Africa Conservation Director at Nature Conservancy

WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU

• If you’re looking for a career where you can find meaning and purpose, come join our Africa Region as the Conservation Director. Not only will you fulfill conservation objectives in Africa, but you’ll contribute to conservation goals through many networks!

Responsibilities

Strategic leadership:

• Responsible for establishing and executing the TNC Africa conservation strategy.
• Lead systems thinking approach in the delivery of TNC’s work in Africa.
• Scope new opportunities and geographies to enable the team to deliver on 2030 Goals.
• Lead the setting of TNC Africa conservation priorities, oversee portfolio management and program reviews with project and strategy teams to ensure we are delivering milestones according to schedule and budget.
• Coordinate iterative strategy reviews, development and adaptation.
• Supervise the use of scientific data in strategy and program development.
• Ensure financial resources, conservation staffing, and operations are mobilized and aligned with established priority regional strategies and with 2030 Goals.
• Lead and manage a large multidisciplinary team which supports conservation activities and develops new efforts.
• Lead and develop key partnerships across national boundaries in support of strategic delivery on outcomes.
• Liaise closely with the Regional Managing Director to adjust conservation priorities over time.

Impact delivery:

• Lead development of conservation programming for the annual Africa Region budget cycle.
• Play a key role in fundraising and reporting to donors by working closely with our private and public fundraising teams.
• Maintain and build partnerships in coordination with TNC’s global technical teams (Global Protect, Provide and Impact, Market and Finance teams).
• Disseminate best practices to the conservation team in Africa and ensure training and scientific analyses support organizational measures of success.
• Incorporate cross-disciplinary knowledge to support program objectives.
• Build strategic, scientific, and technical capacity in the field, develop key partnerships with public and private organizations to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions and best practices, and develop innovative scientific methods, analyses, tools, and frameworks to address the natural system needs.

Team Development

• Facilitate the transfer of best practices and skill sets among strategy teams for smooth program/project delivery.
• Manage multi-disciplinary and professional staff with responsibility for performance management, training, and career development.
• Establish clear directions and set stretch objectives.
• Make independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, ambiguous information, experience, and context.
• May require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally, evening and weekend hours.

What You'll Bring

• BA/BS degree and 15 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives, and managing performance.
• Experience designing, implementing, and directing complex or multiple projects of strategic importance, including managing finances, supervising multidisciplinary professionals, and coordinating the work of various partners while meeting deadlines.
• Fundraising experience, including identifying donor prospects and donor cultivation.
• Experience working with current trends and practices in relevant discipline(s) and regions.
• Experience developing partnerships with non-profit partners, community groups and/or government agencies.
• Experience in networking with high-level conservation contacts.
• Experience working with methods and standards of biodiversity information systems and initiatives.
• Experience conceiving and implementing strategic and creative initiatives involving multiple countries.
• Experience negotiating and influencing, developing, and implementing conservation policy and plans at the division and/or global/international level.

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree.
• At least 5 years work experience in a similar role and knowledge of conservation in Africa.
• Demonstrated leadership and visionary qualities and ability to work effectively with and through others in a decentralized and geographically dispersed organization.
• Deep knowledge of conservation issues, preferably with expertise in regions that are TNC Africa's priorities.
• Demonstrated leadership and visionary qualities and ability to work effectively with and through others in a decentralized and geographically dispersed organization.
• Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
• Experience developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
• Experience delivering practical, adaptable products and services to customers.
• Knowledge of politics and society with respect to environmental affairs.
• Communicating clearly via written, spoken, and graphical means in English and other relevant languages.
• Politically savvy.