Senior Director, Ethics and Compliance

The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. We work throughout the Americas towards a future where birds thrive because Audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. Audubon has more than 700 staff working across the hemisphere and more than 1.5 million active supporters.

North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and more than 500 bird species are at risk of extinction across Latin America and the Caribbean. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, and they tell us that birds – and our planet – are in crisis. Together as one Audubon, we are working to alter the course of climate change and habitat loss, leading to healthier bird populations and reversing current trends in biodiversity loss. We do this by implementing on-the-ground conservation, partnering with local communities, influencing public and corporate policy, and building community.

Audubon is committed to a culture of workplace excellence, where our talented and diverse staff are deeply engaged with a strong sense of belonging. The birds Audubon pledges to protect differ in color, size, behavior, geographical preference, and countless other ways. By honoring and celebrating the equally remarkable diversity of the human species, Audubon brings new creativity, effectiveness, and leadership to our work throughout the hemisphere.

The Senior Director, Ethics and Compliance is responsible for leading a best-in-class ethics and compliance program at the National Audubon Society (NAS). The role will be responsible for all elements of the risk-based program, guided by the US Sentencing Guidelines and other standards for effective compliance programs. This position is expected to be a champion and leader in NAS’s Values, Flight Plan, and related policies and procedures. The Senior Director will report to the General Counsel with access to the Board Audit, Risk, and Ethics Committee. The Senior Director will also work closely with People & Culture, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Finance, and Senior Management.

This is a hybrid position if the candidate is in New York, NY, or Washington, DC. Remote throughout the US.

Compensation:

Salary range based on geo-differentials:

• $150,000-$175,000/year = National
• $165,000-$185,000/year = Alaska, CA (not San Francisco), Connecticut, D.C., Chicago, Oyster Bay, NY
• $185,000-$205,000/year = NYC, San Francisco, Seattle

• Training and Content
  
  • Develop, pilot, deliver and measure training to build staff awareness of ethics and compliance expectations, processes, and procedures.
  • Create and administer an outreach program (Ambassador program).
  • Lead in the creation of high quality technical and professional deliverables, program documents, and reports.
  • Oversee the development of Ethics & Compliance content on the intranet, shared web sites, and awareness messaging.
• Policies and Procedures
  
  • Lead the maintenance and development of a Code of Conduct, and enterprise policies, and support other teams to support development of supporting procedures, manuals, and guidance. Maintain staff-accessible content.
  • Assist in managing communications regarding enterprise policy changes, partnering with Communications and People and Culture.
  • Assess risk, execute, and optimize controls (i.e., third party screening, conflicts of interest, and gifts, entertainment, and hospitality).
• Investigations and Compliance Tracking
  
  • Accurately triage and determine response for concerns reported by employees.
  • Plan and lead effective relevant internal investigations of violations of law or enterprise policies.
  • Provide advice to People & Culture for workplace/personnel investigations as needed
  • Oversee development of a new confidential online complaint reporting platform.
  • Monitor a complaint and reporting system, assess complaints and coordinate response by the appropriate department.
  • Create and implement processes for monitoring and reporting to the Audit, Risk, & Ethics Committee of the Board all investigative activities (i.e., vetting, gifts, conflicts registration)
  • Manage the files and records of investigations.
• Risk Assessment
  
  • Support the General Counsel in conducting enterprise risk assessments.
  • Track and monitor risk mitigations, for reporting to management and the Board.
• Program Delivery and Professional Development
  
  • Actively participate and occasionally contribute to conference programs with panels, poster sessions, papers, and presentations in professional organizations.
  • Deepen the technical expertise in corporate ethics and compliance.
  • Communicate professionally with staff across the organization and other departments as necessary.
  • Apply technical expertise as required and serve as a reliable subject matter expert on assigned topics.
  • Seek opportunities to share knowledge and mentor junior staff to impart professional skills to others.
  • Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding NAS funds, resources, and conduct, as well as adhere to our Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Other job-related duties as assigned.

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience, required. Relevant advanced degree or coursework (i.e., JD, LLC, LLM, MBA, MS, MA) preferred. Other Auditing, Accounting, Contracting, Procurement, or Investigative certification a plus. Enhancing credentials such as Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), or Leadership Professional in Ethics & Compliance (LPEC) a plus.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in Ethics and Compliance or related field required, including 3 year years in leadership. Additional experience preferred. An equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered.
• Experience building or implementing an ethics and compliance program.
• Experience in developing and/or conducting enhanced trainings required.
• Experience in drafting, editing, publishing, interpreting, or enforcing policies, procedures, and internal templates required.
• Proficient with MS Office, especially PowerPoint and Excel; Power BI preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to successfully communicate at all levels and cultures across an organization.
• Advanced verbal and written communications skills to effectively communicate in a clear and concise manner to executives, auditors, lawyers, and non-lawyers.
• Must have excellent English oral and written language skills. Spanish a plus.
• Ability to travel up to 20%, both domestically and internationally.
• Moderate knowledge of analytical techniques for investigations and monitoring of program operations.
• Strong ability to handle complex and risky technical, compliance issues, problems, or investigations.
• Possesses up-to-date knowledge of existing compliance requirements relevant to NAS business (non profit, US federal funding requirements, conservation), and best-practice Ethics & Compliance program practices.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by NAS health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Ability to resist pressure to compromise organizational values even if pressured to do so.
• Proven track record of demonstrating integrity, even when inconvenient.
• Ability to work as a team member and collaborate with others within the department and in other functional groups.
• Organization skills, attention to detail, and ability to handle fast-paced multi-tasking environment with time-sensitive workloads.
• Ability to think outside the box, while staying within legal and ethical lines.

The National Audubon Society is a federal contractor and an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to a policy of nondiscrimination, inclusion and equal opportunity and actively seek a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

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