Hire Heroes USA Featured Employer: The Nature Conservancy

Hire Heroes USA and The Nature Conservancy have had a strong employment partnership since 2014. It is evident that The Nature Conservancy values the skills and attributes that veterans and military spouses bring to the table with their continued military recruitment efforts and the constant support they provide their military family. Exploring careers with this great organization would be beneficial for all transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to make a positive impact around the world in more than 72 countries and all 50 United States. Founded in 1951, the organization is governed as a single, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization by a worldwide, volunteer Board of Directors and is managed from its worldwide office in Arlington, Virginia USA. As a private non-profit, their mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. One of their core values is “commitment to diversity”.

Since its inception, The Nature Conservancy has always valued its partnerships with the military. These very important and numerous relationships include a variety of examples such as:

Beginning in 1994, the Conservancy joined forces with the U.S. Army to protect the federally endangered black-capped vireos and golden-cheeked warblers on and around Fort Hood, Texas;

Since 2000, Conservancy staff have been collaborating with one of the largest National Guard installations in the US, Camp Shelby, located just outside Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This partnership yields field surveys for rare species and communities, evaluation of habitat quality and implementation of research and monitoring projects to improve management strategies for rare, threatened and endangered species;

Most recently, in 2017, staff from The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve have worked with a team of scientists led by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic and sponsored by U.S. Fleet Forces Command to plan and implement the capture and satellite tagging of wintering harbor seals on the seaside of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

The Conservancy has always recognized that their core values are similar to those of the armed forces and that’s why they believe veterans have many of the competencies and skills they seek.

Their Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative officially launched in September 2015 and by October 2016 the organization introduced the Veterans In Nature’s Service (VINS) Employee Resource Group. This group is open to all employees who are located across the globe and is dedicated to promoting learning, education and awareness about employees, individuals and their family members who are veterans. Their most important goal is to become a welcoming and veteran friendly employer of choice.

To demonstrate their commitment, some of the initiatives they have already implemented are:

Introduced the “FOXHOLE” – an internal storytelling outlet where employees who are veterans are highlighted on a regular basis so their peers can learn about how we can become more veteran friendly.
Recruiting at veteran specific job fairs such as “Hiring Our Hero’s Job Fair in Schofield Barracks, HI in October 2017.
Partnering with other veteran organizations to host retreats at TNC properties or preserves where veterans can fully experience nature.
Established a task force to ensure that all SOPs are veteran friendly.

This next year they hope to:

Establish a pilot Community Outreach Initiative focused on veteran organizations.
Create a recruiting toolkit to educate hiring managers on how to recognize a veteran’s transferable skills and essentially promote a veteran friendly culture.
Host a webinar for all employees to provide PTSD Awareness and dispel any myths that exist in the workplace.

If you are interested in The Nature Conservancy we encourage you to do some more research. Go to www.nature.org to find out more about this organization. And while you’re there, visit their careers page.