This role is responsible for leading the design and implementation of sustainable conservation finance mechanisms, particularly Protected Area Finance Facilities, across Africa. The Director will conduct comprehensive assessments, manage implementation, ensure compliance, and drive fundraising efforts to secure the financial sustainability of critical protected areas.
Responsibilities
- Conduct rapid assessments of enabling conditions (policy, funding flows, debt burdens, institutional capacity) to determine readiness of new conservation finance platforms.
- Lead the design and implementation of long-term financing mechanisms, including Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) and multi-stakeholder conservation finance initiatives.
- Evaluate existing conservation finance efforts (e.g., CAFÉ) and identify opportunities for collaboration or scaling.
- Monitor, measure, and report on facility performance, financial flows, and conservation outcomes.
- Identify opportunities for facility innovation and expansion across Africa’s protected area finance landscape.
- Support knowledge sharing and capacity building through CI-supported CTFs (e.g., BIOFUND, Madagascar Biodiversity Fund) and external stakeholder engagements.
- Identify and manage facility risks, working closely with compliance and audit teams.
- Collaborate and align with other program facilities to align with CI’s conservation and organizational priorities.
- Ensure compliance with CI policies, donor agreements, and local regulations.
- Build and manage partnerships with governments, donors, NGOs, peer organizations, and local communities.
- Organize and support workshops, conferences, and learning events to disseminate best practices and lessons learned.
- Support fundraising, proposal development, and donor engagement to ensure financial sustainability.
- Collaborate with Finance to manage budgets and resource allocation.
- Represent CI externally as a visible leader in conservation finance and a trusted partner.
- Perform other related duties as needed
Working Conditions
- Local and/or international travel of 50% or more time, often in difficult travel conditions.
- Ability to work in remote locations or under difficult working conditions.
- This position follows a hybrid work structure, working some days from the office and some remotely.
- This role will be a 2-year fixed-term assignment, anticipated to begin in February 2026 and end in February 2028.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s Degree (Commerce preferred).
- 7 or more years of related work experience.
- 2 or more years of supervisory experience.
- Strong program/project management experience.
- Financial literacy. Experience in a financial institution preferred.
- Excellent technical and analytical skills.
- Excellent organization and time management skills.
- Experience supervising others, including multi-disciplinary teams.
- Team player and able to work effectively with diverse workgroups in a multicultural environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- A record of success in influencing and partnering with a diverse group of key stakeholders and in raising funds.
- Proven ability to multitask and meet priorities. Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and under minimal supervision.
- Fluency in written and spoken English required.
