Director, Sustainable Commodities Finance (Global Remote)

Reports to: Executive Director; Markets
Location: NY preferred, but negotiable within the WCS global program structure
About us:
WCS is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity.
Job Summary
To achieve its conservation goals, WCS is engaging with small holder farmers and fishers to ensure effective terrestrial and coastal conservation. WCS works with these small-scale producers to promote productive practices that reduce or eliminate negative impacts on nature, while providing them with improved income opportunities through access to finance and to markets. WCS see the importance of promoting investments in value-add enterprises that support processing, transportation or other related supply-chain activities.
Most tropical deforestation is driven by the expanding production of agricultural commodities. WCS is working to prevent the expansion of deforestation and degradation frontiers driven by commodity production through interventions that support zero deforestation production and facilitate investment and engagement at the forest and farm frontier, in particular with the smallholder farmers, local communities and indigenous peoples in these geographies. WCS developed this strategy as the ‘Forest First’ approach. A recent three-year $5 million grant from the Balmer Group will provide the philanthropic foundation for the expansion of this work
WCS recognizes that sustainable economic opportunities for the communities where we work are critical to the success of biodiversity conservation across our network. To significantly scale up our ability to foster and scale these opportunities, WCS seeks a Director, Sustainable Commodities Finance to lead the deployment of blended grant and investment capital to support the development of businesses and supply chains that reduce the threats and pressures to the world’s most at-risk ecosystems.
While demand for investment opportunities that support nature positive outcomes is growing exponentially, there are very few ‘investment ready’ opportunities in the pipeline. Many conservation enterprises describe challenges in raising risk-tolerant capital and securing technical and other resources needed to demonstrate performance and meet investor expectations. WCS’s approach is intended to address this ‘missing middle’, by bringing capital and other resources to nature-positive businesses to enhance their “investability,” enabling larger-scale financing that will support WCS’s conservation outcomes in “frontier regions” where forests are threatened by the expansion of commodity production. WCS’s access to grant financing, our strong field presence and science-based approach, and our long-standing partnerships at these forest frontiers can help demonstrate the business case for zero deforestation and conservation-friendly production systems, and allow us to help create the enabling conditions for investment readiness and success. We will initially focus on the development of investment opportunities that have the potential for greatest impact at forest frontiers, specifically within Latin America, Southeast Asia, Mesoamerica and Central Africa. We expect to expand eventually to additional geographies based on needs and opportunities, which will include commodities and potential investments that go beyond the ‘Forest-First’ approach.
Job Objectives:
The Director will lead WCS’s efforts to establish the modalities required at the regional/country level, as well as globally, to attract both philanthropic and investment financing. The Director will work with the Markets team and regional and country directors to build a global team to support the identification of investment opportunities primarily in WCS priority geographies that contribute to our global conservation targets, and identify and realize the private sector partnerships and capital investment needed to operationalize these opportunities. Most of this team will be nested in the regional and country programs where the implementation takes place.
1: Build and lead a dedicated team at regional and country level to support the identification of investment opportunities and private sector partnerships in targeted landscapes that connect with, and provide added value to, WCS landscapes and conservation priorities.
2: Work with the Markets team to identify options for and develop Regional and/or global Facilities/Institutional Mechanisms, to attract and leverage private and philanthropic sector funding to increase financing and investment in nature-positive production and supply chains.
3: Raise the investment required to capitalize and support WCS’s project portfolio, while continuing to identify and incubate new pipeline opportunities in conjunction with the established field programs that support WCS’s conservation mission.
Responsibilities
Develop a coherent and compelling sustainable commodities strategy for WCS, building on available science and regional and country-level demonstration projects, that clearly communicates the WCS ‘value add’ in this field.
Assess the options available for developing investment opportunities at the country and regional level and work with the teams to establish/structure the most suitable mechanism to attract financing and grow the specific initiative
Lead the process of establishing and operationalizing the financing and investment facilities both at a global and country/regional levels ,including overall leadership of the processes that will define the legal, governance, and administrative structure (s) with support from relevant WCS units and leadership.
Provide the strategic vision for identifying and deploying resources to priority pipeline opportunities across the WCS network.
Create strong working partnerships and donor relationships with major donors seeking to engage on these issues, including major foundations, Governments, private philanthropists and impact investors.
Provide leadership and guidance to the team to develop the impact screening and monitoring and evaluation tools that assess impact throughout the investment lifecycle.
Represent WCS at major national and international fora, industry association, and roundtable meetings, or other relevant events.
Lead the creation of partnerships, e.g. via Special Purpose Vehicles, MOUs, Joint Ventures etc., that support the operationalization of new investments or the delivery of enabling conditions needed to access new investments.
Work with regional and country directors to define the management oversight responsibilities for financing mechanisms established within field programs that involve private investment
Support the development of policies that address corporate supply chains and public policy (e.g. EU and US imported deforestation)
Participate in the Markets program leadership team.
Liaise and collaborate with other thematic programs as warranted (e.g. Forests & Climate Change)
Qualification Requirements
Experience
Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in the investment sector, with an established track record of experience in both creating and leading impact focused investments.
Proven leader and collaborator.
Demonstrated passion for and commitment to the environment / conservation field.
Experience working within or in close partnership with non-profits is highly desirable.
A strong understanding of the financial challenges facing rural and IPLC communities in the developing world, and the impacts of these challenges on WCS’s conservation mission.
Education
Higher degree in finance, economics, or other relevant disciplines. Additional academic experience in natural and/or environmental sciences or related fields is highly desired.
Required Skills
Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to perform under pressure.
Excellent proven stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
Demonstrable ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multicultural teams.
Self-starter and able to prioritize activities accordingly.
Set challenging but realistic goals and solve problems effectively.
Produce high quality products/services with attention to detail.
Supportive, constructive and open to influence in dealing with others.
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
A working proficiency in Spanish and/or French is highly desirable
Diplomatic and solution-oriented.
Salary Range
$100,000-$170,000