problems with a “big picture” perspective and a sensitivity to many moving parts?
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to investigate a problem and find the ideal solution in a timely, efficient manner
• Solution-Oriented, Strategic Collaboration: Works with all parties to understand challenges and opportunities and build support for options aligned with Core Values and WWFs strategic best interests.

Skills and Abilities

• A bachelor’s degree and 10 years of relevant work experience on packaging sustainability, material science, business engagement on environmental impacts, environmental science and policy, or similar is required, advanced degree preferred.
• Knowledge of current best practices for policy and legislation for circularity preferred. Familiarity with solid waste management challenges is a plus.
• Familiarity with Lifecycle Assessment and/or other decision-making tools for business decisions on sustainability is a plus, as is experience working with environmental trade-offs and uncertainty in decision making.
• Excellent communications and project management skills required.
• Proven ability to manage teams' functions and staff growth and development to expand beyond deliverables.
• Intellectual curiosity and well-developed systems thinking, interpretive, and critical thinking skills.
• Proactive problem-solving and ability to build consensus and strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, are obligatory. Ability to present technical topics to non-experts strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite required.
• Fluency in English is required; international experience and additional language skills are a plus.
• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.
• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:
  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

Additional Information

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.  

Relocation is not provided for this position.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.