Senior Director, KPA Resource Mobilization

Conservation International; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 2,400,000 - 3,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Conservation International is seeking a Senior Director, KPA Resource Mobilization to lead RM TAF across Africa. Based in Nairobi, Cape Town, or Johannesburg, you will drive public funding strategies, manage complex donor relationships, and oversee major funding proposals to scale Keystone Protected Areas finance.

You will build high‑performing teams, coordinate with governments and funders, and align catalytic capital with public funding to unlock large conservation investments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in conservation, environmental management, international development, finance, economics, or related field.
• 10+ years in public fundraising, conservation finance, or international development.
• 5+ years supervisory experience with leadership of multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with governments, donors, and international funding bodies.
• Strong proposal development and strategic fundraising skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for RM TAF and KPAF initiatives.
• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team and manage budgets.
• Develop and implement public funding strategies across multiple funding streams.
• Oversee major public funding proposals and pipeline development.
• Represent RM TAF at international meetings and donor engagements.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Proposal development

Partnership building

Team leadership

Budget management

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Nairobi-Kenya; Cape Town or Johannesburg-South Africa.

The Keystone Protected Area Finance (KPAF) Initiative is a pan-African program that strengthens the long-term financial sustainability of Africa's Keystone Protected Areas (KPAs) through a suite of Technical Assistance Facilities (TAFs).

The Senior Director, KPA Resource Mobilization provides strategic leadership for the Resource Mobilization Technical Assistance Facility (RM TAF), driving KPAF’s efforts to secure sustainable financing for Africa’s Keystone Protected Areas. The role combines organizational leadership with deep technical expertise in public funding and resource mobilization, leading the RM TAF while directly overseeing the full scope of pipeline development, including the Public Funding workstream, and providing strategic oversight to the Keystone Funder Alliance. Working across Conservation International and the Keystone Partnership, the Senior Director will develop and implement ambitious funding strategies that increase public investment in protected area management and conservation. The role is responsible for mobilizing significant public funding, strengthening donor and government partnerships, and unlocking catalytic capital that enables nature finance opportunities to move from concept to implementation.

As a senior strategic leader, the incumbent will build and lead a multidisciplinary team, foster collaboration across Conservation International, governments, funders, and Keystone partners, and position Conservation International as a recognized leader in public conservation finance. Through these efforts, the Senior Director will play a critical role in enhancing the financial sustainability of Keystone Protected Areas and advancing long-term conservation outcomes across Africa. This position reports to the Senior Programme Director.

Responsibilities

RM TAF Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for RM TAF.
• Lead, mentor and develop a multidisciplinary team.
• Establish strategic priorities, annual work plans and team budgets.
• Provide leadership across both the Public Funding and Funder Alliance workstreams.
• Oversee delivery against programme targets and grant commitments.
• Represent the RM TAF within KPAF leadership and across Conservation International.

Fundraising, pipeline management, and donor engagement

• Coordinate with CI’s Account Managers/ Leads for GEF, GCF, bilateral donors, development finance institutions, foundations, and governments to position KPAF strategically
• Work with CI’s Global Resource Mobilization team to identify and develop new funding opportunities that align with KPAF requirements
• Work with global teams to develop a strategic engagement calendar for high-level donors and partner outreach.
• Work with the KPAF team to identify opportunities where public funding can be strategically combined with catalytic capital to unlock larger conservation finance transactions.
• Represent the RM TAF at international meetings, conferences, and senior donor engagements

KPAF Public Funding Strategy

• Develop and implement KPAF’s public funding strategy.
• Build and progress a pipeline across GEF, GCF, bilateral, DFI and government funding.
• Coordinate closely with CI’s GEF/GCF Agencies and other relevant teams to develop and advance opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to combine public funding with catalytic capital and other finance mechanisms.

Proposal development

• Oversee the development of high-quality public and philanthropic funding opportunities.
• Oversee two team members in the development of major public funding proposals.
• Support multidisciplinary proposal development teams.
• Support outreach efforts of governments, Technical Assistance Facilities, and Co-management Partners in developing funding opportunities.

Keystone Funder Alliance

• Guide the strategic direction of the Alliance.
• Support development of the Resource Mobilization Roadmap.
• Support identification and prioritization of catalytic funding opportunities.
• Support fundraising for catalytic capital that advances the development of nature finance opportunities.
• Ensure alignment between public funding and catalytic funding strategies.
• Work closely with the Director: Strategic Communications & Stakeholder Engagement to coordinate Alliance activities and shared fundraising strategies.

People & Resource Management

• Directly and indirectly supervise the RM TAF staff and consultants.
• Manage the RM TAF operating Budget and oversee team spending.
• Accountable for achieving resource mobilization targets and safeguarding CI's reputation with strategic donors and funding institutions.
• Responsible for oversight of complex donor compliance obligations and funding risk management.

Other related duties as assigned by supervisor.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Normal office environment.
• Hybrid working environment. Guidance on flexible work arrangements will be shared during the interview process.
• Regular domestic and international travel.
• Flexibility in work schedule is required to accommodate collaboration across multiple time zones with global, regional, and country teams
• Two-year fixed-term appointment with potential extension based on performance and funding.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in conservation, environmental management, international development, finance, economics, or a related field.
• 10 or more years of experience in public fundraising, conservation finance, international development, or a related field.
• 5 or more years of supervisory experience.
• Extensive experience building, managing, and influencing strategic partnerships with governments, institutional donors, international funding organizations, and other senior stakeholders across international and cross-cultural environments
• Extensive experience working with GEF, GCF, bilateral donors, multilateral funding agencies, and/or other institutional funding
• Experience leading complex proposal development processes from concept through award.
• Extensive experience engaging and developing partnerships with governments, institutional donors, and international funding organizations.
• Experience developing organizational strategy and leading complex programs.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing people.
• Experience working in a complex matrixed and global fundraising environment

Knowledge & Technical Expertise

• Deep understanding of public funding mechanisms, including GEF, GCF, bilateral, and multilateral funding systems.
• Excellent proposal development capability.
• Strong program and project management skills.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and strategic judgment, with the ability to translate vision into implementation.
• Proven ability to build and lead high-performing, collaborative, and inclusive teams.
• Comfortable operating in complex systems and navigating ambiguity.
• Highly organized with strong prioritization and decision-making skills, delivering consistently against ambitious objectives.
• Exceptional relationship-building, stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Skilled facilitator and convener, comfortable engaging governments, donors, and senior leaders.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including excellent proposal writing, editing, presentation, and facilitation skills.

Preferred

• Master's degree in conservation, environmental management, finance, economics, international development, or a related field.
• Experience mobilizing catalytic capital or developing funding strategies that combine public, philanthropic, and private finance.
• Understanding of conservation and nature finance.
• Financial and commercial acumen.
• Familiarity with innovative financing mechanisms, including carbon finance, biodiversity finance, conservation trust funds, debt-for-nature swaps, payment for ecosystem services, blended finance, and other innovative financing approaches.
• Strong systems-thinking approach with an understanding of how different funding sources can be combined to maximize conservation impact.
• Understanding of how blended finance approaches and catalytic capital can leverage public, philanthropic, and private investment to unlock larger conservation finance opportunities.

Application Deadline: September 18, 2026 (11:49 PM EST) *Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, early submission is encouraged.

Conservation International is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We believe in hiring based on merit and qualifications, ensuring a fair and inclusive hiring process for everyone.