Partnerships and Markets Manager

RESPONSIBILITIES

This role is central to scaling conservation impact, strengthening market-driven solutions, and ensuring that livestock-based agriculture contributes to biodiversity conservation while fostering economic resilience.

Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with corporate partners, donors, government agencies, conservation organisations, and local cooperatives to foster collaboration and secure long-term support.
• Engage value-chain stakeholders and agropastoralists to strengthen market access and establish new opportunities for community involvement along the value chain while enhancing community-led conservation efforts.
• Represent the project in regional forums, policy discussions, and national steering committee meetings, advocating for sustainable livestock management and conservation-based economic models.

Market-Based Conservation & Enterprise Development

• Identify and implement market-oriented solutions that improve the livelihoods of communal livestock farmers while restoring ecological connectivity. Establish a mechanism to distinguish between a commercial enterprise and livelihood opportunities that enable an integrated systems for economic resilience within the landscape.
• Support value-chain development for sheep and goats and other livestock by-products, promoting biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices that align with long-term conservation goals.
• Facilitate enterprise development initiatives that integrate sustainable grazing practices with market accessibility, ensuring economic resilience for local communities.
• Where relevant, develop business plans for established community enterprises.

Fundraising & Resource Mobilization

• Identify funding opportunities and support the development of proposals to secure financial resources for conservation and livestock-based economic initiatives.
• Coordinate local inputs for grant reporting and compliance, ensuring alignment with donor requirements, including the mandate to invest at least 50% of funds in local institutions and communities.

Governance & Risk Management

• Ensure effective governance structures for cooperatives in the landscapes that can service relevant funding agreements, and enterprise development initiatives.
• Proactively identify risks related to financial sustainability, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement, and implement strategies to mitigate them.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• This position requires extensive travel nationally and locally. 
• This role will be a two-year fixed-term assignment, anticipated to begin in August 2025 till July 2027.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• A Bachelor’s or similar degree in Environmental Science, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, Conservation Finance, or a related field.
• 4 to 6 years of experience in partnership development, market-based conservation, or sustainable agriculture initiatives.
• Up to 2 years of supervisory experience. 
• Proven experience working with communal livestock farmers, conservation organizations, and market-driven solutions for rural development.
• Familiarity with conservation finance models, policy frameworks, and donor-funded projects, particularly within South Africa
   

Skills:

• Strategic partnership-building skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with corporate entities, donors, government agencies, and conservation NGOs.
• Strong fundraising and grant writing abilities, including proposal development and compliance with funding structures and donor requirements.
• Knowledge of market-oriented conservation approaches, including value-chain development for livestock, enterprise development, and biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices.
• Project management expertise, including budget planning, monitoring & evaluation, governance, and risk mitigation.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to represent the organization in policy discussions, forums, and multi-stakeholder engagements.
• Data-driven decision-making, with experience in using research, impact assessments, and financial modeling to guide market-based conservation strategies.

Abilities:

• Ability to design and implement conservation-based economic solutions that balance biodiversity conservation, rural development, and market growth.
• Capacity to manage multi-stakeholder collaborations, ensuring alignment with local communities, private sector engagement, and conservation policies.
• Ability to work independently and in teams, balancing strategic leadership with operational execution.
• Adaptability to work within complex landscapes, managing partnerships across protected areas, communal lands, and agricultural markets.
• Capacity to analyze and mitigate risks related to funding, governance, ecological sustainability, and market access.

Preferred

• Certification or formal training in market-based conservation strategies, impact investing, or conservation governance.
• Experience in rural economic development programs, particularly those linked to livestock farming, biodiversity conservation, and natural resource management.
• Knowledge of carbon markets, ecosystem services valuation, and biodiversity finance models for sustainable conservation funding.
• Familiarity with data-driven conservation monitoring, and market analytics for value-chain optimization.
• Fluency in local languages spoken in the Namaqualand region (Afrikaans and English) (preferred for effective stakeholder engagement).