Senior Director, Tourism Finance

Senior Director, Tourism Finance

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

POSITION SUMMARY - Preferred location for this role is Cape Town or Johannesburg, South Africa, or Nairobi, Kenya; however qualified, candidates based in any of our other CI Africa locations, including Botswana, Liberia, Angola, and Madagascar, will also be considered.

CI is leading an initiative known as the 'Keystone Protected Area Finance Initiative' to strengthen the financial stability of Africa's Keystone Protected Areas (KPAs). These KPAs are critical for biodiversity conservation and serve as the core of larger ecological systems in landscapes. This is achieved through technical assistance facilities/ workstreams that will develop conservation finance capacity (at the global, national, and KPA level). CI leads the strategy and management of the program, while working in partnership with co-management partners and local stakeholders to develop, execute and mobilize conservation finance transactions, resulting in financial flows to targeted KPAs during the project period.

One of the key roles in achieving this effort is the Tourism Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) led by the Sr. Director: Tourism Finance. This workstream focuses on supporting tourism investment and visitation to KPAs to generate greater tourism cashflows resulting in increased revenues to these KPAs. These cashflows - largely in the form of entry, activity, lease and other fees - accrue to KPAs and may be used in support of the sustainable management of the KPA and its surrounding ecosystems. Activities under this workstream are aimed at de-risking priority tourism destinations from a private tourism sector investment perspective, by addressing key sector enablers. These enablers include land and air access, brand identity, policy, planning, and affordable finance.

The Senior Director Tourism Finance will provide strategic leadership for CI's tourism workstream under KPAF initiative, overseeing the development, implementation, scaling, and continuous refinement of tourism-based conservation finance solutions across priority KPAs. Overseeing the implementation of the enabling solutions requires extensive stakeholder management at KPA level, promotion, adaptation, and supervision of technical solutions. I The role requires extensive stakeholder engagement and influence, working with tourism operators and investors, government conservation and tourism authorities, donors, development finance institutions, protected area managers, and other strategic partners to advance critical initiatives and build sustainable financing solutions. Working closely with CI's Structured Nature Finance team, the Senior Director will support the development and implementation of structured finance transactions, lead resource mobilization efforts, and represent the Keystone Protected Area Finance Initiative internally and externally. The position is also responsible for monitoring and evaluation, thought leadership, strategic communications, budgeting, and partnership development, providing a unique opportunity to shape the future of protected area finance at the intersection of tourism, conservation, and innovative finance.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the strategic direction, performance and delivery of the Tourism TAF Facility (workstream), establishing priorities, overseeing implementation and ensuring achievement of program objectives. Oversee the selection, management and performance of strategic consulting partners and technical service providers appointed to support implementation.
• Serve as CI's lead technical authority on the Tourism Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), providing strategic guidance, ensuring high quality, relevant and efficient solutions that meet the program objectives.
• Provide thought leadership and regular progress updates to internal teams and senior leadership on Tourism TAF.
• Lead resource mobilization efforts, including developing donors, investors, and partnership opportunities to support the growth and long-term sustainability of the Tourism TAF.
• Develop and deliver strategic external facing materials, briefings and engagements.
• Maintain and engage relevant stakeholder base of KPAs, industry, investors and funders.
• Effectively engage stakeholders including tourism partners, protected area managers, government partners, co-management partners and other NGOs, technical colleagues, donors / funders, and other partners important to program success.
• Provide cross-functional leadership to ensure the Tourism TAF initiatives align with other programs initiatives and CI's conservation and organizational priorities.
• In collaboration with the Structured Nature Finance lead, roll out of complimentary structured financial transactions on tourism.
• Ensure compliance with CI policies, funding agreements, and local requirements.
• Serve as a senior representative of CI building organizational visibility, influencing sector priorities and serve as a trusted point of contact for CI.
• People & Resource Management- Directly and indirectly supervise the Tourism TAF staff and consultants, Manage the TAF operating. Budget, Accountable for achieving TAF resource mobilization targets, Responsible for oversight of complex donor compliance obligations and funding risk management.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Normal office environment.
• This is a full-time position.
• Frequent travel (~30%) within the Africa region will be required, often this will entail travel to remote locations with rustic conditions.
• Flexibility in work schedule is required to accommodate collaboration across multiple time zones with global, regional, and country teams.
• Guidance on flexible work arrangements will be shared during the interview process.
• Work Authorization: Candidates must be legally eligible to work in one of the African countries where CI operates, without requiring work authorization or visa sponsorship.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Undergraduate degree in Tourism, Conservation, Business, Finance or related field.
• 10+ years' working experience in the tourism sector.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex tourism, conservation or sustainable development initiatives across diverse geographies, including East and Southern Africa.
• Strong track record in Business development, strategic partnerships, resource mobilization and client management.
• Demonstrated understanding or experience of conservation finance, trends and innovations.
• Demonstrated technical experience of market assessments, tourism diagnostics, destination management.
• Strong stakeholder management and coordination skills.
• Experience managing complex multi-stakeholder projects.
• Team player and able to work effectively with diverse works groups in a multicultural environment.
• Proven ability to multitask and meet priorities.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and under minimal supervision.
• Ability to travel to the field when needed.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Fluency in English required, Portuguese and or French are a bonus.

Preferred

• Postgraduate degree in Tourism, Conservation, Business, Finance or related field.

To apply for this position, please submit a resume and cover letter.

Application Deadline: November 20, 2026 (11:49 PM EST) *Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, early submission is encouraged.

See all Conservation International Career Opportunities HERE

Conservation International is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We believe in hiring based on merit and qualifications, ensuring a fair and inclusive hiring process for everyone.