The Nature Conservancy is implementing a number of initiatives to align agricultural production and nature conservation in Iconic Places (IP) in South America. These initiatives comprise actions both above and at ground level. For example, through a new phase of the Conservation and Markets Initiative (CMI) project, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, we seek to eliminate the loss and degradation of forests and other natural habitat that result from beef and soy originating from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, and the Gran Chaco region of Argentina and Paraguay. In the Gran Chaco, work is with sectoral organizations and companies to catalyse a systemic, industry-wide shift towards verified Deforestation/Conversion Free (DCF) beef and soy through traceability of the value chain, Innovative Finance solutions and international Policies on deforestation and conversion free supply chains. Other suite of efforts occurs at ground level, to ensure that farmers, ranchers and other people implement regenerative practices that are essential to restore the ecosystem services, ie. preserve soil condition, and are linked to climate resiliency, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity preservation, and the enhance of livelihoods of rural communities with specific considerations to gender and inclusion components.

The Communications Specialist will work across all Gran Chaco projects -including those grouped in the Gran Chaco Foodscape, a concept that addresses the development of regenerative models around cattle ranching and non-timber forest products-, and will play a key role in capturing synergies from both on the ground and above the ground agendas, helping disseminate results to a wider audience. (international, regional and local audiences).

This position will oversee and coordinate all the communications efforts for the Gran Chaco Iconic Place, aligning messaging with TNC’s conservation strategies of the Shared Conservation Agenda: “Provide Food and water Sustainably”, “Protect Ocean, Land and Fresh Water”, and “Tackle Climate Change”, as fit. This position develops, implements and manages communication and media strategies that facilitate comprehension, adoption and advancement of the organization’s goals and objectives for the Gran Chaco. He/she will engage with external and internal audiences, also across TNC in Latin America and globally, generating appropriate strategy, plans and materials to reach out to the private sector, governments at different levels, influencers, and key decision makers.

This position reports to the Communication Specialist of TNC Argentina, with close coordination with TNC Argentina’s Iconic Place Lead , the Zero Conversion Commodity (CMI) Lead and the Functional Landscapes Lead. Given TNC´s highly matrixed structure, the position will also work in close collaboration with the Communication Coordinator for Agriculture (Brazil), the broader Argentina Conservation team and the Latin America Marketing Director to align and deploy messages that are both globally relevant and locally appropriate. The candidate will work with home-office modality in Argentina. Several trips into the Gran Chaco territory will undoubtedly happen throughout each calendar year.

The Gran Chaco Communications Specialist is responsible for developing and implementing focused communication and media strategies to drive and constructively contribute to TNC´s systemic approach to scale and transform conservation and sustainable development in the region and across the conservation strategy actions. Specifically, they will:

• Help facilitate on-going communication between all parts of the globally dispersed marketing division, internal and external stakeholders and identifies communication and media needs and opportunities.
• Unfold the CMI communications plan locally, capturing the synergies with the Gran Chaco Iconic Place and local conservations’ strategies, setting goals, actions/tactics and KPIs to be measured.
• Develop speeches, key messages, talking points, infographics, and short executive level briefings (1-2 pages), among other, as needed, to leverage TNC´s projects and generate greater visibility for the Gran Chaco.
• Actively identify target audiences and cultivate media contacts in the Gran Chaco region and at a national level.
•  Develop and foster relations with key stakeholders and media contacts and manage the dissemination of media information.
• Provide consultation, media training, coaching, and talking points to persons serving as spokesperson(s).
• Manage local communications for projects supporting TNC´s work in the Gran Chaco and its correlated conservation strategies, with greater focus in regenerative agriculture, including crisis management and climate change adaptation.
• Propose new strategy and dissemination channels in coordination with the rest of the Team, locally, regionally, and globally.
• Distill science, finance and economic-based technical analyses into clear messaging that support our conservation mission while appealing to external target audiences and support the creation of campaigns, often business oriented. This may be conducted inhouse or through consultancy/agency work.
• Feed communications opportunities and content up to Global Communications, Providing Food and Water Sustainably, Tackle Climate Change and Protect Oceans, Lands and Water priority teams and into TNC’s distribution channels.
• Coordinate with Marketing to ensure consistent messaging in Argentina and across projects that span multiple strategies and geographies in coordination with the Communication Specialist of Argentina.