About Us

Title:                          Program Fellow / Andes-Amazon Initiative 

Reports to:                  Program Director   

Location:                     Palo Alto, CA

 

Established in September 2000, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation seeks to advance environmental conservation, scientific research, and patient care. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is among the 10 largest foundations in the U.S. and one of the largest private funders of environmental conservation and science in the world. 

The Foundation is devoted to the inspirational vision articulated by our founders: “creating positive outcomes for future generations.” This vision guides our mission: to achieve significant, lasting, and measurable results in environmental conservation, science, and patient care—globally and in the San Francisco Bay Area. A set of core values—impact, integrity, disciplined approach, and collaboration—directs our work.

The Foundation carries out its work through the following frameworks:

Programs:  The enduring management unit designed to achieve transformational change in a selected field of interest through a portfolio of integrated interventions (initiatives, commitments, grants, and other strategic actions).   

Initiatives.  Initiatives are built around well-developed strategies for concentrated investments, focused on the long-term and achieving significant impact. Initiatives are characterized by a portfolio approach to grantmaking, and other engagements of the Foundation, to pursue ambitious, large-scale outcomes. 

Program grants. The Foundation funds experimentation, focused innovation, and agile response to time-sensitive, high-impact opportunities in its areas of focus.   

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 

• Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA
• Over $5 billion in assets
• Annual Foundation budget of ~$250 million
• ~80 employees
• Three program areas

• Environmental Conservation
• Science
• Patient Care
• A San Francisco Bay Area Portfolio that focuses on these same issues locally

For more information, please visit www.moore.org.

Our goal is to change the ways in which people use terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal marine ecosystems to conserve critical ecological systems and functions, while allowing sustainable use.

The Andes-Amazon Initiative’s goal is to conserve the Amazonian forests, which provide habitat for biodiversity and regulate the regional climate cycle. To achieve this goal, the Foundation supports work that addresses the following elements:

• Resilient protected areas and protected area systems,
• The transformation of frontier economies, and
• Basin-wide enabling conditions for conservation.

The role of a healthy Amazonian forest is particularly significant for global climate change mitigation as well as regional hydrological function that support human livelihoods.  During the last decade, the Foundation invested over $200 million in a protected area approach to conserving forest cover and in associated supporting strategies. This approach has achieved the creation and improved management of approximately 150 million hectares, or around 29% of the original forest cover of the Amazon. We recognize that this approach is necessary but not sufficient to secure additional forest cover in the Amazon, and for this reason we are also working on addressing the drivers of deforestation to reduce external threats and to explore options for sustainable development across the Amazon basin.

The Initiative is currently active in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The initiative team also makes a small number of grants outside of these areas to support basin-wide research and new approaches that will benefit its target geographies.

For more information, about the Initiative, please see:

http://www.moore.org/aai-strategies.aspx 

The Program Fellow position will be limited to a two-year term.

The Program Fellow will:

• Contribute to the implementation of an investigation plan to develop a new initiative on sustainable agriculture in the Environmental Conservation Program. This plan will build on the work carried out in the AAI and on the assessment of new opportunities with global reach. The investigations will focus on identifying interventions to reduce the impact of agricultural commodities across natural habitats in South America, with a focus on Brazil and Argentina, through research, data analysis and synthesis, and working with Foundation staff and external experts.  (80% time effort)

• Convene, facilitate and participate in meetings to gather and disseminate knowledge on sustainable agriculture issues with a focus on beef and soy. (20% effort)

The Program Fellow will:

• Contribute to development of the Environmental Conservation Program’s overall strategic framework

• Provide solid knowledge of the field and key emerging trends

• Manage external relationships with grantees and other key partners in support of the Environmental Conservation Program goals

• Coordinate with internal staff to complete grant-making and monitoring processes

• Participate in periodic presentations on Program strategy and progress to the Board, senior management, and other Foundation staff

• Be an effective contributor on a variety of Program- and Foundation-wide issues beyond the Initiative as required

The candidate will have:  

• A Master’s or Doctorate degree in Agricultural Economics, Natural Resource Economics, or a closely related field.
   
• A background in sustainable agriculture (5-7 years) in the Amazon, Cerrado or Chaco regions, with work experience in a non-governmental organization, corporation, government, or applied academic field.  Experience with cattle and soy is desired.

• Demonstrated leadership experience.

• A record of successfully promoting and working on complex partnership or multi-stakeholder projects to achieve tangible outcomes.

• Experience in conducting research and data analysis (especially value chain analysis).

The ideal candidate also will have:

• A sophisticated understanding of the economics of agricultural commodities that originate in the region and supply the global market. 

• Demonstrated passion for making improvements in sustainable use in the South America and beyond. 

• Demonstrated strategic planning skills, with ability to identify and rigorously evaluate new opportunities.

• Strong project management skills, with demonstrated ability to manage large projects and budgets, set realistic goals and objectives, and balance multiple priorities.
   
• Demonstrated strong teamwork and interpersonal skills, with ability to develop productive relationships with colleagues, grantees, stakeholders, and other. Collegial and energetic working style.

• Demonstrated comfort with and experience in public speaking and meeting organization/facilitation. 

• Demonstrated ability and openness to quickly adapt and adjust strategy and approach to changing conditions 

• Strong written and oral communication skills in English.  Fluency in Spanish and/or Portuguese preferred, but not required.

• Strong business acumen and experience working with the private sector.

• Personal motivation to support the Foundation mission and goals.

• Ability and interest in traveling to local and out-of-town grantee meetings, site visits, and national/international conferences.

Compensation includes a competitive base salary and an excellent package of health, retirement savings and other benefits.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume by email to: jobs@moore.org 

Please include ECP Program Fellow in the subject line.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.  All correspondence will remain confidential.