Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wildlife Conservation Program Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Wildlife Conservation Program Manager leads the planning, implementation and evaluation of conservation programs focused on wildlife species, habitats and ecosystems. Responsible for translating conservation science into actionable program plans, securing and managing funding, coordinating multi-stakeholder field operations, ensuring regulatory compliance and demonstrating measurable impact through robust monitoring and adaptive management. This role requires a balance of technical conservation expertise (species recovery, habitat restoration, GIS/M&E), program and financial management (budgets, grants, contracts), and relationship-building with communities, government agencies, NGOs and donors.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Field Biologist or Wildlife Biologist with 2–5 years of program experience
Conservation Coordinator or Project Officer in NGO/government programs
Restoration Ecologist or GIS Specialist transitioning into program oversight

Advancement To:

Senior Program Manager / Conservation Program Director
Regional Conservation Director or Head of Conservation
Policy & Advocacy Director or Chief Conservation Officer

Lateral Moves:

Grants & Partnerships Manager
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Lead
Community Engagement or Indigenous Partnership Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design and strategic planning of multi-year wildlife conservation programs, including development of conservation objectives, theory of change, logical frameworks, and measurable indicators for species recovery and habitat restoration outcomes.
Manage full program lifecycle from concept through close-out, including creating detailed workplans, timelines, deliverables matrices, risk registers, and adaptive management triggers to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery.
Secure and manage program funding by preparing competitive grant proposals, donor pitches, budgets and supporting materials; manage donor relations, reporting schedules, and compliance with funder terms and restrictions.
Prepare, monitor and control program budgets of moderate to high complexity, authorize expenditures, forecast cashflow, and work with finance teams to ensure accurate tracking of cost centers and financial compliance.
Oversee field operations and logistics across multiple sites — recruit and supervise field teams, coordinate permitting and access, manage equipment and supply chains, and ensure safe and compliant field practices in remote settings.
Develop and implement species recovery plans and habitat restoration strategies using best-available science, population viability analyses (PVA), threat assessments, and stakeholder input to prioritize actions and conservation targets.
Design and lead monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems including development of M&E frameworks, indicators, data collection protocols, data quality assurance, and dashboards to measure ecological and social outcomes.
Apply GIS and spatial analysis to habitat mapping, connectivity assessments, threat mapping, and monitoring data; produce maps and geospatial products to inform planning and reporting (ArcGIS, QGIS).
Supervise, mentor and evaluate program staff and contractors, including hiring, performance management, capacity building, establishing clear roles and responsibilities, and fostering a collaborative high-performance team culture.
Build and sustain strategic partnerships with government agencies, indigenous and local communities, universities, private sector partners and other NGOs to mobilize resources, co-design interventions, secure permits, and scale conservation impact.
Lead stakeholder engagement and participatory planning processes with local communities, Indigenous peoples, landowners and resource users to ensure culturally appropriate, equitable and community-led conservation outcomes.
Ensure legal and regulatory compliance for conservation activities, including wildlife permits, land-use agreements, endangered species regulations, invasive species protocols, and health & safety requirements for field staff.
Coordinate and manage subcontractors, consultants and research partners — develop scopes of work, manage procurement processes, oversee deliverables, and integrate technical findings into program implementation.
Develop and implement communications, outreach and education plans to raise program visibility, disseminate scientific findings, engage donors, and support behavior change campaigns that reduce threats to wildlife.
Lead conservation fundraising and revenue diversification activities beyond grants (corporate partnerships, major gifts, events, sponsorships), including preparation of stewardship materials and donor impact reports.
Oversee data management and ensure data integrity, metadata standards, and secure storage for ecological, socio-economic and GIS datasets; promote reproducible workflows and open-data best practices where appropriate.
Conduct or commission rigorous field-based monitoring (camera traps, telemetry, transects, population surveys) and analyze biological data to inform adaptive management and conservation decision-making.
Prepare high-quality technical reports, peer-reviewed papers, policy briefs and donor narratives that synthesize program results, lessons learned and evidence for replication and scaling.
Manage program-level risk including ecological, financial, reputational and operational risks; design mitigation plans, insurance strategies, and contingency measures for field safety and natural disasters.
Lead policy engagement and advocacy efforts to influence wildlife protection regulations, land-use planning, and government conservation priorities aligned with program goals, working with legal and policy teams when needed.
Coordinate volunteer and citizen-science programs, providing training, protocols and supervision to maximize data quality and community stewardship while maintaining volunteer safety and engagement.
Integrate social and equity considerations into program design, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes, benefit-sharing mechanisms, gender-sensitive approaches, and conflict sensitivity analyses.
Oversee procurement and asset management for field equipment and vehicles, ensure compliance with procurement policies, and maintain asset inventories, maintenance schedules and depreciation records.
Track program metrics and KPIs, produce monthly/quarterly dashboards and presentations for senior leadership and boards, and use learning to refine program strategy and scale successful interventions.
Manage cross-functional coordination across science, operations, fundraising and communications teams to align priorities, leverage resources and deliver cohesive conservation outcomes.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc technical requests such as habitat suitability modeling, conservation prioritization analyses, and strategic grant concept notes for new funding opportunities.
Contribute to the organization's conservation strategy and program roadmap by synthesizing field lessons and scientific evidence into priority areas for investment.
Collaborate with internal teams (finance, HR, legal, communications) to translate program requirements into contracts, staffing plans and public-facing materials.
Participate in cross-organizational planning, adaptive-management reviews and donor meetings to ensure program alignment with organizational goals and external commitments.
Provide technical support and capacity-building workshops for partner organizations and community groups on monitoring methods, GIS tools and best practices in wildlife management.
Maintain accurate program documentation and ensure all project deliverables meet donor and organizational standards for quality, timeliness and compliance.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Program design & management (logical frameworks, theory of change, workplans, risk registers)
Grant writing and donor management (proposal development, budget creation, donor reporting)
Budgeting and financial management for projects (forecasting, cost-tracking, procurement oversight)
Field operations management (logistics, permitting, health & safety protocols)
Species recovery planning and habitat restoration techniques
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) design, indicator development, survey protocols and results synthesis
GIS and spatial analysis (ArcGIS, QGIS, habitat mapping, connectivity analysis)
Quantitative data analysis and statistics (R, Python, or advanced Excel for ecological datasets)
Experience with camera traps, telemetry, population surveys, and other wildlife monitoring tools
Regulatory compliance and permit management for wildlife, protected areas and land access
Contract management and procurement for consultants and service providers
Scientific writing and technical report production; experience publishing or supporting peer-reviewed outputs
CRM and donor databases (Salesforce, Bloomerang or equivalent) and project management tools (Asana, MS Project)
Experience with community-based conservation methods, FPIC and participatory rural appraisal techniques

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership and team management with experience motivating multidisciplinary teams in complex field environments
Excellent written and verbal communication for technical, donor and public audiences
Strong stakeholder engagement, negotiation and partnership-building skills across government, Indigenous, private and NGO sectors
Cultural sensitivity and ability to work with diverse communities, applying equity and inclusion best practices
Problem-solving and adaptability; capacity to manage ambiguity and make decisions under resource constraints
Project prioritization, time management and organizational skills to handle multiple priorities and deliverables
Conflict resolution and facilitation skills for community consultations and multi-stakeholder working groups
Attention to detail and high standards for data quality, documentation and compliance
Influencing and advocacy skills to drive policy outcomes and secure cross-sector commitments
Mentorship and capacity-building orientation to develop junior staff and local partners

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology, Wildlife Ecology, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MSc or MA) in Wildlife Conservation, Conservation Science, Ecology, Environmental Management, or a related discipline.
Additional certificates in Project Management (PMP), Monitoring & Evaluation, GIS, or Fundraising are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Wildlife Ecology / Conservation Biology
Environmental Science / Natural Resource Management
Ecology, GIS and Spatial Analysis
Social Sciences related to community-based conservation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years of professional experience in conservation program delivery, with increasing responsibility for program design, field operations, budgeting and partner management.

Preferred:

Demonstrated track record managing multi-year, multi-stakeholder conservation projects, experience securing and managing donor-funded grants (government, foundation, bilateral).
Field experience in relevant ecosystems and proven ability to lead teams in remote or politically complex settings.
Experience working with Indigenous and local communities, applying FPIC, participatory approaches, and equitable benefit-sharing.
Proven experience in M&E systems for biodiversity outcomes and familiarity with GIS-based planning and habitat assessments.