Director, Nature Finance and Investments

Director, Nature Finance and Investments

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Major Function

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, seeks a Director, Nature Finance and Investments.The Director, Nature Finance and Investments will function as a critical member of the Nature Finance & Investments (NFI) team at WWF.  The Director will play a critical leadership position in our work serving as Impact Advisors to external asset managers, where WWF aims to develop and influence substantial capital flows supporting nature.  This individual will be responsible for the strategy, day-to-day execution, and execution process for NFI’s asset manager strategy.  This will include identifying nature finance fund partnership opportunities, engaging with key stakeholders, and accelerating pathways to scale WWF’s role in financing and shaping sustainable investment.  

Key Responsibilities

• Design and oversee key elements of the asset manager strategy including WWF’s goals / objectives, implementation model, pipeline of partnership opportunities, external advisors, etc.  Play a key role in developing, seeking, and negotiating partnerships with potential partners. 
• Identify and pursue new asset manager partnership opportunities, including through prioritizing, assessing and initiating partnership discussions across priority sectors, including sustainable infrastructure, regenerative agriculture, carbon finance,  and aquaculture / blue oceans.
• Lead deal diligence and prepare asset manager partnership recommendations, impact analysis, due diligence summaries, that are presented to NFI and WWF senior management and governance bodies,
• Forge new relationships with external partners, including fund managers, funders (private, public, donor), peer organizations, sustainability investors.
• Represent WWF and the asset manager strategy at external events, conferences, and workshops. Travel domestically and internationally (up to 25%), to priority landscape regions in Latin America, Asia and Africa. 
• Collaborate and develop partnerships across geographies and work closely with WWF’s conservation goal teams, country offices, private sector engagement teams, and development / capital raising to advance integrated nature finance strategies.
• Craft collateral / communications to demonstrate WWF’s thought leadership in Nature Finance.
• Work closely with WWF Impact management to ensure that WWF Impact’s reporting and budgeting is accurate, timely, and within budget guidelines. 
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Key Competencies

• Strategic Leadership and Systems Thinking: The Director will shape WWF’s asset manager strategy by connecting nature goals, investment opportunities and partnership opportunities 
• Partnership Development and Stakeholder Engagement: The Director will build and expand WWF’s relationships across asset managers, investors, and development finance institutions. 
• Results Orientation and Execution Excellence: The Director will drive forward multiple concurrent priorities, ensuring that objectives are translated into tangible impact outcomes. 
• Executive Presence & Influence: Builds credibility and trust while effectively representing the organization and influencing asset managers, investors, development finance institutions, and other senior stakeholders through thoughtful communication, negotiation, and relationship management. 
• Global Collaboration: Works effectively across cultures, geographies, and a highly matrixed organization, partnering across country offices, conservation teams, and cross-functional stakeholders to advance integrated nature finance strategies. 

Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of work experience, or a Graduate degree and 8 years of experience.  
• Experience in the financial services sector, including private equity, venture capital, impact investing, conservation finance, and emerging markets.
• Demonstrated experience developing and evaluating investment strategies, conducting due diligence, assessing investment opportunities, portfolio management, deal structuring, and the use of capital instruments.
• Experience working within or alongside multilateral and bilateral finance institutions, including development finance institutions and development banks, in support of investment structuring, partnerships, or capital mobilization initiatives.
• Sector expertise in one or more of WWF’s priority areas (e.g., regenerative agriculture and food systems, blue economy/aquaculture, sustainable infrastructure, or forestry), with experience working in Latin America, Africa, Asia, or other emerging markets preferred.
• Awareness of key components of sustainable investment, including investment instruments, term sheets, blended finance techniques, deal structuring, etc.
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills. 
• Financial modeling skills and fluency with Microsoft Excel.  Able to analyze, construct and evaluate financial models, financial projections, company valuations, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex problems and to effectively communicate solutions to others. 
• Competency in a second language (ideally Spanish or Portuguese) a significant plus.
• Strong coordination and teamwork and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to manage and deliver against multiple time sensitive priorities.
• A dynamic, creative, and outgoing personality with a commitment to nature conservation.
• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.
• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:
  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation

Additional Information

Please Note - Domestic relocation assistance may be offered based on available budget.

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.  

This position is eligible for domestic (United States) relocation.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.