Business Planning Coordinator At Wildlife Conservation Society

Position: Business Planning Coordinator

Reports to: Director of Africa Protected Areas Management Unit

Location: Kigali

Country Program/Sector: Africa Protected Areas Management Unit (APAMU)

Capacity: Africa-wide

Position Type: Full-time

Coordinates with: WCS APAMU team, WCS Africa regional business managers, WCS landscape leads

About Us
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a private, nonprofit U.S. organization founded in 1895. Its mission is to preserve wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, developing science-based solutions, and taking conservation action that benefits nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, a presence in more than 60 countries, and experience in creating more than 150 protected areas around the world, WCS has accumulated the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships necessary to ensure that wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, this knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues that are critical to improving the quality of life for poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.

Job Purpose:
This position is to develop a comprehensive set of business plans across its key conservation landscapes and protected area projects in Africa.

Major Responsibilities:

• Development of a comprehensive business plan for WCS’s core conservation landscapes in Africa that includes a comprehensive analysis of the financial requirements for each landscape over a five-year period.
• Analysis of all costs within each landscape, including staffing, infrastructure, training, equipment and similar.
• Preparation of a realistic revenue projection for each landscape, including philanthropic contributions and revenue through activities such as ecotourism and carbon sequestration.
• Preparation of an annual work planning process and other tools to enable conservation landscape teams to enact the business plans.
• Development and implementation of a training program to facilitate the adoption of the business- and work-planning process by site-based staff.
• Development of key performance indicators to monitor the delivery of the plans, and report on the business plan’s implementation and progress.
• Propose adjustments and pivots to the business plan based on real-time challenges and opportunities.
• Identify potential risks to the successful implementation of each business plan and their mitigation strategies.

Qualification Requirements :

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Finance, or a related field. An MBA is a plus.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in business planning, strategy development, or related roles.
• Proficiency in market research tools and techniques.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and decision-making skills.
• Proficient in financial modelling and forecasting.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• English fluency is required, and proficiency in French is an advantage
• Experience working in at least one African country is highly desirable.