ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND
Nature & Culture International (NCI) is a highly effective conservation organization working to protect tropical forests and biodiversity in South America. Over the past 30 years, it has conserved over 29 million acres in 211 protected areas across the Andes and Amazon by putting local communities at the center of the work rather than treating them as bystanders.
The organization works primarily in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia, partnering with Indigenous groups, traditional communities, governments, and regional allies to protect land for the long term. Country teams lead conservation work on the ground, with headquarters in Loja, Ecuador, anchoring field operations and offices throughout the region.
It’s an unusually efficient model; NCI’s conservation projects typically cost between $1 and $10 per acre, which makes this one of the highest-impact places a donor can put money. A small U.S. team raises funds and sends nearly all of it to the field, where the actual conservation happens.
The new CEO will be responsible for building the individual and institutional fundraising engine to grow the current $9M annual budget to $18M within 3–5 years, and continue to grow the model into the future.
POSITION OVERVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The CEO is the organization’s chief fundraiser and its lead representative in the United States. This person leads the U.S. team, focuses on cultivating major institutional and individual donors, and builds partnerships that scale conservation work across Latin America. It’s a role for a leader who can tell a compelling story, build lasting donor relationships, and turn field results into sustained giving.
The job, at its core, is to fund the next stage of growth. Conservation is why the organization exists; revenue is what makes it possible. The next CEO will put the expanding revenue to work protecting some of the most biodiverse forests left on the planet. The U.S. branch exists to fund the work, not run it.
Strategic Leadership and Vision
Set organizational vision and strategy with the board and Latin American leadership, keeping conservation impact as the goal and revenue as the tool.
Stay disciplined about the few priorities that actually matter: think in terms of pipelines, portfolios, and multi-year plans, not scattered initiatives.
Plan for a shifting philanthropic landscape and have contingencies ready.
Keep the pulse on trends in U.S. philanthropy and conservation funding, and use them to sharpen strategy.
Fundraising and Development Leadership
Serve as the public face of NCI in the United States and at international forums, engaging major donors, media, and the broader conservation field.
Build and run a U.S. fundraising plan to meet revenue growth goals (from $9M to $18M in 3–5 years) and align the U.S. team behind it.
Cultivate and steward major donors giving $50,000+, and build a strong pipeline of principal and legacy gift prospects.
Personally close six- and seven-figure gifts, manage a portfolio, and work with the board on cultivation.
Grow unrestricted giving so the organization can direct money where it’s needed most.
Build lasting pathways for support, including planned giving, corporate partnerships, and project-specific funding, that keep resources flowing to Latin America for generations.
Translate complex conservation science and community partnership work and make it clear and compelling to donors.
Lead donor trips to the field so supporters can meet the people and see the places they’re funding.
Team Building and Development Operations
Build a development team so strong that every hire multiplies the mission’s reach, and donors stay loyal to the cause long after the person who brought them in has moved on.
Invest in people so that every person who develops becomes another engine for the mission.
Brand, Communications, and Public Representation
Turn the organization’s story into its greatest fundraising asset: clear, urgent, and impossible to forget.
Create a communications engine where paid, owned, and earned media work together toward real, measurable growth.
Build brand awareness with target donors so NCI is seen as the leader in community-based conservation in Latin America.
Partnership with Latin American Teams
Build high-impact relationships with each country director through regular contact.
Visit the field at least twice a year and spend time engaging with the conservation teams.
Advocate for funding and visibility for the Latin American programs. This is a support role for the field, not oversight of it.
Make decisions that affect Latin America together with those teams, respecting how they lead and how they think about conservation.
Board Partnership
Turn the board into a powerful fundraising asset, with clear expectations for each member.
Pair board members with specific prospect relationships and establish a steady cultivation rhythm.
Shape a board equal to the mission, one that grows in ambition alongside the organization it serves.
Organizational and Financial Management
Strategize priorities for the $9M+ annual organizational budget, ensuring full accountability and clear reporting.
Partner with the COO, Director of Marketing, Director of Development, and Individual Giving Manager.
Keep governance strong and maintain a trusting, productive relationship with the board.
Work closely with Latin American country directors so field leadership stays resourced and supported.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES
Nature & Culture International is looking for someone driven and entrepreneurial about fundraising, who also respects the communities and ecosystems this work depends on. This person has a track record of significant revenue growth, earns trust easily across cultures, and leads through partnership rather than control.
Fundraising and Donor Partnership
At least 15 years in fundraising leadership roles.
Experience closing six- and seven-figure gifts and landing individual commitments of $100K+.
Success with major donor cultivation, foundations, and institutional funders.
Genuine relationships within conservation philanthropy and major donor circles.
Has grown a development program’s revenue by 2–5x.
Tells a good story, approaching donors with gravitas and genuine gratitude; communicates the ecological and human stakes of conservation.
Executive and Strategic Competence
Bring sharp clarity to what matters most, and build a united and engaged U.S. team behind it.
Comfortable thinking in pipelines, portfolios, and multi-year plans.
Command the numbers, set the budget, and drive accountability as the organization scales.
Experience managing budgets and teams, and building up senior leaders under them.
Cultivating the board as a fundraising mechanism, leveraging board skills, and building broader brand awareness.
Mission Commitment
Passion for conservation, and the ability to get others excited about it, too.
Background in conservation, environmental work, or international development.
Comfortable operating across cultures and building trust across borders and backgrounds.
Sufficient Spanish fluency to lead a meeting or handle a hard conversation without an interpreter, or the proven ability to manage those relationships well through one.
Willing to travel to Latin America regularly, up to four weeks a year.
Leadership and Character
Gives credit to the team when things go well, and takes responsibility when they don’t.
Personally humble, professionally driven.
Honest, keeps confidences, and makes the right call even when it’s not the easy one.
Moves with urgency; leads with integrity.
Curious, learns quickly, and listens before jumping to solutions.
Follows through, including on the unglamorous stuff.
COMPENSATION
This is a full-time, exempt, benefits-eligible role. Salary range is $275,000–$325,000, based on experience.
Benefits include:
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Retirement plan with employer contribution
Paid time off
Professional development support
LOCATION AND REQUIREMENTS
This is a remote position open to candidates who live in California, with a preference for those based in Southern California, close to our U.S. operations. Expect travel for donor meetings, conferences, and presentations, plus roughly four weeks a year in the field in South America.
TO APPLY
Apply at potrerogroup.com/nature by selecting “Apply Here.” Include a resume and a cover letter describing your qualifications and what you’d bring to the role.
Priority consideration for applications received by November 6.