Sr. Director, Web Experience and Digital Strategy

Company Description

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Job Description

Major Function

Lead the strategic vision, digital experience design, and operational management of WWF-US's web presence, including worldwildlife.org and associated digital properties. The Senior Director will oversee the web experience strategy, user experience design, digital discoverability, and web performance — and serve as the primary strategic owner of WWF's relationship with its external development partner. This role will shape how WWF shows up digitally across search, AI-powered platforms, and emerging discovery channels. 

Partners with the Director, Digital Content; the VP, Digital Platforms; and leaders across Integrated Marketing, Conservation, and Development to advance WWF's digital strategy, audience engagement, and fundraising goals. Translates organizational priorities into a coherent, measurable web experience strategy and ensures the website consistently reflects WWF's brand, values, and mission. 

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership 

• Define and drive the long-term strategic vision for WWF's organizational website worldwildlife.org, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, audience needs, and fundraising goals. 

• Setting standards for user experience, interaction design, information architecture, and web performance across all digital touchpoints. 

• Lead the evolution of WWF's web presence into emerging discoverability channels, including AI-powered search, answer engine optimization (AEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), and large language model (LLM) discoverability. 

• Anticipate and respond to shifts in the digital landscape, translating trends in AI, search, and audience behavior into actionable strategies and platform investments. 

• Champion an evidence-based approach to web strategy — establishing a culture of analytics, experimentation, and continuous improvement grounded in robust data and user research. 

Vendor and Partnership Management 

• Serve as the primary strategic owner of WWF's relationship with its external development partner (currently Torchbox), including oversight of the business as usual development work, one-off project work, support and development agreement, roadmap prioritization, and performance accountability. 

• Lead vendor governance: manage contracts, service level agreements, development prioritization, and budget stewardship to ensure the organization receives maximum value from external partnerships. 

• Evaluate, recommend, and onboard additional vendors and technology partners as needed to advance web strategy and platform capabilities. 

Digital Experience and Platform Oversight 

• Oversee the design, user experience, and operational health of worldwildlife.org, built on Wagtail CMS, ensuring accessibility, performance, security, and compliance with applicable legal standards. 

• Lead the web design system and ensure consistent application of brand standards, accessibility requirements (WCAG), and mobile-first responsive design across the site. 

• Guide the organization's approach to technical SEO, structured data, and metadata strategy to maximize organic discoverability and search performance. 

• Oversee web analytics infrastructure and reporting, ensuring web strategy, updates, and investments are grounded in user data and organizational performance metrics. 

Cross-Functional Partnership and Organizational Influence 

• Partner with the Digital Content team to ensure the web experience and content strategy operate as an integrated system — from information architecture to content workflows to discoverability. 

• Collaborate with Integrated Marketing, Development, Programs/Goals, and Communications teams to ensure the website meets acquisition, fundraising, and engagement goals. 

• Provide thought leadership and serve as an organizational resource on digital experience strategy, emerging platforms, and the evolving role of the web within a multi-channel digital ecosystem. 

• Lead CMS training and adoption across editorial and content teams, enabling staff across the organization to contribute effectively to the web. 

Team Leadership and Development 

• Manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of web professionals, fostering a culture of strategic thinking, craft, and continuous learning. 

• Model and reinforce a team culture aligned with WWF's values and the web team's vision: collaborative, curious, impact-driven, and deeply committed to inclusion. 

• Lead workforce planning and talent development in partnership with the VP, Digital Platforms, to ensure the team has the skills and capacity needed to execute the web strategy. 

• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

Key Competencies

Driving for Results —accountability for outcomes across engagement, discoverability, accessibility, and conversion metrics, and to holding the team and Torchbox to those commitments.

Selling the Vision — cross-functional influence required with Marketing, Development, Conservation, and senior leadership to position the web as a strategic asset, not just a channel.

Establishing and Executing Strategic Direction — execute multi-year worldwildlife.org roadmap, architectural and investment decisions, and leading the team/vendor ecosystem through a rapidly evolving AI-driven landscape.

Building Strategic Partnerships - Develops collaborative relationships across departments and with external partners to achieve shared objectives.

Developing Talent and Teams - Creates an environment where people can grow, perform, and contribute their best work.

Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required; master's degree or other relevant graduate degree in digital strategy, user experience, communications, or a related field preferred.

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in web strategy, digital experience, or related fields, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role. A relevant graduate degree may substitute for up to two (2) years of the required experience.

• Demonstrated experience translating organizational strategy into digital experience outcomes, with a track record of leading large-scale web initiatives from vision through execution. Deep understanding of the evolving digital discoverability landscape, including SEO, technical SEO, AEO, GEO, and how AI-powered platforms surface and present web content. 

• Conceptual understanding of the end-to-end web development ecosystem, including domains and hosting, version control (e.g., Git/GitHub), and deployment pipelines. Ability to make informed strategic decisions, guide cross-functional teams, and engage effectively with engineering partners in these areas, without requiring hands-on implementation expertise.

• Fluency in web analytics platforms (Google Analytics 4 or equivalent) and experience building data-driven performance frameworks that connect web metrics to organizational goals; working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and modern front-end principles; experience with CMS architectures (Wagtail or similar Python/Django-based CMS a plus); proficiency with UX/UI design tools (Figma or equivalent) and familiarity with design systems, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA or higher), user research methods, and usability testing.

• Significant experience managing external development agencies or vendors, including contract negotiation, SLA management, roadmap governance, and budget stewardship. 

• Strong budget management skills, with experience managing multi-year budgets across internal teams and vendor relationships. 

• Familiarity with project management platforms (Airtable, Basecamp, Jira, or equivalent) and agile/iterative development methodologies. 

• Exceptional strategic communication skills, with the ability to translate technical complexity for non-technical audiences and organizational strategy for technical teams. 

• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain collaborative relationships across functions, levels, and disciplines in a complex organizational environment. 

• Strong leadership presence, with experience influencing and building organizational alignment around digital priorities. 

• Ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously, making sound decisions under ambiguity and in fast-paced environments. 

• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.

• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:

  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.

  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.

  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.

  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

Additional Information

Washington, DC metropolitan area candidates are preferred; however, the position is open to qualified remote candidates located within the United States.

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.  

Relocation is not provided for this position.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.