We envision a collaborative partnership where our collective efforts yield remarkable outcomes. By joining our team, you will contribute to transformative projects that drive innovation and growth. Together, we will overcome challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and achieve ambitious goals that redefine industry standards. Your expertise, dedication, and fresh perspectives will be instrumental in shaping the future of our organization.
The Conservation Impact System Team (IST) within the Chief Conservation Office is instrumental in advancing global conservation efforts by empowering teams, leaders, and executives to leverage evidence-based strategies for adaptive management and reporting—critical to achieving TNC’s objectives in biodiversity, climate, and community impact. Comprising the Conservation Data Team (CDT) and Conservation Strategy Team (CST), the IST collaborates closely to deliver comprehensive support. The CDT spearheads initiatives in conservation data capacity building, ensuring data integrity, advancing scientific methodologies and systems, and facilitating organizational reporting, including executive and global board evaluations. This position is designed to equip regional teams with the tools and guidance necessary to consistently generate, verify, and apply high-quality data and evidence through robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, standards, and methodologies. The role functions as a strategic partner to regional MEL leaders, aligning CDT initiatives with regional priority
Essential Functions:
The Africa Regional Advisor will collaborate with the Conservation Data Trust to deliver more immediate and cohesive assistance for conservation data, ensuring alignment with the needs of conservation teams and leaders across The Nature Conservancy’s Africa Region. By doing so, they will empower these teams to generate and leverage evidence, thereby enhancing the quality of their decision-making and amplifying their impact.
The Africa Regional Advisor will develop insights into the factors influencing customer satisfaction—specifically among TNC conservation teams and leaders—and enhance the delivery of CDT support across the region. Serving as a cross-cultural and organizational liaison, the Advisor will champion knowledge-sharing and continuous learning, facilitating the exchange and mutual evolution of products and practices developed within the Africa region or elsewhere in TNC. This collaboration will ensure the creation of a unified conservation data toolkit that aligns with TNC’s standards while remaining adaptable to local contexts.
The Africa Conservation Data Advisor will foster robust, trust-based partnerships with key leadership and experts across the Africa Region, including the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) regional team, specialists, scientists, and portfolio managers. By collaborating with MEL staff in Africa, they will ensure CDT’s support aligns with the region’s vision for conservation science data, MEL, and evidence-based reporting strengthening adaptive management in the Africa Portfolio. This role will engage with regional MEL leaders and partners to tailor science data support to high-priority needs, enhancing MEL data quality and adaptive management practices. The Advisor will work closely with the Africa MEL lead, CDT colleagues, and the CST Africa regional counterpart to synchronize support across MEL and strategic initiatives. Additionally, this position will facilitate the delivery of CDT’s offerings while providing technical and data science expertise. Employing an iterative, hands-on approach, the Advisor will develop, implement, and refine CDT offerings to enable rapid learning and adaptive adjustments.
A two-year term appointment describes this role.
The Conservation Data Advisor – Africa must be based in and hold valid work authorization for one of the TNC Africa program locations, including Kenya, Tanzania, or Zambia.
We’re Looking for You:
Offer tailored advice and assistance to enhance the development and application of evidence-based strategies in adaptive management, ensuring alignment with regional priorities and requirements.
Offering hands-on assistance to teams, rooted in agile methodologies, data science methodologies, and implementation science frameworks, this role ensures alignment with core principles and values.
Provide support to teams with cultural and regional sensitivity by adopting a collaborative strategy to develop tailored offerings and, when necessary, engaging local contractors.
Provide conservation data science assistance to teams in a manner consistent with and enhancing regional portfolio management and reporting processes.
Support teams in leveraging evidence syntheses to address critical science evidence gaps identified through their adaptive management processes, thereby fostering confidence in their reported outcomes.
Collaborate with regional team members to facilitate the effective utilization of conservation data tools, assisting high priority teams and programs in their operational support.
Facilitate the creation of conducive environments that foster the development and utilization of evidence to enhance adaptive management and strategic prioritization within the Africa Region.
Develop strong, collaborative partnerships with pivotal leaders within The Nature Conservancy’s Africa Region leadership team.
In partnership with the MEL Regional team and MEL Specialists, establish the foundational framework required to facilitate the effective utilization of robust evidence in adaptive management practices.
Working closely with Africa MEL staff, you will refine data analytics processes to transform vetted and evidence-backed data into actionable reporting and learning outputs—including impact briefs, analytical summaries, and data reports—thereby informing strategic decisions across programs, portfolios, and leadership levels.
Collaborate with CDT staff to ensure the region’s conservation data aligns with established data quality and reporting benchmarks, while supporting regional leadership in promoting adherence to these standards.
Collaborate with leaders in Africa Regional Conservation and Strategies to pinpoint key teams requiring conservation data and learning assistance, directing support where it’s most needed.
Partner with leadership from Africa Regional Conservation and Strategies to enhance the application of conservation data in prioritization and strategic decision-making, thereby advancing regional impact; this includes collaborating on the creation of dashboards to facilitate portfolio management and inform key leadership decisions.
Partner with members of the Africa Regional leadership team to drive progress on essential enabling conditions across the region, enhancing data quality and its application in adaptive management and priority-setting. This involves fostering greater integration between conservation efforts and financial data, as well as aligning planning processes to maximize effectiveness.
Elevate CDT’s influence and broaden its reach across key markets and audiences. Spearhead strategic initiatives to amplify organizational visibility, foster meaningful partnerships, and drive measurable engagement. Develop and execute innovative campaigns tailored to target demographics while leveraging data-driven insights to optimize performance and ensure sustained growth. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align messaging, refine outreach efforts, and maximize the collective impact of CDT’s initiatives.
Evaluate and track the efficacy of CDT support delivered throughout the region.
To collaborate with other regional CDT leads, explore ways to enhance support models for scalable growth, thereby meeting regional needs and amplifying CDT’s impact.
Offer constructive feedback to the CDT regarding potential enhancements to support models, in coordination with regional leadership.
Help identify opportunities where CDT tools or processes could better meet team needs.
Employ a hands-on methodology to continually evaluate, refine, and enhance CDT support, ensuring ongoing improvements through practical application and iterative assessment.
Proactively identify and leverage opportunities for collaboration across regions to bolster CDT’s initiatives, while systematically documenting and disseminating key learnings to enhance organizational knowledge. Engage actively in cross-regional exchanges to foster alignment and shared best practices.
What You’ll Bring:
A Master’s Degree in a science-related field, coupled with four years of hands-on experience in enhancing data quality and leveraging data for management and business applications, is required—ideally acquired within a large conservation or development organization, agency, or an equivalent professional setting. Alternatively, a combination of relevant education and professional experience may be considered.
Seeking professionals with a background in conservation and/or development metrics, including expertise in monitoring and evaluation data systems, impact measurement frameworks, and results-based reporting for programs and portfolios.
Demonstrated expertise in ensuring rigor, maintaining consistency, and validating program indicator methodologies is essential.
Strong working knowledge of data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, GIS, Python, Excel, R), sufficient to guide analytics design, review outputs, and support capacity building across regional teams.
Demonstrated expertise in guiding and coaching teams while enhancing individual and collective capabilities of team members.
Compile and present verifiable data to substantiate conservation strategies and inform decision-making processes.
Proven track record in leading or contributing to cross-functional teams, demonstrating strong collaboration and coordination across diverse departments.
Able to accommodate a flexible schedule to effectively align with diverse time zones.
Experienced in independently navigating intricate and open-ended initiatives to deliver desired results.
Professional commitment to integrating equity, justice, and inclusion principles and practices into all aspects of the position.
Proficiency in collaborating and conveying information effectively to diverse audiences is required.
Demonstrates strong cross-cultural adaptability, thriving in diverse international and regional settings while maintaining high performance across varied cultural and geographical landscapes.
Effective communicators with a knack for building strong professional relationships.
Individuals should possess extensive multicultural or cross-cultural expertise specifically within the African continent.
Prospective candidates must be authorized and willing to reside and work within the designated TNC Africa program locations, including Kenya, Tanzania, or Zambia, and be prepared for occasional travel to other regional countries such as Gabon, Angola, and South Africa.
Proficiency in the English language is required.
Seeking candidates with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or a related field, supplemented by at least three years of relevant experience. Proficiency in financial analysis software and advanced Excel skills are essential. Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, along with excellent communication and organizational skills, are required. Familiarity with regulatory compliance and risk management is preferred. The ideal candidate will demonstrate leadership qualities and the capacity to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated experience in advancing conservation strategies or solutions with data-driven methodologies, including the implementation of Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems for ecosystem markets.
Domain expertise is required in one or more of the following areas: large-scale land, freshwater, or ocean protection and management; climate or biodiversity policy development; renewable energy siting; implementation of natural climate solutions; conservation finance and market mechanisms; regenerative agriculture practices; sustainable fisheries or aquaculture systems; watershed management strategies; community-driven conservation initiatives; or equitable conservation approaches.
We are seeking a professional with a proven track record in overseeing multifaceted projects, with particular emphasis on financial oversight and cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing project finances, ensuring budget adherence, and coordinating efforts among team members and external partners to achieve project milestones.
Driven by initiative and a proactive mindset, consistently taking decisive steps to advance objectives.
Capable of utilizing cutting-edge technological solutions to effectively accomplish established objectives.
Enthusiasm for contributing to a dynamic agile team that actively refines its methodologies and collaborative approaches.
Proficiency in Indigenous and Traditional knowledge systems is essential.
Possesses a growth-oriented mindset, along with a strong capacity for innovation and adaptability in utilizing available resources.
Possesses a proven track record in developing and executing strategic plans or initiatives, demonstrating expertise in aligning organizational objectives with actionable strategies.
Proficiency in a second language, specifically French or Portuguese, is essential for this position.
Qualifications
MBA/MSc/MA
Experience Required
4 years
