Montana State Director

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) seeks its next Montana State Director to lead the Montana Business Unit (BU) and serve as a partner with colleagues in TNC's Western US and Canada Division as we execute on our ambitious conservation goals.

With about 40 staff across the state, an operating budget of approximately $10M, an 18-member volunteer board, and a strong conservation agenda in place, this role offers a unique opportunity to help shape a resilient future for Montana, western North America, and the globe.

The Montana State Director functions as the visionary leader, senior manager, and principal ambassador for a mid‑size, complex BU. The Montana State Director will lead an effective and seasoned team creating durable conservation outcomes in some of Montana's most critical grasslands, forests and sagebrush steppe regions. The Montana Chapter achieves large‑scale land and water protection and management outcomes, ecologically‑focused stewardship, and common‑sense policy outcomes through effective partnerships with community‑led organizations, private landowners, NGOs, and Tribal, Federal, State and Local agencies.

The State Director is accountable for the BU's success in implementing TNC's conservation approach, producing measurable conservation results and maintaining organizational values. They ensure outcomes are achieved in priority areas that fall within the BU's responsibilities, and contribute intellectual, financial, and/or human resources to the formulation and execution of priority cross‑boundary efforts.

The State Director supports alignment of activities by securing, coordinating, and configuring resources, capacity, and programs to address the most critical organization‑wide projects, threats and strategies. They collaborate on the procurement and application of resources to address the conservation priorities established by TNC, both in their ecoregions or BU and beyond their span of authority. They serve as the primary local spokesperson for TNC to internal and external audiences (including staff, volunteers, the Board of Trustees, public and private donors, government agencies and officials, community leaders and other partners) and cultivate those audiences to support and promote TNC's mission and vision.

The Montana State Director oversees leaders of conservation, external affairs, fundraising, and finance for the BU and partners with Division‑wide leaders of marketing/communications, finance, conservation, and HR. Leadership responsibilities include approving budgets, setting priorities that dictate private and public fundraising goals, supporting philanthropy, resources and external affairs staff in cultivating and soliciting donors (private, bilateral and multilateral government) to meet fundraising goals.

They are responsible for a significant portion of the BU's direct fundraising.

In addition to leading and managing the Montana BU, the Montana State Director serves on the Leadership Team for the Western US & Canada Division. The Division's current priorities include cross‑boundary, system‑scale initiatives in Indigenous‑led Conservation, major river restoration, forest, grassland and sagebrush steppe health, climate and renewable energy, and federal policy and public lands. The Montana State Director will lead fundraising efforts and deploy staff to support these Division‑level initiatives and play a leadership role in local‑to‑global fundraising for The Nature Conservancy.

The Montana State Director reports to the Western US and Canada Division Director and works closely with the local Trustees.

Are you looking for work you can believe in? At TNC we strive to embody a philosophy of “Work that You Can Believe in” where you can feel like you are helping to address the most pressing environmental issues and are making a difference every day.

The successful candidate will demonstrate relationship‑building excellence by immediately engaging with trustees, staff, donors, and key leaders across sectors—including tribal business councils, NGOs, elected officials, business leaders, artists, and more—to build trust, gather…