Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President of Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) provides visionary leadership, strategic direction, and organizational management to advance ACA’s mission of protecting the Amazon rainforest and promoting sustainable development across one of the world's most important regions for biodiversity, climate stability, and Indigenous stewardship. The ACA President is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of ACA’s programs, institutional sustainability, operational excellence, and fundraising success.
The President leads a highly committed team of professionals in the United States and South America providing strong fiscal responsibility, effective operations, and human resource management
The President serves as ACA’s primary representative before major philanthropic, corporate, bilateral, and multilateral donors and engages actively in international conservation, climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development forums.
The role requires building strong partnerships with governments, Indigenous Peoples, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector to expand and sustain measurable conservation impact and community outcomes.
Fundraising, institutional positioning, alliance-building, stakeholder engagement, financial stewardship, and organizational management are all essential to secure long-term financial sustainability.
An additional responsibility of the President is supporting the strategic alliance among ACA (United States), Conservación Amazónica (ACCA) in Peru, and Conservación Amazónica (ACEAA) in Bolivia), in achieving landscape-scale conservation outcomes across the Amazon Basin. The President will help foster collaboration, shared strategic priorities, joint fundraising initiatives, and coordinated communications among the three organizations while respecting their respective governance structures and national contexts.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Strategic Leadership and Organizational Management
- Provide strategic vision and leadership to ensure ACA’s programs, partnerships, and investments advance the organization's mission and long-term objectives.
- Guide the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of conservation programs and initiatives, ensuring measurable ecological, climate, and social impacts.
- Work closely with the Board of Directors to establish strategic priorities, annual work plans, budgets, and institutional objectives.
- Ensure organizational excellence through sound financial management, risk management, governance, human resources, and operational systems.
- Lead, manage, and encourage a team of highly specialized, talented professionals in a hybrid/remote work model throughout the US and Amazon.
- Seek expert input, honor collaborative process, and make clear decisions.
- Work directly with Finance Director to manage dynamic budget environment and ensure organizational financial health.
- Foster a high-performance organizational culture based on collaboration, accountability, innovation, diversity, and respect.
- Recruit, mentor, and retain a talented and diverse team of professionals.
2. Fundraising and Resource Mobilization
- Lead and serve as a key fundraiser for ACA’s fundraising strategy to significantly increase unrestricted and restricted revenue from a diversified portfolio of funding sources.
- Cultivate, steward, and expand relationships with major donors, foundations, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and philanthropic organizations.
- Develop and oversee major grant proposals, strategic funding initiatives, and innovative financing opportunities.
- Collaborate closely with alliance partners to secure multi-country and regional funding opportunities.
- Develop and implement a corporate engagement and partnership strategy aimed at attracting private-sector investment in conservation, sustainable supply chains, restoration, nature-based solutions, and climate initiatives.
- Identify emerging funding opportunities and position ACA as a preferred implementing partner for major conservation and climate investments.
3. International Affairs and External Relations
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with bilateral donors, including agencies such as GIZ, NORAD, SIDA, and similar institutions.
- Strengthen relationships with multilateral organizations and financial institutions, including the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, United Nations agencies, and other international funding mechanisms.
- Engage proactively with philanthropic networks, international conservation organizations, scientific institutions, and policy leaders to elevate ACA’s visibility and influence.
- Ensure ACA’s active participation in major international events and policy processes, including UN Climate Conferences (COPs), Biodiversity COPs, Climate Weeks, conservation congresses, sustainable finance forums, and related international gatherings.
- Monitor emerging international policy trends and funding priorities and position ACA to capitalize on strategic opportunities.
4. Communications and Organizational Visibility
- Act as ACA’s principal spokesperson in the United States and internationally.
- Enhance ACA’s visibility, reputation, and influence among donors, policymakers, conservation leaders, media, and strategic partners.
- Oversee institutional communications and messaging to ensure clarity, consistency, effectiveness, and alignment with organizational goals.
- Promote and communicate the impact of ACA’s conservation, climate, science, and community-based programs to diverse audiences.
5. Strengthening Amazon Conservation Alliance and extend the partnerships in the Amazonia
- Serve as a champion for the strategic alliance between ACA, ACCA, and ACEAA, to promote a shared vision and common strategic framework that leverages the strengths of each institution while maintaining local leadership and autonomy.
- Facilitate joint planning, knowledge exchange, communications, fundraising, and program development among alliance partners.
- Support the development of joint initiatives that demonstrate the value of a coordinated Amazon-wide conservation approach.
- Work to build regional partnerships throughout Amazonia to build on and extend the reach and impact of Alliance activities. Ensure that regional conservation priorities, donor engagement efforts, and institutional growth strategies are aligned across the alliance and its partnerships.
- Strengthen governance mechanisms and institutional relationships that reinforce trust, collaboration, and long-term effectiveness within the alliance.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Deep commitment to the mission of Amazon conservation and sustainable development.
- Demonstrated success leading complex organizations, major conservation initiatives, or comparable international programs.
- Experience leading teams of professionals in a hybrid/remote work environment.
- Strong fundraising skills and record working with philanthropic foundations, major donors, corporate partners, bilateral donors, and multilateral institutions. Comfort in making direct contact and specific requests for support.
- Proven ability to develop and manage strategic partnerships across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Significant professional experience working in Latin America, preferably in Amazonian countries.
- Demonstrated experience representing organizations at high-level international forums and engaging with senior government officials and donor agencies.
- Experience developing and implementing corporate engagement and resource mobilization strategies.
- Strong understanding of international conservation finance, climate finance, biodiversity funding mechanisms, and donor landscapes.
- Experience in conservation strategies and similar fields including bioeconomy, forest governance, climate policy, carbon markets, and forest crime initiatives.
- Strong understanding of South American political, social, and cultural contexts.
- Financial acumen and experience overseeing organizational budgets and financial sustainability.
- Strong communication, writing, public speaking, negotiation, and diplomatic skills with ability to tailor messaging for different audiences.
- Experience working effectively with Boards of Directors and governance bodies.
- Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of the time.
- Advanced degree in conservation, environmental policy, international development, public administration, business administration, or related field required.
- Training or experience in conflict resolution, coalition building, or organizational change management is desirable.
- Fluency in English and Spanish required; Portuguese strongly preferred.
- Legal status to work in the United States full time required.
LOCATION
Washington, D.C. strongly preferred, close proximity to and/or willingness to be in Washington D.C. on a frequent basis could be discussed.