The Director will bring solid experience in multi-disciplined, remote team management, financial stewardship, fundraising, and embedding MEL into program design and delivery. They will partner closely with the Fundraising and Finance Business teams to contribute to funding proposals, donor engagement and stewardship, support strong grant delivery, and maintain effective budget oversight. An experienced leader, they will have a strong track record of delivering impactful programs, building and developing high-performing teams, and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, inclusion, and continuous learning.

Given the internationally dispersed nature of our staff, partners and priority geographies, this position requires frequent international travel and a flexible approach to working hours to effectively manage and collaborate across global time zones.

Primary responsibilities

Strategy Design & Impact Delivery

• Lead the strategic and financial development and oversight of GFW’s regional and thematic delivery programs that align with the organizational strategy.
• Identify and pilot repeatable implementation models, harnessing our open data and technology, to allow for strategic fundraising and scaling sustainably across new geographic sites, as appropriate.
• Collaborate with the CIO and global program senior management team to inform the development and delivery of GFW's long-term strategy, and engage with and develop briefings and materials for the Senior Executive Group as needed.
• Identify and react to established or changing ocean governance and fisheries management issues to promote GFW's programmatic goals.

Program Leadership & Team Management

• Line manage and support regional / thematic leadership and teams to translate strategic priorities into actionable, funded delivery plans.
• Guide and support the development of multi-year strategies and associated budgets.
• Establish Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), as directed, manage performance, and foster a collaborative, safe, and inclusive remote work environment.
• Identify capacity gaps, review and reassign resources as needed, and coach/mentor staff to ensure the team is equipped to accomplish their responsibilities.

Grants, Financial Management & Fundraising

• Contribute to the development of concept notes and proposals to advance funding opportunities.
• In collaboration with the fundraising team, manage relevant partner relationships and sub-grant review processes, negotiations, and performance monitoring.
• Govern delegated departmental budgets, working with Finance to monitor expenditures, prepare forecasts, and ensure compliance with donor rules and regulations.
• Ensure value for money can be effectively demonstrated to donors through accurate and timely financial and narrative reporting and activity selection and implementation, as needed.

External Representation & Partnerships

• When required, represent GFW at relevant international conferences, roundtables, and senior bilateral meetings.
• Develop and implement partner engagement strategies that advance program priorities and initiatives while ensuring accountability and shared learning.
• Support the development of public-facing communications materials and serve as a media spokesperson.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

• Help develop, track and report on program metrics and learning objectives in coordination with the MEL team.
• Promote continuous improvement by integrating monitoring data and feedback into adaptive management practices.

Profile

Experience

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in fisheries management, ocean governance and policy, marine conservation, marine spatial planning, or a closely related field.
• The postholder requires a proven track record in high-level, multilateral diplomacy, state-level negotiations, and direct governance experience within Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) contexts and international treaty bodies.
• A track record of designing and managing complex projects across multiple geographies or institutional contexts.
• Familiarity with all relevant international and regional fisheries and marine governance frameworks, such as the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Agreement, with the ability to navigate high-level government and international fora.
• Familiarity with maritime domain awareness tools and vessel tracking technologies (such as AIS and VMS).
• Strong track record managing multi-million-dollar grant-funded programs.
• Substantive senior-level management experience, successfully leading diverse, dispersed, multi-cultural teams.
• Experience developing and leveraging partnerships across nonprofit, academic, government and private sector institutions.

Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information for diverse audiences.
• Strong, demonstrable, financial management skills, particularly in budgeting and financial reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain and contribute to project management systems, track deliverables, and ensure accountability across multiple projects, teams and partners.
• Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload consisting of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in environmental studies, public policy, science, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• Native or highly proficient in the English language.
• Fluency in French or Spanish is highly preferred.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally on a frequent basis.

To apply for the post

To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV/resume and a cover letter outlining your interest in the role and how you fulfil the requirements set out in the job announcement by clicking here. Please ensure you send your CV and Cover letter in the following format: full_name_CV_org_name_role and full_name_role_CL.

Please note: to ensure the security of your application and to ensure that your data complies with GDPR regulations, applications via email will not be accepted.

Global Fishing Watch has engaged Upsall International to support this hiring process. All applications should be sent to Upsall international through the link above - applications sent through our website will not be considered.

∙ The deadline for applications is Monday November 2nd, 9:00 am CET ∙

The successful candidate will meet most, but not necessarily all, of the criteria above. If you don’t think you check all the boxes, but believe you have unique skills that make you a great fit for the role, we want to hear from you!

Additional Information

• Reporting to: Chief Impact Officer
• Manages: Yes
• Visa sponsorship: Not supported at this time.
• Location: Remote role, must be legally authorized and based in the USA,