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Founded in 1951, the Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, and conserving lands, waters, and oceans at unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable.  One of our core values is our commitment to diversity. Therefore, we strive for a globally diverse and culturally competent workforce. Working in 79 countries, including all 50 United States, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.

The Nature Conservancy Africa program follows a holistic approach to protect vital lands and waters, transform the way natural resources are used and managed, and inspire to equip others to contribute to the shared vision of a healthy and sustainable future for Africa’s lands, waters, wildlife, and people. We use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners.

The Nature Conservancy recently set its 2030 organizational outcomes and identified 4 pilot focal places or areas for deeper engagement. Focal places are globally significant for their potential contribution towards both biodiversity and carbon. This makes these places excellent testing grounds for new ways of thinking and working that facilitate accelerated impact. The Africa Region identified Kenya as a focal place in part because we have an opportunity to achieve tangible and lasting conservation wins by working with the Government of Kenya to support their commitment of 30% protected land by 2030. We will work with the Government of Kenya to define what this commitment means, where new areas would be (land and water) to increase from the current 21%, and costs to ensure strong implementation

The Africa Sustainable Finance Analyst will assist regional landscape programs in defining and executing sustainable financing plans. Working with project teams, they will define the annual expenses needed to maintain strong conservation management and design a blended revenue model to meet that need. They will work closely with TNC and other stakeholders in the landscape to define what sustainable and durable financing solutions exist or could be created for tangible lasting outcomes. Landscapes may include northern Kenya, Northern Tanzania, Western Zambia, and others. This position will report to the TNC Africa Finance and Operations Director and can be based at any of the TNC office locations in Kenya, Tanzania, or Zambia.

The Africa Sustainable Finance Analyst will work closely with the Africa Indigenous Landscape Protection Strategy Director, Freshwater Director, and the Conservation Director in meeting TNC Africa’s conservation goals through detailed financial analysis and planning, creative thinking, strategizing and execution.  The role will support this critical planning phase in collaboration with the Kenya Focal Place Manager, Kenya Country Director and Kenya Conservation Trust Fund Coordinator to assess total annual financial need and current revenue, then strategize how to close any gap in resources (via endowment, debt restructure, etc. for example) to accomplish this and other TNC Africa conservation goals.

The Africa Sustainable Finance Analyst will collaborate with TNC Worldwide Office teams, Africa Regional staff, Conservancy senior management, and partner organizations to bring sophisticated business, financial, and economic analysis and expertise to the design and implementation of the Conservancy’s sustainable finance needs in our priority landscapes. They develop, lead and implement our overall sustainable finance strategy for terrestrial and freshwater programs with  a strong focus on developing financial mechanisms through public and private sources associated with an overall approach in support of Indigenous People and Local Communities self-determination, rights, governance, ownership, capacity, and capabilities to ongoing sustainable financing programs in partnership with local and national governments. They will lead implementation of innovative long-term financing models such as the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) approaches. These are key for the goal of durable and lasting protection for nature while providing community development benefits for people.

• Utilizes financial scenarios and models to strategize for program success.
• Sets priorities for the design and implementation of sustainable finance models across the TNC Africa portfolio.
• Analyzes annual program expenses in priority landscapes and countries, and designs finance mechanisms through public and private revenue models to meet that need.
• Implements, manages and evaluates multiple new sustainable financing mechanisms that promote strong Africa conservation outcomes.
• Responsible for developing and leading a long-term sustainable finance strategy; revenue solutions may include ecosystem service payments, annual fundraising, government partnerships, taxes or user fees, endowments, corporate partnerships and more.
• Will identify and analyze key financing mechanisms and models that support long-term funding for conservation programs.
• Identifies, develops, and leads strategic partnerships both within TNC and externally that can provide technical expertise and help leverage long-term financing solutions.
• Makes independent decisions frequently based on analysis, experience and judgement.
• Ensures programmatic commitments, TNC policies and procedures, financial standards and legal requirements are met and managed for compliance.
• May direct or participate in negotiations for complex, high profile, or sensitive agreements.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years’ experience in a private sector environment, such as management consulting and investment banking, economics, or with a leading conservation organization or government entity, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience developing and implementing complex projects and strategic initiatives in an unstructured environment.
• Experience leading and managing large scale projects, including working with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements.
• Experience developing, managing, and stewarding complex partnerships and collaborative initiatives with non-profit partners, community groups and/or government agencies.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Multi-lingual skills and/or multi-cultural experience appreciated.
• Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization and with Conservancy partners.
• Ability to successfully develop and implement complex projects in an unstructured environment.
• Outstanding analytical and project management capabilities.
• Superior written and oral communications.
• International work experience desirable.
• MBA or similar degree with significant coursework in finance or economics.

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