Position: LEAD, PROGRAMS – STRATEGY

Grade: 4

Salary Range: $76,860 – 88,685

*Senior Lead salary range: $94,597 – 100,509

About Delta

Delta Institute is a Midwest-focused, environmental nonprofit whose mission is to collaborate with communities to solve complex environmental challenges. Our work is organized into distinct initiatives that move our mission forward, clearly define our work, and articulate impact. The programs functional hive strives to successfully address the challenges and creatively assist in sustainable solutions. The program hive staff focuses on the implementation of projects in Delta’s three initiative areas: Resilient Agriculture, Nature-Based Climate Solutions, and Sustainability & Support Services.

To achieve our vision of a thriving region, we partner with communities, governmental organizations and agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and universities throughout the Great Lakes and Midwest. We are multi-disciplinary systems thinkers. We understand that the issues around food, water, air, energy, and waste are all connected. Further, we have multiple leadership-level projects that will be incepted in the year ahead. Now is an exciting time to join us, so that together we positively advance key outcomes in the Midwest.

At Delta we consider the follow seven characteristics core competencies. They define who we are as individuals and also our work as an organization:

• Adaptive
• Cooperative
• Equitable
• Passionate
• Pragmatic
• Transparent
• Tenacious

Functional Hive – Programs

All Midwest communities and landscapes thrive through an integrated approach to environmental, economic, and social challenges. Our work is organized into distinct initiatives that move our mission forward, clearly define our work, and articulate impact. The programs functional hive strives to successfully address the challenges and creatively assist in sustainable solutions. More information about our programmatic initiatives is included as an appendix. Please refer to our website for a list of current and previously completed projects: https://delta-institute.org/projects-roster/.

Core Skillset

A Lead manages and provides leadership to a team delivering projects in one initiative, multiple projects, multiple administrative or organizational development functions or manages the day-to-day implementation of multiple programs for an affiliate of the Delta Institute. Leads are capable of key leadership roles representing the organization, developing new programs, and obtaining funding and other resources for the work within their assigned responsibilities.

Other core skillset attributes are:

• Work in a timely and collaborative manner on multiple deliverables with internal and external stakeholders
• Lead specific organizational initiatives
• Developing new initiative concepts that advance Delta and its mission
• Manage multiple aspects of Delta’s work portfolio
• Have strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills with deep experience in selling concepts and proposals
• Have an established network of partners, collaborators, and funding relationships
• Have advanced knowledge of environmental and economic issues not only in the Midwest, but nationally and globally

Lead, Programs – Strategy

Position Specifics

A Lead provides leadership and vison to Delta’s strategic initiatives with a focus on developing concepts and funding strategies to meet our impact objectives. Leads provide deep technical, analytical and project development leadership across Delta’s strategic priority areas. A Lead manages ideation, concepting, proposal development along with coordinated related research and relationship management in partnership with other Programs hive staff and leadership. In this role, a Lead also collaborates with project teams to implement tasks as assigned. They raise funds for implementing project work that creates impact on Delta’s strategic priority areas.

A Lead will bring strong technical skills, and real world topic experience, to the team including an aptitude for communication, networking and collaboration. A Lead will continue to build expertise in the team’s focus areas. A Lead should be adept at tackling difficult environmental and social problems with often unclear paths to success, or take iterative approaches with a long-term goal of seeking solutions to larger social and environmental issues. A Lead will also need to be comfortable working by themselves, among multiple types of personalities, on tight deadlines, in ambiguous and circuitous circumstances, and have an overall positive outlook on the change that happens in the world.

As part of a truly multidisciplinary organization, a Lead will also interface with and provide support for other projects that require unique skills and knowledge; and will have the ability to translate complex ideas to a variety of audiences both internally and externally.

What you’ll be doing:

• Work across Delta’s three strategic programmatic initiatives to create concepts that move strategic impact forward.
• Own and monitor the evaluation and assessment of Delta’s strategic metrics and processes.
• Collaborate with other Program Leads to further develop initiatives by engaging with external partners and funders in coordination with the Chief Development Officer and CEO.
• Identify and cultivate key partners, collaborators and funders including municipal and governmental agency, non-governmental and community, and private sector partners to identify development, implementation, and impact opportunities.
• Lead program ideation, concepting, pre-development, funding identification, and proposal development to support all program staff providing consistent and expanding project work, while meeting program metrics as identified in the Delta Institute strategic plan.
• Collaborate with staff to develop budgets and work plans for project and program proposals, and identify funding sources and scenarios for leverage.
• Collaborate with Specialists and other programmatic staff on multiple projects to ensure high-quality, on-time, and on-budget deliverables
• Assist with tasks as assigned on projects as well as coordinate with staff, interns, and partners to plan and execute Program strategy.
• Collaborate with other Leads and project captains in problem-solving
• Assist in the creation of decision support tools for a variety of stakeholders.
• Collaborate on team planning and implementation meetings
• Where project structures require it, take a hands-on approach by developing work plans with tasks, timeframes, milestones, resources, and dependencies; or, when required, a hands-off approach by providing project teams with the resources they need to execute high-quality project deliverables
• Develop and maintain key professional affiliations in support of organizational and professional development goals
• Build networks and maintain relationships with academic, scientific, business, governmental and other partners; identify program partners and collaborate across boundaries to meet common objectives
• Identify and understand the primary users of products, services, and deliverables
• Maintain effective communication with clients and stakeholders managing and meeting project expectations
• Be adaptable in occasional ambiguity; and be willing to go the extra mile to get the job done

What you’ll have:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in planning, program administration, engineering, sustainability, environmental science, or related field with Master’s degree desirable or equivalent life and work experience (7-10 years of relevant experience);
• Proven track record of engaging foundations, government agencies and businesses
• Strategic and excellent organizational skills, be a self-starter and motivated and enjoy working in a team environment
• Ability to apply systems thinking to complex environmental issues
• Demonstrated success developing and evaluating program models, and selecting and successfully operationalizing innovative programs
• Proficient in using technology as a management reporting tool and experience working with information technology staff to develop and implement program evaluation systems
• Ability to organize, analyze and visualize data
• Proficient in analyzing data and technical documents to produce deliverables
• Strong project management skills managing complex, multi-faceted projects resulting in measurable successes and program growth
• Experience in managing and motivating people to meet high performance standards
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Be able to work in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple tasks and deadlines, and manage work in sometimes ambiguous situations

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Continually required to sit
• Continually required to utilize hand and finger dexterity
• Continually required to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl
• Continually required to talk or hear
• While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually moderate
• The employee must occasionally lift and /or move up to 10 pounds

Delta offers its employees a competitive salary with a robust benefits package that includes generous paid time off, 401k, and medical, dental & vision insurance. Delta is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Please email application packet (one PDF) that includes the following:

• cover letter 
• resume  

All as one PDF to: careers@delta-institute.org  

Subject line: Lead, Programs – Strategy

Application submission due date: November 1, 2024

No phone calls, please.

Delta Institute’s Strategic Initiatives Summary

Through our work, Delta Institute benefits more than five million Midwesterners by transitioning one million acres to conservation-focused practices, and by improving water quality and reducing flooding by capturing 100 million stormwater gallons. By 2025 we will achieve these goals through our agriculture, climate, water, and community development projects.

Delta currently organizes its work into three initiatives to meet our mission of collaborating with communities to solve complex environmental challenges:

Strategic Initiative: Nature-Based Climate Solutions

Impact Statement: By 2025, Delta will have assisted municipalities in integrating natural and green infrastructure – improving the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and strengthening communities – reducing stormwater impacts by 100 million gallons and leveraging at least $100 million in investment.

Theory of Change: By standardizing green infrastructure, creating innovative financing mechanisms for municipalities, and using natural solutions to water management, Delta will help our community partners attain improved water quality, canopy cover, and address equity issues through the quality-of-life-improvements that healthier water and trees bring.

Goal 1: Increase adoption and integration of green infrastructure.

Objective 1: Create standards and educational products to increase efficiency and effectiveness of implementation activities; scale with dedicated marketing and communications.

Objective 2: Coordinate and scale implementation-focused projects across the region, with an emphasis on resource-limited communities.

Goal 2: Create an integrated administration program to scale up implementation of green infrastructure.

Objective 1: Expand and formalize Delta’s role in catalyzing and scaling up private investment and insurance markets to invest in GI.

Objective 2: Make it more streamlines for municipalities to access carbon and water markets.

Strategic Initiative: Resilient Agriculture

Impact Statement: By 2025, Delta will directly support 1,000 farmers as they transition to sustainable and regenerative practices, thus improving the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and strengthening a farmer’s bottom line; 1M Midwestern acres will successfully transition.

Theory of Change: Delta is expanding conservation practices to farms—both independent and commodity—throughout the Midwest via practical, feasible implementation that are grounded in science and are proven to sequester carbon while mitigating financial risk to farmers.

Goal 1: Standardize soil health testing and increase its use as a metric for farm management

Objective 1: Create soil testing standard and integrate into normal farm planning.

Objective 2: Integrate soil health into rural land appraisal systems.

Objective 3: Integrate soil health as part of agricultural leases.

Goal 2: Create an integrated administration program to scale up implementation of conservation practices.

Objective 1: Take our watershed-based agricultural work and create a standard implementation methodology.

Objective 2: Formalize Delta’s role as a Greenhouse Gas market conduit.

Objective 3: Align and Leverage Agriculture Value Chain and Demand Channels.

Strategic Initiative: Sustainability and Support Services

Delta Institute prides itself on being responsive to the needs of its partners and responding to what they define as being the most important goal, activity, project, or taking a new approach to improving their local environmental and economic outcomes.

Our Sustainability and Support Services are designed to respond to invitations to participate in community-led plans, which include a wide array of sectors in which Delta Institute has sizable experience. We forecast that by 2025, Delta Institute will work with more than 250 partner communities while securing $40 million in external investment and creating 100 practical tools, resources, strategies, and municipal-, county-, and state-level plans.

Our partners span the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and together we address core needs that span:

Resiliency and Community Planning

Agency Support and Capacity Assistance

Brownfields and Coal Plant Redevelopment

Deconstruction and Waste Reduction Business

Sustainability Planning & Certification Assistance

Where we work, and how we operate

Our work takes us to population centers like Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit; to mid-sized cities such as Gary and South Bend, Indiana; to Great Lakes coastal towns like Michigan City, Indiana and Muskegon, Michigan; and to rural communities and watersheds with tens of thousands of acres of farmland and waterways across our region. It’s quite likely that you—or someone you know—lives, works, or passes through a community that Delta Institute has helped since our founding in 1998. Delta Institute is proud to serve as the EPA’s Environmental Finance Center for Water Infrastructure for the next five years, which means that we may be supporting a community near you right now. We are a trusted 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar, a recognition received by fewer than 1% of all 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the United States.

Acting now is not only a pressing climate change issue, but also an issue of equity and environmental justice.