Conservation Director

Locations: Peru, South Africa, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Seychelles, Indonesia, Fiji

Start Date: April 2026

Type of role: Long term, field based

🦁 WHO YOU ARE

This is a deeply collaborative and pragmatic position. It is not an ivory-tower academic role; it requires someone who understands that real-world conservation is often messy and requires excellent judgment, flexibility, and a passion for teaching others. You will be expected to support teams on the ground and ensure our programs remain credible, consistent, and impactful.

✨ WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

The Conservation Director is a newly created leadership position designed to be the primary facilitator and supervisor of GVI’s conservation program work and teaching. This role ensures the successful delivery of Experiential Learning—bridging the gap between academic theory and high-impact field application.

As this is a global oversight role, the Director will be responsible for technical leadership across our diverse wildlife and marine hubs. To ensure consistency and cross-pollination of skills, GVI provides opportunities for Conservation Managers to rotate between these locations under your guidance.

Global Scope

You will oversee and support programs in one of the world’s most critical ecosystems:

• Wildlife Hubs: The Peruvian Amazon, South African Bush, Costa Rican Rainforest, or Madagascan Forest.
• Marine Hubs: Seychelles (Indian Ocean), Indonesia (Raja Ampat - Coral Triangle), or Fiji (Pacific).

🐘 WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

1. Technical & Educational Leadership

• • Act as the global lead for conservation strategy across wildlife and marine programs.
  • Ensure all field activities are ethically sound and reflect current best practices in the sector.
  • Guide teams on how to balance rigorous conservation work with an engaging, hands-on learning environment for participants.
    

2. Program Design & Quality Control

• • Provide technical oversight of our Conservation Research Modules (CRM), ensuring they are practical, field-ready, and consistently delivered. Examples of potential CRMs include:
    • Area-Based Conservation (ABC) Management
    • Ecological Restoration & Species Recovery
    • Invasive Alien Species (IAS) Management
    • Human–Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence
    • Pollution Reduction and Waste Management
    • Species Identification and Biodiversity Monitoring
      
  • Work closely with the Impact Director to ensure our research goals align with our educational outcomes.
  • Maintain high standards of delivery across different regions while allowing for local ecological adaptation.
    
  
  

3. Field Mentorship & Staff Development

• • Support the professional growth of field-based staff, helping them bridge the gap between academic theory and practical field application.
  • Identify training needs across the organisation and help define the technical skills required for our field teams.
  • Oversee the rotation of Conservation Managers between different hubs to encourage knowledge sharing and professional variety.
    

4. Operational Alignment

• • Act as a technical sounding board for field challenges, from data collection methods to project design.
  • Work with Program Managers to ensure that conservation goals are achievable within the realities of field operations.
  • Help bridge communication between field teams and head office to ensure shared accountability and learning.

🦒 WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM

• Academic Background: An advanced degree (MSc or PhD) in Conservation Biology, Ecology, or a related field and a good publication (scientific and popular writing) track record.
• Field Experience: Experience living and working in remote field locations as well as implementing field-based conservation projects, ideally in international settings.
• Practical Knowledge: A strong understanding of biodiversity monitoring, different conservation practices, community-based conservation, and field technology (e.g., GIS, camera traps, statistics and R).
• Teaching and communication: Natural ability to translate complex scientific concepts into simple, actionable training for staff and participants.
• Managerial and strategy experience: Experience working with diverse teams with different backgrounds and ethnicities. 
  

Bonus if you also have:

• Experience in designing or delivering training programs or outdoor education.
• Familiarity with community engagement within a conservation context.
• Experience working within a multi-stakeholder or complex organisational structure.
• Ability to liaise effectively with different stakeholders to facilitate collaborative efforts, statutory clearances and compliance. 
• Experience working in collaboration with academics for the preparation of manuscripts.
  
• Ability to supervise, manage and administer various activities.
• Experience in creating education/training material and writing policies related to the conservation & management of biodiversity.

🐾 WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

• Monthly salary
• A unique and immersive conservation experience
• All meals provided 
• Visa support (where applicable)
• Growth opportunities 
• A collaborative, purpose-driven culture
• Emergency medical and travel insurance

☀️ WORKING AT GVI

At GVI, we're driven by the desire to make a positive impact on our planet and its people. Our dedicated teams are actively working to address global challenges and together, we leverage a diverse set of specialised skills to pursue a shared vision: cultivating a brighter and more sustainable future for all.

Working at GVI is fast-paced and fun. You will join a community that values passion, authenticity and innovation, and where we treat each other with respect. But we can do better than words to show you who we are! To see what it's really like to work for GVI: 

🎥 Watch Here

📰 Read Here

👥 Meet the Team

🔍 OUR HIRING PROCESS

1. Interview with People Team
   
2. Interview with your future manager
   
3. Practical scenario or field-based operational challenge
   
4. Final interview with Senior Leadership
   
5. Background checks
   

✅ YOUR NEXT STEP

If you're ready to be at the heart of every journey, bringing meticulous care to world-changing impact as a leader in operations, we want to hear from you.

Please send us your CV and a short Cover Letter sharing why this role is the right fit for you.

Kindly note: We genuinely appreciate every application we receive. If you haven’t heard from us within 3–4 weeks, it likely means we’ve moved forward with other candidates this time. That said, we’d love for you to stay connected and consider applying again in the future!