Director, Area-Based Conservation Unit - WWF International

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Want to make a positive difference to the future of people and our one shared home, the Earth? Working at WWF could be your opportunity of a lifetime.

All around the world, people are waking up to the devastating impacts of climate change and nature loss. The situation today is worse than the darkest predictions of just ten years ago, pushing billions of people to the edge and threatening lives and livelihoods. At WWF, we are facing our biggest crisis - and our biggest ever opportunity - to create a better future for people and nature. With over 60 years of experience and an active presence in more than 100 countries, we work to achieve both on-the-ground and global policy action, from protecting and restoring species and their habitats, to transforming markets and policies toward sustainability.

Our people come from hugely diverse backgrounds and with a variety of expertise, ranging from conservation science and advocacy to HR and finance. We welcome applications from anyone who believes they can help us tackle this enormous global challenge and drive the urgent conservation impact needed to restore our planet.

What We Do
We are an independent conservation organization, striving to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and the ecosystem. From individuals and communities to businesses and governments, we are part of a growing global movement calling for bolder action on climate and nature, demanding that world leaders set nature on the path to recovery by 2030. WWF works to address the most dominant drivers of nature loss through system-wide changes in how food and energy are produced and consumed, and in how financial systems are structured. By implementing change in every country, we aim to drive visible and positive impacts on the ground, helping to restore nature in the most critical places around the world, from the Amazon to the Coral Triangle.

Engaging everyone means addressing the barriers to participation faced by some groups in society, including local communities. Conservation will only be sustainable if it is owned by, and benefits, local people. That's why Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be at the centre of action on climate and nature. WWF is committed to using its resources and global network to support these communities in creating together the most effective solutions where they live.

Humanity is still in time, we have a clear pathway to solve this crisis. At WWF, we call on everyone to join the global movement, change how we live, and take action now.

JOB DESCRIPTION

I. Purpose:

Area-based conservation is at the heart of WWF's work around the world. A clear and coherent approach to developing, implementing, and monitoring placed based work across the WWF Network is essential to ensuring alignment and integration, and scaling a portfolio of work for durable impact in places for people and planet. The Area Based Conservation team was created to strengthen our place-based work to leverage the collective impact of the WWF Network and capitalize on opportunities to deliver inclusive and integrated impact at scale.

The Area Based Conservation team will provide coherence and strategic guidance, strengthen collaboration, and support offices and teams to catalyze landscape scale action across the Network to achieve the ambition set out in WWF's Roadmap 2030. This includes, i) strengthen collaboration and thematic integration, ii) provide Network leadership on ABC strategy, principles and standards, iii) enhance Network coordination, iv) support Network communication, impact measurement and reporting, v) Network representation, thought leadership, and influence, vi) streamline mechanisms to gather and share lessons and coordinate, connect and align around common principles and approaches, and vii) support offices, initiatives, communities, and teams to deliver in places.

The ABC team is part of the People and places department within the Global Conservation Division (GCD) and leverages the expertise and opportunities for collaboration with other teams within the Department, including Ethical Law Enforcement, Safeguards, and Inclusive Conservation and Governance. Working closely with these teams and the other Practices and Departments across the GCD the unit will develop and deliver guidance, best practices, frameworks, and tools for integrated and inclusive area-based conservation approaches to support the delivery of impact at scale in alignment with WWF's Roadmap 2030.

II. Mission of the Department:

The WWF Global Conservation Division aims to unite WWF Offices around the delivery of a common conservation strategy. It comprises the leaders, teams and related network communities of the four (4) global practices (Biodiversity, Food, Finance, Climate and Energy), the Global Policy Impact Department, Corporate Engagement Department, Resource Mobilization and the People and Places Department. These units work together in an integrated manner to encourage, inform, support and facilitate the optimal convergence of conservation functions across the WWF Network. The Area-Based Conservation Unit, sitting within People and Places Department within the Global Conservation Division, works closely with other Practices and Departments within the GCD, regional and office teams and other Network partners to enhance the coordination of area-based conservation across the network, improve consistency, support collaboration, and leverage data and information for greater, more sustainable, integrated, inclusive, and demonstrable impact at scale. The Area-Based Conservation Unit is responsible for championing WWF's area-based conservation work and supporting improved planning, delivery, learning and capacity-building, ensuring that the WWF network is the best it can be and delivers lasting, transformational results.

III. Major Function:

The Director, Area-based Conservation will be accountable for the mission of the unit and strategy to deliver it. Reporting to the Global Director, People and Places Department and drawing on, supporting and amplifying the efforts of the Practices, Country Offices and others, they will catalyze greater coherence, effectiveness and impact of area-based conservation across the network. They will act as a center of gravity and a source of knowledge, information, thought leadership and influence regarding area-based conservation both within and beyond the WWF network.

IV. Major Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Lead WWF's global approach to integrated area-based conservation.
2. Create, lead and line manage a small functional unit of area-based specialists, including specialists and coordinators of relevant area-based ACAIs, ensuring the work of the team is adequately planned and resourced and that objectives are met;
3. Build cross-Network coherence on area-based conservation, including regularly convening a cross-Network area-based conservation leaders' group as a sounding board and amplifier for the work of the Unit;
4. Articulate, share and communicate a common vision and approach to integrated area-based conservation, associated principles and agreed area-based priorities, thereby generating greater consistency of implementation across the Network;
5. Work to ensure WWF's area-based work is more effectively joined up across the network at both strategic and operational levels, including by
   1. Convening and coordinating relevant communities across the Network;
   2. Helping to integrate the thematic expertise of Practices in the places that need it most;
   3. Improving landscape-level coordination to, inter alia, align the inputs of other Network offices;
6. Enable improved Network-wide understanding of the nature, extent and relative value of its area-based portfolio, and improve the ability of the Network to track and report change, progress and impact in its priority places in line with Roadmap 2030 and other Network goals and
7. Create visibility around ongoing area-based conservation efforts across the Network to leverage opportunities, strengthen collaboration, and communicate WWFs vision, approach, focus, achievements and lessons more widely, including with donors, decision-makers and other actors in relevant sectors;
8. Stay abreast of, participate in and influence global developments in relation to area-based conservation at the highest levels within the conservation policy, science and practitioner communities, the intergovernmental community and other relevant sectors and, as appropriate, take part in global fora on area-based conservation, contributing cutting edge thought leadership;
9. Support the effective updating, maintenance and use of ABC related data and information to inform program design, implementation, decision making, and monitoring. Including leading on the curation of the Global WWF PLACES and PCA datasets.
10. Provide strategic and technical leadership and guidance to initiatives, communities of practices/ACAIs and country offices on integrated landscape/seascape/river-basin strategies, including protected and conserved areas, OECMs, connectivity, restoration, and sustainable production.
11. Undertake other tasks as requested and agreed with the Global Director from time to time.

V. Profile

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced University degree in Environmental/Conservation Science, Policy or Management, International/Sustainable Development, or other related fields - or equivalent work experience;
• A thorough understanding of the environment/development interface and of area-based conservation therein, and an extensive external network in the sector;
• At least 10-15 years' experience in a leadership role, preferably within an international environmental/conservation context, with experience in driving the vision and leading change in complex organizations;
• Strong experience working across a distributed global network and influencing without direct authority.
• Proven track record in successfully developing, leading, and managing multi-disciplinary teams, large-scale programmes and/or institutions;
• Perfect command of English language with other language/s an asset.

Required Skills and Competencies:

• Superb interpersonal skills; especially, relationship management skills and the ability to work as part of a multi-dimensional team that cuts across the WWF Network;
• Experience in bringing together senior teams and working in geographically distributed and non-hierarchical structures;
• Sophisticated and wise in working with array of partners and individuals ranging from board members to partners to individual staff;
• Powerful external representation and ability to galvanize the Network and broader community around a shared agenda;
• Strong diplomatic and negotiation skills and the ability to find common ground across diverse positions. Excellent communication skills with an ability to communicate with impact, and exert influence across a broad spectrum of audiences;
• Able to navigate complex issues and organizational complexity and execute high quality work in a timely way;
• Wise in responding to difficult and challenging circumstances and recommending the right course of action;
• Grace under pressure and ability to navigate ambiguity and shifting situations.
• Critical and strategic thinking with a strong results focus;
• Energetic and passionate about conservation;
• Knowledge that crosses field programs, policy and markets;
• Demonstrates potential in the following critical competencies:
  • Strategic Leadership - Demonstrated inclusive leadership and capacity-building across diverse cultural and institutional contexts that shapes organizational strategy and creates high impact strategy in a complex environment;
  • Selling the vision - Passionately sells an organizational strategy, creates a clear view of the future state;
• Collaboration
  • Change Leadership - Continuously seeks different and innovative approaches to addressing problems and opportunities; embeds change culture;
  • Organizational Development - Creates and sustains a talent management culture through the organization;
  • Collaboration & Influence - Establishes a collaborative culture and forms transformational partnerships;
• Results Orientation - Drives uncompromisingly for higher performance;
• Demonstrable experience in thought leadership
• Deep understanding of landscapes, protected and conserved areas and integrated and inclusive socio-ecological systems

• Experience in Spatial planning, corridors and connectivity, GIS and spatial analysis, socio-ecological systems, land use and integrated landscape management, and decision support an advantage
• Creative thinking, imagination, innovation, with a commitment to excellence, and a solutions oriented approach
• Identifies and aligns with the core values of the WWF organization: Courage, Collaboration, Respect & Integrity;

VI. Working Relationships:

Internal - Works in collaboration with colleagues within the PPD and the wider Global Conservation Division, in particular the Practice Leaders and Deputies, the Global Science team, the Global Impact Hub, the Global Policy Impact Department, Corporate Engagement, and Resource Mobilization teams. Works closely with other Network partners, including Knowledge Management and Communications. Builds close working relationships across the wider Network with Conservation Directors and Regional/Country Directors, landscape leads, initiative leads and area-based conservation specialists. Liaises closely with the Global Conservation Committee and Quality Assurance Committee.

External - Encourages and fosters close collaboration with external partners and others as appropriate in the field of area-based conservation, in close coordination with, and building on the partnerships developed by WWF Offices worldwide. This will include maintaining relationships across different sectors and partners - e.g. intergovernmental, non-governmental, academic and private sectors. Represents WWF at a senior level in external partnerships and collaborations relevant to area-based conservation as appropriate.

Please upload your covering letter and CV in English. Priority will be given to applications with both documents indicated.

Deadline for applications: 15 February 2026
Work permit restrictions may apply

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

At WWF, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. We believe that a diverse workforce will help us to achieve our mission to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing fair and unbiased consideration for all candidates regardless of their background. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and join us in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.