Africa Director

Our Mission

Re:wild protects and restores the wild. We have a singular and powerful focus: the wild as the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity, and human wellbeing crises. Founded by a group of renowned conservation scientists together with Leonardo DiCaprio, Re:wild is a force multiplier that brings together Indigenous Peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies and the public to protect and rewild at the scale and speed we need. Learn more at www.rewild.org.

The Opportunity

Re:wild seeks an experienced, dedicated Africa Director to lead our work across the continent through our partnership-based model, which supports local conservation organizations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, government agencies, park rangers, and emerging conservation leaders dedicating their lives to protecting biodiversity. The Africa Director will work with the program's Deputy Director and other team members and partners to evolve and deliver a strategy to scale Re:wild's work in Africa, with a principal focus on habitats, species, and local partners in the continent's biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas. The Director will oversee the development and implementation of a program of work under this strategy, working closely with Re:wild's other programmatic leads, both regional and thematic, and executive leadership to ensure close synergies amongst all programmatic work.

Re:wild has a long history of engagement in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar: a network of local partners working to protect, manage, and restore the most important places for nature, recover endangered species, prevent wildlife crime, strengthen local capacity and conservation leadership, and advocate for the planet.

Role and Responsibilities

• Refine and advance the strategy for Africa and priority sub-regions, ensuring that it targets the most impactful, scalable and cost-effective opportunities for addressing the biodiversity and climate crises, helps deliver the goals and targets in Re:wild's 2030 strategic plan, and reflects alignment across Re:wild programs and priorities.

• Collaborate with partners and other Re:wild colleagues to develop, manage and support the implementation of initiatives and projects that advance this strategy through new and existing partnerships.

• Build and support alliances that foster collaboration amongst co-funders, governments, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and international and local NGOs to seek alignment on shared goals, and match philanthropic investments to high-impact opportunities in the region.

• Lead fundraising for the region, working closely with Re:wild's Philanthropy and Executive teams, to secure significant new funding for our work with partners in Africa — creating donor coalitions, engaging new and current co-funders, developing funding concepts and proposals, and identifying and stewarding opportunities to leverage even greater conservation investment via government, private, and innovative funding streams.

• Lead the Africa team, which includes managing team members, recruiting new staff as need, and ensuring everyone has the resources, tools and development opportunities needed to succeed.

• Collaborate and coordinate with Re:wild's thematic teams and their projects within the region, co-developing priority initiatives that support the delivery of both regional and thematic objectives (e.g. species recovery, protected area management, exploration, leadership cultivation, strategic communications).

• Ensure Re:wild's work appropriately aligns with political opportunities and enabling conditions in the region, and provide regional expertise, guidance and introductions to Re:wild team members and other stakeholders working in or visiting the region.

Experience and Qualifications

• Commitment to and passion for Re:wild's mission, vision, and values.

• Advanced degree and 15+ years of conservation leadership experience in Africa, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role (e.g. country director, regional director, or equivalent).

• Experience managing, funding, and working within a diversity of conservation projects, programs, and partnerships, in particular with local organizations.

• Strong commitment to collaborative and participatory approaches, both internally with colleagues and externally with partners; skilled at bringing together groups to coordinate resources and efforts and in managing diverse opinions effectively.

• Demonstrated experience in successful fundraising and budget management.

• Experience managing effective teams and working within a diverse wider team to efficiently communicate and share knowledge and ideas, advance organizational positions, and seek advice when needed.

• Strong commitment to the professional development of direct reports, providing opportunities for growth and empowering them to lead their own bodies of work.

• High degree of initiative and ability to advance Re:wild's mission and values with a strong capacity for autonomous work.

• Commitment to inclusive collaboration with colleagues at all levels of the organization.

• Ability to ensure that work within Africa remains cohesive and well coordinated.

• Flexibility, persistence and ability to overcome obstacles and to take calculated risks to accomplish goals.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience communicating with and presenting to diverse audiences such as donors, board members, colleagues and outside partners.

• Written and verbal fluency in English and French required. Proficiency in Portuguese, Malagasy, Swahili, or other African languages is preferred.

• High degree of cultural competency and ability to work with a diverse range of partners.

• Ability to undertake frequent and/or extensive international travel and work across time zones.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range of $115,000 to $130,000, with final determination to be made commensurate with experience, plus an excellent benefits package (subject to country of residence of successful candidate).

• Location: In-region (Africa) strongly preferred; other locations considered on an exceptional basis. Candidates must have valid work authorization to work in the country of hire.

• Full-time position.

• Significant international and regional travel expected.

• Flexibility to work across global time zones as needed.

How to Apply

To be considered for this position, interested candidates must submit their application by the application deadline. Application deadline: October 25, 2026.

A Note on Who We're Looking For

At Re:wild, we work with partners, Indigenous Peoples and local communities in more than 90 countries to protect and restore the diversity of life on Earth. We are looking for an Africa Director who is energized by that reality: someone who thrives in complexity, leads with generosity, and is genuinely excited to apply their regional conservation expertise to one of the most important opportunities of our time.

Re:wild is committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities.