Gabon Country Director

USA The Nature Conservancy; India; On-site; INR 13,346,000 - 19,066,000; Full time

Job summary

The Nature Conservancy in Gabon is seeking a Country Director to lead strategy, conservation portfolio, partnerships and operations. You will mobilise expertise across TNC to respond to partner priorities, drive first-phase PfP work streams, and ensure high-quality, timely delivery with strong government engagement and institutional capacity building.

You will oversee program delivery, budget management and cross-country collaboration to advance Congo Basin outcomes, while maintaining alignment

Responsibilities

• Develop country strategic plan for Gabon and ensure its implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning progress review.
• Provide leadership for establishment and implementation of regional and global strategy projects in Gabon to align with the country plan.
• Lead and coordinate TNC's support for first-phase PfP implementation with clear workplans and timely technical assistance.
• Coordinate capacity-building and knowledge-transfer to build lasting institutional capability.
• Oversee fundraising efforts and donor reporting, engaging private and public fundraising teams.
• Manage policy development to align conservation goals with Gabon's development agenda, and supervise key national partners.

Job description

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Country Director will lead TNC's strategy, conservation portfolio, partnerships and operations in Gabon. Over the next two to three years, the role will prioritise successful first-phase implementation of the Project Finance for Permanence (PfP) initiative; coordinated technical support for upcoming Blue Bond conservation milestones; and strengthening the forestry portfolio and its contribution to TNC's Congo Basin strategy and priority landscape outcomes. Central to this mandate will be mobilising expertise across TNC and strengthening national institutions through practical knowledge transfer and capacity building. The position will also provide operational oversight, including resource mobilisation, partner relations, staff supervision, recruitment, escalated problem resolution and coordination, and will report to the Program Delivery Director.

We're Looking for You:

The Country Director serves as TNC's principal contact for government agencies and other strategic partners in Gabon. They will build and maintain effective relationships with governmental, multilateral, bilateral, private-sector and non-governmental organisations; lead the implementation and coordination of the country conservation portfolio; and mobilise expertise from across TNC to respond to partner priorities. The Director is accountable for the quality, timeliness and coordination of TNC's contribution, while recognising that government, FPBG and other partners retain their respective mandates and implementation responsibilities.

Specifically, the Country Director will deliver:

Strategic leadership

• Develop country strategic plan for Gabon and ensure its implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning progress review.
• Provide TNC leadership with an account of the country impact and targets aligned with the overarching strategic goals.
• Provide leadership for the establishment and implementation of TNC regional and global strategy projects and initiatives in Gabon to ensure they are aligned with and contribute to the country strategic plan.
• Lead and coordinate TNC's support for first-phase PfP implementation, ensuring clear workplans, agreed responsibilities, timely technical assistance and effective internal coordination across country, regional and global teams.
• Work with the government Project Management Unit (PMU) and FPBG to agree and deliver a structured capacity-building and knowledge-transfer plan, using joint delivery, mentoring, practical tools and documented procedures to build lasting institutional capability.
• Coordinate TNC's technical contribution to upcoming Blue Bond conservation milestones, maintaining a forward-looking view of deadlines, dependencies, support requirements and delivery risks.
• Build TNC's standing as a trusted long-term technical partner through reliable delivery, transparent communication, respect for national ownership and technical assistance that is timely, coherent and responsive to government and partner needs.
• Strengthen and deliver a coherent Gabon forestry portfolio that advances TNC's Congo Basin strategy and Gabon's agreed contribution to priority landscape outcomes. Provide strategic oversight of the CAFI-supported Sustainable Forest Management programme, strengthen implementation partnerships, and develop a focused pipeline of opportunities with clear conservation outcomes, resource requirements and measures of progress

Program Management

• Provide implementation oversight of all in-country programs and projects.
• Ensure all country programs and projects are implemented on time and on budget.
• Provide oversight of in-country project and program adaptation and provide quarterly program reviews and monitoring updates.
• Establish clear accountabilities and agreed delivery commitments for TNC's technical support across country, regional and global teams.
• Convene regular portfolio reviews covering milestones, budgets, partner needs, capacity-building objectives and risks, ensuring that corrective actions are agreed and unresolved constraints are escalated promptly.
• Develop and monitor country budget in line with allocated funds, to support the deputy country director, strategy leads, the project/program leads and the finance team.
• Provide oversight of in-country budget management including operational costs and risks for budget adjustments.

Fundraising

Play a key role in fundraising and reporting to donors by working closely with our private and public fundraising teams.

Policy & Partnership Management at National Level

• Provide oversight for policy development towards aligning TNC conservation goals to the development agenda of Gabon, as a country.
• Manage and monitor relationship with country-specific partners including government, communities, key stakeholders, and implementation partners.
• Ensure technical support embeds practical knowledge transfer and strengthens the implementation capacity of government and national partner institutions.
• Maintain clear,