Fresh Jobs at Conservation International

POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

• The Senior Manager, Climate & Landscape Restoration reports to the Senior Advisor: Greater Kruger & Mozambique and assists in the delivery of CSA’s rangeland restoration portfolio.
• This Senior Manager is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation and long-term sustainability of CSA’s land management, land restoration, and Herding for Health (H4H) programs in the Greater Kruger and GLTFCA landscapes. This will include working closely with local communities and CSA’s implementing partners in the landscape coordinate, to build and improve climate change resilience, scale the adoption of climate change resilience solutions to improve community resilience, and thereby improve socio-economic well-being.
• In addition, the Senior Manager will be responsible for the provision of management and guidance to landscape staff to ensure goals and outcomes are in line with CSA’s mission, vision, and strategies, and the creation and maintenance of strategic partnerships with Government (local and provincial), local governance structures, traditional authorities, landscape partners and stakeholders, and relevant Biosphere Reserves.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Landscape restoration thought leadership
• Take overall responsibility for ensuring the delivery of all Landscape Restoration interventions with communities and key partners through mentorship and close guidance.
• Ensure the successful implementation of the H4H model, and the efficient management of all components comprising the model, for a successful outcome.
• Ensure that stewardship agreements with the relevant communities are finalized and implemented where relevant.
• Develop and share appropriate landscape restoration, herding for health, and conservation stewardship training materials and skills development programs, together with relevant skills partners.
• Capture ‘lessons learned’ and provide support for the development of appropriate landscape restoration and Herding 4 Health toolkits to support the improved protection, management, and restoration of high biodiversity grasslands, savannas, and associated watersheds and water courses.
• Ensure landscape restoration initiatives are appropriately aligned with diversity, equity, and inclusion targets that prioritize the participation of women and youth in landscape restoration opportunities and provides them with control over natural resources.
• Oversee and supervise external consultants who will be hired to support certain landscape restoration functions from time to time.
• Support the updating of CPLUS maps to identify natural climate solutions for targeted communities that have long-term revenue streams, will create local financial resilience and are scalable.
• Categorize and document scalable restoration activities for wetlands, riparian areas, grazing areas, and areas covered in alien plants for replication across the landscape.
• Landscape restoration program management
• Provide strategic oversight and team leadership to the K2C Landscape program and technical staff to enable the effective implementation of program activities and ensure high-impact landscape restoration outputs.
• Ensure that program activities are aligned with organizational goals and donor objectives and that all deliverables are met on time and within the budget, and ensure the project budget is managed according to donor/grant agreements.
• Implement a hands-on approach and ensure efficient overall project management and compliance with protocols.
• Maintain project metrics on all landscape restoration including relevant Rangeland Carbon indicators.
• Ensure the monitoring and evaluation of the Landscape’s Key Performance Indicators and project goals is taking place and is properly recorded and reported on.
• Ensure that progress reports are submitted when scheduled, and monthly site reports are submitted on timeously.
• Provide regular updates to program partners, and community leaders and identify, suggest, or motivate for amendments or corrective action to senior management.
• Ensure continued compliance with local regulations and policies including those related to health, environment, and social safeguards.
• Stakeholder mobilization and pipeline development
• Work closely with community structures, partners, and other key stakeholders to ensure coherence and a common understanding of the landscape restoration ambitions and the interventions of the Herding 4 Health Program.
• Support CSA’s implementing partners in the landscape to coordinate, build and improve climate change resilience, and scale the adoption of climate change resilience solutions to improve community resilience.
• Work closely with communities and project partners to identify and scope landscape restoration and conservation stewardship opportunities and keep an up-to-date database of such prospect opportunities.
• Train local partners to implement conservation/stewardship agreements to implement restoration, unlock finance, and support conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, riparian and forest areas with local communities.
• Develop investment profiles and business cases for opportunities identified, with a clear and actionable plan of intervention.
• Sustain landscape restoration interventions
• Work together with the Herding 4 Health team, Meat Naturally, the Director for Green Economies, the Conservation Finance Division, and local partners and staff to identify appropriate funders and investors for landscape restoration opportunities.
• Work together with partners and the staff to ensure communities are well organized and trained to independently participate in long-term restoration activities.
• Create and manage a database of funders that support landscape restoration within the Greater Kruger.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• People and Resource Management Responsibilities
• This position will be responsible for the management of approximately 30 staff in the Kruger to Canyons Landscape and requires a balance of high challenge and high support for employees.
• Create a nurturing environment of mentorship and guidance for staff, whilst providing clear boundaries.
• Contribute to the formulation of annual plans, operating plans, budgets, and project expenditure requests in line with all CI’s strategic goals and objectives, and operations.
• Ensure accurate and timely financial and progress reporting to Senior Management, donors, and key partners.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, including the recruitment and management of staff, and coordinating with partners and stakeholders.
• Coordinate and provide assistance to activities relating to the funding, financial planning, and budgeting of the Greater Kruger Landscape.
• Take responsibility for stakeholder relationships by means of regular and professional communication with relevant farmers, community leaders, government departments, and employees, as well as other relevant stakeholders.
• Initiate and facilitate community meetings and workshops as and when required.
• Initiate and facilitate stakeholder meetings and workshops.
• Ensure feedback and reporting to meeting stakeholders is completed timeously and professionally.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Local office conditions in a rural landscape.
• 30% travel domestically.
• Flexible work arrangements.
• 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 is a fixed-term assignment, anticipated to begin on August 1, 2025, and end on July 31, 2026.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in a restoration management role in landscape restoration, agricultural value chain development, conservation conservancy, rangeland, animal health or livestock management, and climate adaptation and mitigation. Experience in ecology, geography, rangeland, animal, or conservation science, or similar. Experience in project management and reporting, including the management of funds, deliverables, and stakeholders.
• Up to 2 years of supervisory experience.
• Working knowledge of rangeland management, and experience in the implementation of both climate change and conservation programs.
• Experience in staff recruitment and management of teams.
• Self-driven with strong leadership and team management experience, including the ability to motivate, reach consensus, set objectives, and manage performance.
• Proven ability to work in and lead a diverse team in a rural setting.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Proven experience with monitoring and reporting on donor projects.
• Very good knowledge of MS Office, especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Practical community engagement experience with an understanding and passion for working with rural people.
• English and working knowledge of at least one vernacular language (Tsonga, Sepedi, or Siswati).
• Valid Driver’s license.
• Right to live and work in South Africa.

Preferred

• Master’s Degree.
• Experience in the implementation of land management and land restoration projects.
• Experience in the implementation and management of livestock (agricultural) value chain interventions.

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POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Kenya or South Africa

• CI is launching an initiative to strengthen the financial stability of Africa’s Keystone Protected Areas (KPAs). These KPAs are critical for biodiversity conservation and serve as the core of larger ecological systems in landscapes. This will be achieved through technical assistance facilities/ workstreams that will develop conservation finance capacity (at the global, national, and KPA level). CI will lead the strategy and management of the program, while working in partnership with co-management partners and local stakeholders to develop, execute, and mobilize conservation finance transactions, resulting in financial flows to targeted KPAs during the project period.
• One of the key roles in achieving this effort is the Director of the Protected Area Finance (PAF) Technical Assistance Facility (TAF). This individual will lead the facility which will design, strengthen, and implement long-term, sustainable financing platforms, such as Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) and multi-stakeholder conservation finance deals, to ensure the lasting protection of KPAs. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of protected area finance at scale, working at the intersection of conservation, finance, and policy.

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.

Preferred

• Advanced degree
• Experience leading, managing, designing, and implementing long-term finance projects/programs.
• Experience with a large global consulting firm is advantageous.
• Fluency in written and spoken Portuguese.
• Fluency in written and spoken French.
• To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter.

Application Deadline: December 5, 2025 (11:49 PM EST)

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POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Kenya or South Africa

• CI is launching an initiative to strengthen the financial stability of Africa’s Keystone Protected Areas (KPAs). These KPAs are critical for biodiversity conservation and serve as the core of larger ecological systems in landscapes. This will be achieved through technical assistance facilities/ workstreams that will develop conservation finance capacity (at the global, national, and KPA level). CI will lead the strategy and management of the program, while working in partnership with co-management partners and local stakeholders to develop, execute, and mobilize conservation finance transactions, resulting in financial flows to targeted KPAs during the project period.
• Conservation International (CI) is optimistic about the potential for nature markets and is seeking to a Director, Nature Markets to support implementation of our strategy and oversee the development and facilitation of nature market opportunities, knowledge generation and policy development with a focus in Africa. Reporting to the Senior Director Nature Markets, this role will support two exciting initiatives:
• Keystone Protected Areas, Africa: an ambitious new initiative launched to close the finance gap for conservation and protected areas across Africa. This will be achieved through distinct technical assistance facilities that will: develop conservation finance capacity, and the conducive enabling environment, at the global, national and Keystone Protected Area (KPA) level (defined by African Parks as “…existing protected areas in Africa that have the potential to collectively make a disproportionately large contribution to biodiversity conservation”); and originate, develop, and execute conservation finance transactions, resulting in financial flows to KPAs.
• Nature Markets Accelerator (NMA): The overarching objective of the NMA is to accelerate high-integrity, equitable nature (credit) markets that deliver new finance and positive, lasting outcomes for nature and its stewards. This will be enabled through 3 core objectives: high-integrity supply-side pilot incubation, demand stimulation through capacity building and transaction facilitation; and market development and scale through shared learning/advocacy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support assessment of nature market opportunities (project and policy related), using agreed criteria and available data sources.
• Provide advisory support in the development of high-integrity nature market project opportunities.
• Support government capacity building, nature market enabling policies.
• Monitor, measure, and report on performance and progress toward agreed milestones.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and alignment with other CI initiatives to amplify impact.
• Identify and manage risks, working closely with compliance and audit teams.
• Collaborate and align with other programs 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.
• Promote knowledge sharing and capacity building through workshops, conferences, and external stakeholder engagement.
• Support fundraising, proposal development, and donor engagement to ensure financial sustainability.
• Collaborate with Finance to manage budgets and resource allocation.
• Perform other related duties as needed.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Local and/or international travel of 30% 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 fixed-term assignment, anticipated to begin in February 2026 and end in February 2028.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree.
• 7 or more years of related work experience in Nature (Biodiversity) Markets and/or related area, including Carbon Markets, Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), or Water.
• Strong strategic thinking and financial literacy.
• Experience and understanding of environmental markets and/or carbon crediting methodologies and policy.
• Program/project management experience.
• Excellent technical and analytical skills.
• Excellent organization and time management skills.
• 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.

Preferred

• Advanced degree
• Experience with policy formulation.
• Related private sector experience.
• To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter.

Application Deadline: December 5, 2025 (11:49 PM EST)