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WWF International

Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

About WWF International

For more than 60 years, WWF has worked to help people and nature thrive to achieve its vision of building a future in which people live in harmony with nature.

WWF has its origins in Africa and has been at the forefront of local conservation initiatives in Africa for more than six decades. WWF remains aware that its mission is to help bring about a world in which people live in harmony with nature demands constant vigilance and innovation in the face of ever-changing challenges.

The WWF Regional Office for Africa (ROA) is part of WWF International, which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and Yaoundé, Cameroon. Its main vision is to support WWF offices across Africa in implementing their ambitious conservation programmes. 

As WWF enters its seventh decade in Africa, the task is urgent, and the time is now.

About the Role

The Regional Director, East and Southern Africa (ESA), will lead the strategic planning, conservation strategy, and future institutional development of WWF in East and Southern Africa and enable their country offices to play a leading role in the WWF Network. At the same time, the Regional Director will seek to fulfil the organisation’s mission of ‘people living in harmony with nature’ by ensuring the relevance of WWF’s conservation work to people and development in the ESA region. The Regional Director will also provide strong people leadership and operational excellence combined with conservation strategy and implementation of initiatives on the ground.

Purpose of the Role

The Regional Director, East and Southern Africa provides strategic leadership to drive results and impact and to ensure the continuous development of robust, resilient, and highly performing WWF International country offices in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region. This is to ensure the delivery of WWF’s global priorities in an effective, efficient, and accountable manner.

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategy 

  • Provides effective leadership and line management for all members of the senior leadership team at the Africa Regional Office and ESA country offices and at the highest organisational level; 
  • Provides overall direction and leadership in executing WWF strategic objectives; 
  • Leads the development and implementation of the ESA region’s shared vision and strategy, ensuring all staff in ESA understand their contribution and are in line with the Africa Strategic Conservation framework and the WWF Global Goals;
  • Ensures WWF in the ESA region has a solid long-term organisational development strategy and is financially strong to deliver on its conservation agenda.

Conservation and Impact

  • Establishes practice strategies and institutional vision in the East and Southern Africa region to achieve the highest conservation impact and outcomes;
  • Ensures that Practice outcomes and initiatives in the region are successful and contribute to the global goals and strategy of the WWF;
  • Identifies, pursues and maximises opportunities and networks to deliver the most viable transboundary WWF global practice conservation outcomes in the ESA region.

External Engagement

  • Further strengthens WWF’s profile, reputation and credibility in the region and influences policies to achieve WWF’s global programme priorities;
  • Oversees WWF policy and advocacy efforts in the ESA region and contributes to global advocacy efforts impacting conservation in the region by ensuring the development of sound advocacy strategies; lobbying at the highest level to advance WWF conservation goals;
  • Ensures effective communications, in partnership with Country Offices, with governments, international organisations, other non-governmental organisations, other conservation organisations and the public to maintain and develop a strong profile of WWF and its activities, as well as leveraging opportunities between national, regional and global levels;
  • Identifies and pursues crucial opportunities for joint action with other conservation groups on the continent to lead unified conservation agendas as the global deal for nature;
  • In close collaboration with the Regional Director, Congo Basin, secure key partnerships and high-level political commitment within and outside Africa to deliver conservation impacts, such as the African Development Bank, African Union, NEPAD, SADC and African governments, and business leaders to ensure optimal communication and mutually beneficial relationships;
  • Works in close collaboration with the Regional Director, Congo Basin, to initiate and lead strategic regional partnerships with governments, corporates, civil society, etc, relevant to WWF’s institutional vision and global initiatives in Africa

Africa Regional Office Management

  • Work closely with the Regional Director, Congo Basin, to develop a highly effective, entrepreneurial, and impact/performance-driven Africa Region leadership team;
  • Working closely with the Chief Operations Officer (COO) Africa to ensure that country office strategic plans are developed and fully realised and performance is monitored and actioned;
  • Work with Regional Office Directors to ensure timely Country Office performance and KPI reporting, high-quality periodic discussions with CO CD and SMTs to review performance, and clear next steps and actions are followed through.  

Country Office Management

  • Ensures that WWF conservation work on the ground is aligned with its social policies, clearly upholding the human rights of people and communities; 
  • Build strong and high-performing Country Offices in the ESA region equipped with the core capabilities to deliver impact;
  • Create a culture of commitment and high standard of work ethics and conservation impact amongst all levels of staff;
  • Ensures Country Offices are adequately resourced and are effectively and efficiently managed in all key areas – conservation, operations, finance, HR, communication, policy and partnerships;
  • Accountability and oversight of ESA Country Offices compliance to Network Standards and Policies (ESSF, Social policies commitments, People and Culture policies, Country Agreements, etc. and embedding of Network Values at country and sub-regional level;

WWF Secretariat and Network Engagement

  • Leads and coordinates engagement with Network partners and Shareholder Groups on enhancing the visibility of WWF in the ESA region, resource mobilisation and policy engagements with external strategic partners;
  • Chairs and coordinates the East and Southern Africa Support Group meetings and follow up on agreed actions;
  • Provide thought leadership and perspectives from the COM Division, Africa regions, and ESA Country Offices as a (potential) member of the WWF Secretariat Senior Leadership Team (SLT). 

Skills and Experience

  • Professional experience in a leadership role with demonstrated success in generating impact and leading national and regional international development organisations;
  • Previous experience as a Country Director, Regional Director and/or Regional Chief Operating Officer; 
  • A proven leader with the capability of growing an organisation’s impact, fostering innovation and building future leadership and talent in the organisation;
  • Extensive experience in developing, implementing and evaluating strategic plans;
  • High-level negotiation, collaborating and influencing skills and the capacity to develop and maintain effective working relationships at all levels in the organisation levels and with external stakeholders;
  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience of the not-for-profit sector, preferably of environmental and/or developmental international non-government organisations; 
  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience of human rights and community-based approaches to conservation;
  • Excellent understanding of key conservation challenges in Southern and East Africa and linkages with global priorities;
  • Exposure to and understanding of policy and public influence and engagement-related work;
  • Prior work experience or a deep understanding of network organisation is an advantage;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to represent an organisation at a range of local and international fora, in the media and with the general public;
  • Excellent written and spoken English. French will be an added advantage;
  • Master’s degree in Environment/Conservation related areas, Business Management, International Relations/Development, or other related fields is an advantage.
  • Passion for conservation and WWF’s mandate; Embraces the WWF mission and values of the organisation: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration.
  • Availability to travel 30 to 50% of the time within the region and internationally.