Strategy Manager, Foodscapes & Markets

What We Can Achieve Together: This role will serve as an important nexus between two of The Nature Conservancy’s Global teams: NatureVest and Global Regenerative Foodscapes. NatureVest is the impact investment unit of The Nature Conservancy. NatureVest’s vision is a world where financial markets value and integrate natural capital into business and investment decisions as part of creating a sustainable, equitable and more efficient economy. The Financial Advisory (FA) Team within NatureVest provides finance and market expertise to TNC teams identifying innovative sources of value for nature, including consulting, business model innovation, and finance project development services. NatureVest is part of TNC’s Impact Finance and Markets (IFM) Division, which also includes TNC’s Corporate Engagement and Carbon Markets teams. The Nature Conservancy’s Global Regenerative Foodscapes Strategy focuses on developing a wide portfolio of Foodscapes that demonstrate how a transition in food production within a landscape can create a restoration economy for climate, nature and people. Foodscapes are distinct geographic areas where healthy land, freshwater and ocean ecosystems coincide with critical food production systems. TNC is planning to develop a portfolio of 10-12 regional Foodscapes that serve as “living laboratories” for how a regenerative transition can take place. As both a member of the NatureVest team and an embedded markets lead within the Foodscapes Strategy, this role will have unique opportunity to set the course for market-driven change in these critical ecosystems.

We’re Looking for You: As Strategy Manager, Foodscapes & Markets, you will be responsible for supporting portfolio Foodscapes in designing, implementing and evaluating the markets and finance strategy for a Foodscape’s wider theory of change. These strategies are sequences of market-based projects that, taken together, seek to mobilize investment in Foodscapes and transform the behaviours, incentives, and practices of market players to meet the conservation objectives of the Foodscape and support TNC’s 2030 goals. As part of this mandate, you will:

• Develop a portfolio of Foodscapes’ market strategies in collaboration with IFM and Global Foodscapes colleagues.
• Lead analyses of relevant markets within priority Foodscapes to map value-chain players and derive insights into market failures and opportunities.
• Identify, scope, and support the development of business models, financial innovations, or supply chain partnerships that advance the market strategy for a given Foodscape.
• Advise on project design and delivery.
• Collaborate with other IFM teams, especially Corporate Engagement and NatureVest’s Impact Investment Team, to support strategy design and delivery.
• Be a ‘dot connector’ to identify shared approaches or opportunities between the NatureVest team and the global Foodscapes Strategy.

This position will report to the NatureVest team, with a dotted line to the Foodscapes Impact Delivery Lead, and you may supervise staff. This is a 2-year, term-limited position, with opportunities for extension based on performance and funding availability. This position could be based in any country where TNC has a registered office.

Responsibilities & Scope:

• Support Regional Foodscapes in Development of Place-Based Market Strategies

• Lead the market strategy design process for priority Foodscape teams.
• Provide consulting and advisory support to Foodscapes teams on business and financial matters including value creation, cost modeling, market analysis, business model design, and supply chain partnerships.
• Develop and implement frameworks, tools, and processes that support regional teams in identifying, scoping, evaluating and prioritising market interventions to drive progress toward TNC’s 2030 goals.
• Support teams’ capital mobilization goals by identifying or developing early-stage investable opportunities. This includes conducting diligence on business/investment strategies, running initial validation of financial viability, and identifying internal or external partners to develop technical business cases, fundraising plans, or deal structures.
• Persuasively communicate complex finance and market concepts to internal and external stakeholders with varying backgrounds, including TNC leaders, regional and country staff, local communities and external experts.

• Contribute to building and maintaining a pipeline of market-based projects for Foodscapes in support of key conservation priorities.
• Scope opportunities to scale validated solutions within existing Foodscapes to other geographies or landscape-scale initiatives.
• Provide capacity-building support with the global program, country programs, and partners to improve their ability to design and execute market strategies, including through capture and dissemination of best practices, tools, and case studies.

• Travel and work flexible hours, as needed.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree and 7 years’ experience in a private sector environment, such as management consulting, investment banking, or agrifood sector, or with a leading conservation organization or government entity, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working with agribusiness, producers, or local agriculture communities.
• Experience developing complex projects and strategic initiatives in an unstructured environment.
• Experience leading and managing large scale projects, including working with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven experience developing business plans or business models, and creating corresponding financial models to assess performance and viability.
• Experience communicating and presenting technical work to various audiences.

Desired Qualifications:

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet time-sensitive deadlines.
• Outstanding analytical and project management capabilities.
• Deep knowledge of sustainable and regenerative agriculture, food systems, and agriculture-related conservation issues.
• Demonstrated experience working with smallholder production systems.
• Past experience with market intelligence or analysis.
• Demonstrated experience with formalized strategy development processes or group facilitation.
• Multi-lingual skills and/or multi-cultural experience appreciated.
• International work experience desirable.

Salary Information: This position may be based in any country where TNC has an established entity, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times. For U.S. based applicants only, the starting pay range for this position is generally within the range of $105,000–$140,000 for annual base salary and is based on location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. For all other applicants, pay ranges will be in local currency, the pay range will be based on the local labour market, and not tied to the above pay range. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment and used to determine your actual pay range. Additionally, for all applicants, actual pay will fall within a range based on a variety of factors including, for example, the candidate’s qualifications, specific skills, and experience.

Who We Are: One goal is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that all our colleagues around the globe feel a sense of belonging and that their unique contributions to our mission are valued. In addition to the requirements in our job postings, we recognise that people come with talent and experiences outside of a job and consider each applicant’s unique experience. Please apply.