Global Director, Indigenous and Community Leadership in Conservation

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The Nature Conservancy is recruiting a Global Director to lead its Indigenous and Community Leadership in Conservation (ICLC) practice, a cross-cutting priority that runs through the organisation’s conservation work worldwide. The postholder reports to the Global Managing Director, Equitable Conservation, leads a global unit of roughly six staff, and works through a matrix of regional, country and global teams to advance conservation outcomes with and for Indigenous Peoples, Tribal Nations and local communities.

The role sets and evolves TNC’s global ICLC strategy, translating it into frameworks, priorities, partnerships and investments, with evaluation and adaptive management built in. It drives integration of Indigenous and community leadership across conservation, climate and policy programmes, and shapes how the organisation delivers against its 2030 goals through community-led and rights-based approaches. A significant part of the work is systems change: embedding Indigenous and community leadership into core programmatic strategies, and influencing governance and decision-making, funding allocation, finance mechanisms and external partnerships.

The Director serves as TNC’s primary spokesperson on Indigenous and community-led conservation to internal and external audiences, including staff, volunteers, the Board of Trustees, public and private donors, government agencies, community leaders and partners. The post sits on both the Conservation Leadership Team and the Equitable Conservation Leadership Team, builds and sustains relationships with Indigenous leaders and community organisations as well as global NGOs, multilaterals and funders, and represents TNC in global forums. Resource mobilisation is also part of the remit, supporting global fundraising and donor engagement and aligning investments with ICLC priorities. Collaboration runs across Equitable Conservation and other TNC functions including Global Protect, Provide, Climate, Science, Policy and Public Funding, and Impact Finance and Markets.

Minimum requirements are a bachelor’s degree and at least seven years as a leader in conservation, the non-profit sector, advocacy or a related for-profit area, with the majority of that experience gained outside the United States and an emphasis on the global south. The posting states plainly that candidates without that international background should not apply. Also required: management experience leading a global multi-disciplinary team, experience working in or partnering with matrixed organisations, written and verbal fluency in English, people management experience, executive decision-making ability, and experience presenting to diverse audiences including donors and board members.

Desired qualifications include a master’s degree and ten or more years of leadership experience in conservation, advocacy, Indigenous and tribal governance or a related area, together with deep professional or lived expertise in Indigenous rights, community leadership, governance or equitable conservation. TNC also looks for demonstrated ability to influence organisational strategy and systems, proven talent in budgeting, staffing and performance management, and experience in fundraising and budget management.

The position is remote and can be based in any country where TNC has an established entity with room for additional employees, subject to legal restrictions such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times. Benefits vary by country and may include health care, retirement, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance and disability coverage.