Senior Director, Data Engineering and Infrastructure

Position Summary:

In pursuit of Audubon's conservation mission, the Data & Technology team partners with programmatic and business teams across the organization to develop and deploy enterprise data systems and data-driven practices at the scale needed to achieve our ambitious goals.  The Senior Director, Data Engineering and Infrastructure will play a key role in designing, managing, and continuously improving Audubon’s data engineering processes and products, as well as our data architecture tools and systems.  This role is critical to managing and maturing Audubon’s Data & Technology infrastructure and engineering approaches to enable us to best utilize and steward thousands of sources and uses of data across Audubon.

This role will partner with and support programmatic and business teams to identify and address data needs and opportunities through the development of data products, tools and processes that enable us to effectively and efficiently utilize data to advance our mission for hemispheric level bird conservation.  The Senior Director will be directly responsible for executing these activities, and will lead a team of engineers within Audubon Technology operating in close partnership with the other National Audubon Society Data & Technology teams including Data Analytics; Data Strategy and Measurement; and Enterprise GIS.  This role will also collaborate directly with other business teams across Audubon including Marketing and Communications, Development, Finance, Government Affairs, Conservation, Equity Diversity Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB), and others. 

A successful candidate will have comfort and familiarity with a broad range of data engineering tools and methods, as well as strengths in engineering management, project management, change management, and communication among technical and non-technical stakeholders. This position reports to the Vice President of Data and Technology within the Audubon Technology team.

This is a hybrid position based in Audubon’s New York City or Washington, DC offices. We will also consider remote candidates within the United States. 

Interested candidates should attach a cover letter to be considered for this opportunity.

Examples of initiatives that the position will support are:

• Maintain and improve enterprise data architecture to support Audubon’s bird conservation efforts, including tracking and communicating about our impact, supporting the work of Conservation leaders and teams across the hemisphere, and advancing Audubon’s policy, climate, and scientific goals.

• Develop and deploy data engineering and infrastructure solutions to help Audubon grow and deepen engagement with millions of supporters, bird lovers and activists across the hemisphere, online and offline.

• Collaborate with operational teams such as Development, Marketing and Finance to build data capacity and maturity with business data analysts and executive leaders; act as a key strategic partner to identify and act on opportunities to leverage Audubon’s enterprise data infrastructure to efficiently and effectively address critical business needs and opportunities.

Compensation:

Salary range based on geo-differentials:

• $160,926 - $181,041 / year = National

• $181,041 - $203,671 / year = Alaska, CA (not San Francisco), Connecticut, D.C., Chicago, Oyster Bay, NY

• $201,155 - $226,300 / year = NYC (not Oyster Bay), San Francisco, Seattle

Essential Functions

• Serve as a leader within Audubon Technology with primary responsibility for managing and improving data integrations, infrastructure, and processes that maintain alignment and improve data quality and integrity across Audubon’s enterprise data warehouse, business systems, and other internal and external data sources, systems and products.

• Develop and implement flexible and scalable data engineering and infrastructure approaches, tools and frameworks to enable effective and efficient development of data products to address current and emerging cross-functional priorities and needs, with a keen focus on user experience, adoption and change management.

• Provide and manage ongoing data engineering support and data product development in collaboration with operational and programmatic teams across Audubon; Support and collaborate with business data analysts and users across stakeholder teams to advance team level and organizational data maturity.

• Recruit, manage, mentor and develop the Data Engineering team, including staff and contractors, to implement the activities above.

• Proactively manage and facilitate strong, collaborative partnerships among technical teams and non-technical stakeholders across the Audubon network, as well as external partners, vendors and professional networks in the conservation and social impact space.

• Prepare written and oral reports, memos, visualizations, and presentations representing Audubon’s data strategy and data products to executives, leadership teams, technical and non-technical staff, and the public.

• Manage contractors and vendors including software and professional services providers; participate in budget planning and tracking; collaborate with administrative staff and IT department to administer data engineering and infrastructure tools and applications.

• Ensure that data engineering and infrastructure practices adhere to security, privacy, and compliance standards, including data governance policies, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices; Implement and maintain safeguards to protect sensitive information, mitigate risks, and support a culture of data security awareness across the organization.

• Maintains and fosters culture of safety.

• Other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Master’s degree in Data Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, or similar discipline. 10+ years of directly relevant work experience developing and managing data engineering and infrastructure, and 3+ years of leadership experience managing technical teams.  An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

• Experience administering and utilizing modern data infrastructure tools such as cloud data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, etc), data integration and orchestration tools (Fivetran, Airflow, dbt, etc), business intelligence tools (PowerBI, Sigma, etc), CRM systems (Salesforce, Everyaction, etc), ERP systems (such as Workday), and other enterprise data tools (such as Airtable) is required. 

• Applied experience utilizing Python, SQL, and other programming languages and frameworks for data engineering and infrastructure applications is required.  E

• Experience developing and managing custom software for data access, integration, and automation in in Python, .NET, or other similar frameworks is strongly preferred.

• Experience developing and managing data service APIs, including RESTful and GraphQL APIs, for data access, integration, and automation is strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated experience developing and applying technical coordination and project management best practices using tools such as Jira is required.  PMP or other relevant certification preferred.

• Proven success as a data engineering and technology leader.  Strong detail-oriented execution skills, including direct experience as an individual contributor and experience leading teams to move projects from conception to completion.  Demonstrated ability to manage teams of technical practitioners in a workplace environment is required.

• Proven success in leading/sponsoring large data engineering and infrastructure initiatives in matrixed organizations, taking product ideas from concept to design to execution and linking objectives and outcomes to strategic goals.  Experience in defining and implementing data maturity roadmaps to transform how data delivers business value in large federated organization preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to non-technical audiences.

• Excellent collaboration skills, with the ability to understand and apply product needs and requirements from a diverse set of organizational stakeholders, and to communicate effectively with non-technical collaborators.

• The ability to manage and maintain healthy vendor relationships, and the ability to seek and evaluate new high-quality contractors and vendors to supplement internal staff on a project-by-project basis.

• Experience with marketing and engagement technologies and approaches, including omnichannel marketing platforms, social media analytics tools, web analytics solutions, customer data platforms, voter files and other person level data acquisition and targeting tools, policy and advocacy tracking tools, or similar strongly preferred.

• Experience in designing and deploying business intelligence, reporting, decision support and data storytelling tools in conservation or other environmental or social issue spaces preferred.

• Demonstrated experience preparing effective written materials, presentations, and other documentation and communication materials for internal and external audiences required.

• Curiosity to stay on the cusp of software and product trends in non-profits and the greater tech industry.

• Commitment to Audubon’s organizational values of care, collaboration, change, integrity, impact, and innovation.

• Experience fostering inclusive and collaborative work environments is valued.

National Audubon Society Competencies: This role will also be accountable to apply and develop the following competencies.

Building Trust: Take actions that give others confidence in your intentions and see you as a truthful and reliable person who follows through on promises and commitments. 

Coaching: Guide and develop individuals within the organization, nurturing their professional growth and enhancing performance for the future.

Decision Making: Make decisions based on comparative data and input from various sources, incorporating diverse viewpoints and insights for a holistic understanding.

Leading and Facilitating Change: Be effective in guiding, managing, and supporting organizational or systemic transformations, including considering diverse needs and perspectives. 

Strategic Leadership: Demonstrate creative problem-solving skills and articulate strategic vision to help team members and the organization achieve long-term goals. 

EEO Statement

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.

Accessibility Statement

The National Audubon Society endeavors to keep our careers site accessible to any and all users.  If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact Accommodations@audubon.org. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.