Chief Executive Officer

About Akashinga

Founded in 2009 Akashinga’s (formerly the International Anti-Poaching Foundation) mission is to deliver resilient nature conservation programs of global significance through community driven partnerships.

Akashinga partners directly with communities in holistic wildlife protection, working closely with all levels of society to move away from the adversarial, exclusively male-led models of protection and rehabilitation. The model brings a more effective, just, and sustainable concept of conservation which is highly adaptable to varying landscapes. Akashinga has evolved from an organization primarily focused on environmental law enforcement to one that is elevating local women and communities to drive conservation across ecosystems.

Since 2019 Akashinga has grown significantly, with a portfolio of 13M acres being protected across east Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and Namibia.

The Opportunity

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the world’s most innovative conservation organizations at a pivotal moment in its growth – advancing a pioneering women-led model that is transforming both biodiversity protection and community security across Africa.

The Chief Executive Officer will assume full executive leadership, reporting to the Board of Directors and will be responsible for setting strategy, strengthening systems, expanding resources, and advancing Akashinga’s global reputation. The CEO will be a strategic thinker and problem solver who can provide effective leadership to a team of 6 globally distributed direct reports who manage an overall team of 400+ employees mostly in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The CEO will also serve as a persuasive, collaborative external spokesperson, advocate, and fundraiser.

• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in Portuguese, Shona, or Ndebele is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to lead distributed teams across continents and manage operations across multiple time zones, cultures, and legal environments.
• Understanding of conservation, the management of protected areas, humanitarian relief, and/or women’s leadership in conservation, with a clear passion to grow an organization that will save wildlife, protect biodiversity, and improve lives in Africa.
• Executive level nonprofit or international development management experience with a thorough knowledge of fundraising principles and major gifts management. Experience supporting donor/prospect cultivation and gift solicitation is preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, including the ability to nurture and grow connections and collaboration across a global organization and share an inspiring vision for the future that is motivating and engaging and embraces multiple cultures, languages, and experiences.
• Experience managing finance and operations at the organizational level, including budgeting, forecasting, and reporting; operational expertise and experience is highly desired.
• Deep strategic capacity, with the ability to develop, implement, and modify strategies to advance organizational mission and vision.
• A track record of growing organizations and/or initiatives with an infrastructure-first approach for long-term sustainability.
• Proven ability to collaborate with and motivate Board members and other volunteers.  
• Emotionally mature with deep cultural competency and the flexibility and sensitivity to work with diverse personalities and situations, coupled with a good sense of humor.
• Excellent communications and interpersonal skills, including the ability to connect, listen, and learn across cultures.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $180,000 to $200,000, plus a generous benefits package.

Location & Travel

This is a full-time remote position based in the U.S. or southern Africa. Frequent global travel, around 40-50% of the time, is required.