World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the worldโs leading conservation organizations, seeks a Senior Vice President, Durable Conservation and Finance.
The Montreal Biodiversity Agreement and Paris Climate Agreement brought the nations of the world together to solve the twin problems of biodiversity loss and climate change, and to do so in a way that honors the rights of Indigenous communities and that harnesses blended sources of financing to ensure that the impact of initiatives and investments remain durable over time.
The conservation of nature looms large in both respects. Not only does deforestation and land use contribute an estimated one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, but habitat loss and degradation is the largest driver of biodiversity loss across the world.
Over the past 10 years WWF has built an area of expertise in Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) work, and a portfolio of national-scale projects in countries including Brazil, Bhutan, Peru, and Colombia to address the loss of nature at a scale that matters. PFPs have three hallmarks:
Working with governments, civil society, and local communities on nationwide efforts to expand and sustain conservation areas (comprising protected areas, Indigenous reserves, sustainable use lands, and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures [OECMs]) using inclusive conservation approaches. This initiative supports Target 3 under the Convention on Biological Diversityโs post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Target 3 seeks to ensure that 30% of the worldโs terrestrial, inland water, and marine areas are under effective protection and management by the year 2030. Harnessing blended financing needed to underwrite these efforts ranging from philanthropy, bilateral and multilateral support, market-based financing, and other mechanisms unique to each country. Making sure that the goals, commitments, and measures that underpin these efforts ensure accountability, and are monitored and adapted to make progress over time. All of this will be brought to a head through multi-party single closings, with closing conditions, and disbursement conditions designed to expand conservation toward Target 3.More recently, WWF has built a core partnership known as Enduring Earth with The Nature Conservancy, Pew, and ZomaLab to advance on global conservation goals. This has brought in other partners including the Moore Foundation, Bezos Earth Foundation, Global Environment Facility, MAC Philanthropies, Wyss Foundation, and many other individual, bilateral, and multilateral institutions to create a movement and replicate this work widely. These efforts may constitute the largest single conservation initiative in the world, not just in scale of finance but also in terms of the scale of impact across protected area systems. It is an unparalleled opportunity to match country-level commitments to expanding and effectively managing conservation areas to external financing and support, and to deliver durable results at a scale that benefits biodiversity and climate goals.
The Senior Vice President manages this work, overseeing our PFP efforts across the world and serving as the WWF lead with the Enduring Earth partnership. The Senior Vice President will oversee WWFโs PFP deals and collaborate intensively with Enduring Earth partners to advance deals country by country that expand conservation areas. This will necessitate, amongst other things, bringing in coalitions of NGOs and investment partners, devising creative financing and capacity initiatives, creating local funds/special purpose vehicles to monitor and disburse funds on a performance basis, and creating tangible benefits for local and Indigenous communities.
Overview
Founded in 1961, WWF is a global non-governmental organization comprising the largest network of multinational conservations organizations in the world. With 6,500 staff globally, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by more than five million members worldwide. WWF acts at every level, from local to global, to ensure delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature. Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.
WWF-US is the largest legal entity of the WWF global network, managing offices in the US, parts of Latin America, and parts of Africa and Asia. Headquartered in Washington, DC, it has 1.2 million members, over 1,2