Director, Protected Areas Finance Facility at Conservation International

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. Guidance will be shared during the interview process.
• 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.