PMEL Advisor for Bankable Nature Solutions

WWF-NL is a professional and dynamic organization with an informal working culture based in Zeist, the Netherlands. The organisation consists of four departments: Conservation, Engagement, Organization & Talent Development and Finance & Operations. The Impact Academy within the Conservation department is looking for a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) Advisor for Bankable Nature Solutions. Find the full vacancytext on our website.

Background

In this role, 20% of your time supports the Impact Academy (IA) and 80% supports the Green Finance Unit. The Impact Academy drives WWF-NL’s impact strategy, monitoring, evaluation and learning. Core activities include supporting teams and offices in developing Theories of Change, advising on impact measurement, translating scientific evidence into practical insights and driving adaptive management.

The Green Finance Team aims to shift finance towards WWF’s conservation goals and global climate and nature targets. This includes reducing harmful investments and scaling sustainable finance as a key driver for conservation impact. WWF-NL works with governments, financial institutions and partners worldwide to move from commitments to implementation and close climate and biodiversity funding gaps.

The team has two pillars:

1. Financing Green – mobilising finance towards projects with positive ecological and business outcomes.
2. Greening Finance – influencing financial systems to align with conservation goals.

The PMEL Advisor ensures strong impact measurement, learning and accountability across WWF-NL’s green and blended finance portfolio, with a focus on monitoring, reporting, and learning as programmes mature.

You will primarily support:

• Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD)
• WWF Nectar Fund
• A strategic partnership with a financial institution

You collaborate closely with investment officers, E&S advisors, partners and WWF offices, and coordinate with the Impact Academy to align methods and learning.

WWF works on blending public and private finance to scale Bankable Nature Solutions | WWF: viable projects that strengthen sustainable landscapes, economies and biodiversity, while delivering large-scale impact.

The Opportunity

WWF-NL manages two blended finance facilities: DFCD and WWF Nectar Fund.

• DFCD is a consortium led by FMO with CFM and SNV, financing climate adaptation in the Global South. WWF-NL co-leads the Origination Facility, providing technical assistance and grants to scale sustainable businesses.
• WWF Nectar Fund supports innovative nature-positive finance solutions and is in an early implementation phase requiring strong MEL frameworks.

These programmes aim to protect communities from climate risks, enhance biodiversity, and improve livelihoods, especially for vulnerable groups.

The financial sector has strong potential to drive the transition to nature-positive development. In a multi-year partnership with a financial institution, you will design and steer MEL frameworks that help redirect financial flows, embed nature-impact evidence into decision-making, and demonstrate scalable nature-based solutions.

Role and responsibilities

This position reports to the Head of the Impact Academy Team and is responsible for leading and strengthening portfolio-wide MEL implementation across DFCD and Nectar, ensuring high-quality monitoring, reporting, impact aggregation, and learning. Develop and steward robust MEL frameworks for strategic partnerships, translating evidence into adaptive management, governance decisions, and credible impact communication. For the Impact Academy (IA), you are expected to stay informed on relevant literature, attend conferences, guide other PMEL staff, and contribute to the development of new proposals that require PMEL targets, while within the Green Finance Unit you will be responsible for designing and implementing a lean, practical reporting structure for programmes that supports learning and adaptive management and provides robust impact data for communication and accountability purposes, including defining appropriate KPIs at programme design stage, advising local WWF offices on impact measurement, and establishing baselines, all within WWF’s broader monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework to ensure credible evidence on biodiversity outcomes, sustainable land use, and system-level change.

Key responsibilities

• Lead portfolio-wide monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), ensuring high-quality monitoring, reporting, KPIs, and impact aggregation.
• Design and maintain robust MEL frameworks aligned with global standards, including indicators, baselines, and safeguards.
• Ensure partners deliver against agreed KPIs, impact pathways, and safeguard requirements, and strengthen the quality and consistency of reporting.
• Strengthen portfolio reporting, analysis, and impact narratives for accountability, learning, and communication.
• Ensure internal quality assurance through consistency checks, risk-based monitoring, and sound MEL documentation.
• Facilitate learning and adaptive management by translating evidence into insights for decision-making and governance.

Experience of the ideal candidate

Required

• Have at least 4 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation for conservation and/or climate programmes.
• Have an educational background in conservation science, international development, environmental studies or a background in finance or economics of conservation and environmental protection.
• Have experience in designing and managing monitoring and evaluation frameworks with a focus on either private sector enterprises, sustainable finance, and/or impact investment.
• Have knowledge of and experience working with Theories of Change and assumption-based learning frameworks.
• Experience working with landscape level monitoring and reporting.
• Knowledge of design, planning, (impact) monitoring and evaluation tools and PMEL processes.
• Experience working in complex multi-partner programmes.

Desired

• Scientific peer-reviewed publications in PMEL related topics
• International experience in development, conservation, or related sector

Skills

• Independent worker and pro-active thinker, creative and innovative mindset;
• Analytical and strategic; detailed, organised and results-oriented;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral;
• Be results-oriented, flexible, cooperative and proactive.
• Capable of utilising project management, data management, and data visualisation software.
• Excellent knowledge and use of English language.
• Strong social and communication skills to engage others (in various cultural contexts) and the ability to liaise with other relevant staff in different functional areas.

What do we offer?

• You will be able to work in a sustainable office surrounded by nature;
• An employment contract of 32-40 hours. Initially, a fixed-term employment contract of one year with a one-month probation period will be offered, with the intention to renew;
• Salaries that are in line with the standard in the Dutch not-for-profit sector; The minimum gross monthly salary for this role is 3.856 EUR and the maximum monthly salary is 4.816 EUR (based on a 40-hour contract) (Please note, due to the maximum salary, we are not able to sponsor a knowledge migrant permit for people above the age of 30 who are not eligible for the reduced salary as set by the IND);
• Staff receive a personal budget that is made up of 8% holiday allowance and 2,08% flexible budget, and receive 6 weeks of holiday per year (based on a 40-hour contract);
• We stimulate flexible working arrangements, the use of public transport and bike for work related travel. Employees receive an NS Business Card for 2nd class travel to and from work;
• We also have a hybrid working model, so staff can alternate working from home and from the office.

Information and procedure

If you are interested in this position, please apply by 3 June, 2026 using the form below.

Please note that in order to work for WWF-NL, you need a valid work permit.

Questions about this role can be directed to Robert Zwiers, Head of Impact Academy via rzwiers@wwf.nl.

We actively strive for our employees to reflect society and the international character of our organization. We therefore especially encourage candidates with backgrounds that are normally underrepresented to apply.

We consider the safety and protection of our colleagues as important. The successful candidate is therefore required to complete an integrity statement and supply a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag). We may also ask for references.

If you are an intermediary, please do not contact us. We will contact recruitment agencies ourselves if necessary.