Regional Community Conservation Coordinator Position Available

About WCS:

The Wildlife Conservation Society is an international NGO headquartered at Bronx Zoo in New York City, working to save wildlife and wild lands while addressing global challenges in over 50 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the world’s oceans.

Our mission is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on Earth. Our goal is to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 13 priority regions, which are home to more than 50% of the world’s biodiversity. Our values include Respect, Accountability and Transparency, Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion, Collaboration, and Integrity.

Organization Background:

The Sudano-Sahel Region presents unparalleled opportunities for WCS to contribute to saving some of the last remaining intact wildernesses and significantly contribute to the security of people and wildlife. The region supports key populations of elephants, northern giraffes, lions, and elands, while communities depend on the land for livelihoods through pastoralism, agriculture, fishing, and hunting.

WCS has a proven conservation history and a strong presence in the Sudano-Sahel Region, with initiatives in Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, and Cameroon. We actively support protected area management, wildlife law enforcement, local livelihood development, conservation-security partnerships, counter-wildlife trafficking efforts, and the national implementation of policies and scientific programs.

Job Purpose:

The objective of the Regional Community Conservation Coordinator is to lead and support the region in implementing a rights-based approach to conservation while fostering an enabling environment that strengthens the role of local communities in conservation solutions.

This position will work within the WCS regional framework, collaborating closely with global thematic teams Rights+Communities and Markets while providing mentorship and guidance to community conservation programs in the Sudano-Sahel Region.

Major Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Program Development:
  • Drive community conservation delivery across the Sudano-Sahel by leading the development and implementation of high-impact, rights-based community initiatives.
  • Champion inclusive conservation in project proposals, ensuring community-led solutions are central to our regional growth and funding strategy.
  • Act as a mentor and technical catalyst for country programs, cultivating a culture of adaptive, innovative problem-solving among community teams in Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and CAR.
  • Elevate technical reporting to ensure the voices and successes of local communities are accurately reflected to stakeholders and partners.
• Market-Linked Conservation & Sustainable Livelihoods:
  • Partner with the WCS Global Markets team to architect and scale community-led commodity chains for cocoa and shea, providing forest-positive economic alternatives.
  • Lead the design of transparent Benefit Sharing Mechanisms linked to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), ensuring ecological stewardship translates into community dividends.
  • Support the development and implementation of soil carbon and REDD+ strategies and policies.
• Technical Support & Landscape Implementation:
  • Work alongside site managers to co-create community conservation strategies aligned with WCS national, regional, and global strategies.
  • Guide field teams in establishing zoning and management plans, prioritizing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and meaningful local participation.
  • Build resilient, inclusive governance structures that integrate local institutions, traditional practices, and indigenous knowledge.
  • Lead the development of training materials and provide hands-on mentoring for field-based community managers.
  • Work with peacebuilding actors to ensure conflict-sensitive approaches mitigate community-based conflicts related to protected area management.
• Applied Social Science:
  • Provide leadership and technical guidance on using qualitative and quantitative social science methods in community conservation program planning.
  • Develop action plans for effectively incorporating social science into community conservation activities throughout the region.
  • Standardize key research tools throughout the region and develop training modules for field teams.

Qualification Requirements:

• Post-graduate degree in social or environmental sciences (background in social and cultural anthropology is an advantage).
• Field experience of seven (7) to ten (10) years with international organizations in Africa working on community-based conservation and natural resource management.
• Proven ability to deliver research related to the human dimensions of conservation in international development contexts.
• Knowledge of social safeguards and/or social science in the context of conservation.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in French and English (regional languages are an advantage).
• Proactive, resilient, team-oriented, creative, and ambitious work ethic.
• Willingness to live in a multicultural environment.

Additional Requirements:

• Frequent travels to the WCS offices and field sites across the region.
• Professional proficiency in English and French.

Skills Required:

• Environmental / Natural / Resource