The National Geographic Society invests in a diverse, global community of National Geographic Explorers who are leading a new age of exploration in support of our mission: to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world through science, exploration, education, and storytelling. These bold individuals represent more than 140 countries, and their vast array of backgrounds, perspectives, and fields bring us to the far reaches of the globe.

The Science & Innovation team oversees the Society’s funding efforts in science, conservation, and technology, develops and manages major mission programs, and establishes programmatic partnerships with like-minded non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Reporting to the Vice President, Programs, the Coordinator will serve on the Science and Innovation division’s Perpetual Planet Expeditions (PPE) team to provide critical and tactical support that contributes to the well-functioning of the program including administrative and organizational support, project and team management support, budget coordination, stakeholder engagement, convenings and meeting support, and data metrics and tracking. The Coordinator’s contributions are essential components to implementing National Geographic’s bold and impactful Explorer-led programs. Perpetual Planet Expeditions is one of the largest programs at the Society that supports expeditions to explore the planet’s most critical environments. By harnessing world-renowned scientific expertise and cutting-edge technology that reveal new insights about the systems that are vital to life on Earth, these expeditions help scientists, decision-makers, and local communities plan for and find solutions to the impacts of climate and environmental change while illuminating the wonder of our world through impactful storytelling.

The successful candidate will be a versatile and motivated self-starter with the ability to perform in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment both independently and in collaboration with the team.

• Support all aspects of in-person and virtual meeting planning (meetings that are internal to the program, internal to NGS, and external with Explorers and partners).
• Liaises with teams within the organization for process alignment to develop and implement new division-wide processes and efficiencies.
• Coordinates established processes across the department to ensure staff have all information and resources necessary to implement tasks.
• Coordinates larger event/convening logistics.

• Assists with meeting scheduling, taking notes and managing agendas.
• Updates team organizational tools, such as program documents and work plans.
• Supports budget processes and unified metrics tracking.
• Supports contracting and invoicing processes by drafting, sending and keeping track of contracts, and receiving, processing, and recording all project-related invoices. This includes setting up and onboarding new vendors, requesting and paying invoices.
• Supports the Vice President with administrative tasks as needed: travel, expenses, meetings.
• Supports team member travel logistics, makes travel arrangements, and processes travel expenses.

• Gains a comprehensive understanding of the goals of the organization, overarching NGS strategy, matrices within the organization, and Explorer-led projects and programs.
• Gains a comprehensive understanding of the Perpetual Planet Expeditions program and the various teams, programs, and opportunities across NGS and National Geographic Partners (NGP) contextually relevant to Perpetual Planet Explorers and Expeditions.

• Supports assigned programmatic portfolios, under direction of leadership.
• Elevates issues/inefficiencies where appropriate and provides input on solutions.
• Supports program development, work plans, and budgets.

• Supports effective communication within the team as well as between the Programs team and other NGS departments.
• Assists with internal and external communications for Science and Innovation constituents, in particular visual presentations.
• Contributes to initiatives across the Science and Innovation team; serves on internal cross-platform workgroups to maximize strategy results and scale.
• Develops and maintains strong positive and empathetic working relationships with other NGS divisions and external teams.
• Supports a culture of inclusion, respect, empowerment, and accountability, while strongly promoting innovation.

• Highly developed oral and written communication skills and ability to work with individuals and groups at all levels.
• Ability to work on multiple projects – and move between projects quickly - under tight deadlines, with changing priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to take direction from multiple team members while being able to prioritize tasks with little direction.
• Ability to synthesize complex information.
• Ability to develop briefing materials for senior staff.
• Ability to create presentation “decks” (PPT + Keynote) is critical.
• Experience with budgets.
• Technical proficiency with G-Suite tools and others (Salesforce et al)
• Ability to manage tasks and responsibilities that span multiple teams.
• Ability to manage appointments, meetings, and multiple schedules.
• Must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to learn quickly and adapt to new situations.

• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office and Google Suite Workspace software, Dropbox, and project management software such as Airtable and Wrike is highly preferred.

• No direct reports

Hybrid - At the Society, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission. As a result, the majority of our staff are Hybrid. Our Hybrid category requires that staff work at Base Camp two days each week: every Wednesday plus either Tuesday or Thursday. Because we recognize that we can effectively work remotely, this designation has been updated to provide more flexibility, both in the days staff choose to come into the office and how often they are expected to be at Base Camp. And of course, Hybrid staff are also always welcome to come in additional days each week if they prefer.