Director, Regenerative Country

For over 60 years, WWF has been a powerful voice for people and nature. Part of the global WWF Network operating in more than 100 countries, WWF-Australia is the largest member in the southern hemisphere, with over 2.5 million supporters.

Our mission: to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature.

We are working towards regenerating nature by 2030. To achieve this, we act as a catalyst with communities, First Nations peoples, governments, innovators, business, and philanthropy. Our strategy is focused on three core solution pathways:

• Regenerative Sky (Climate)
• Regenerative Country (Land)
• Regenerative SaltWater (Oceans)

These are enabled by four critical levers: Inclusive Conservation, Engaging Millions, Regenerative Economy, and a Future Fit Organisation.

The Director, Regenerative Country is a critical leadership role responsible for WWF-Australia's Regenerative Country teams' portfolio spanning land conservation, threatened species recovery, deforestation and conversion-free agriculture, and First Nations partnerships embedding inclusive conservation and Indigenous-led regeneration at the centre of program design and delivery.

This role sits on the Conservation Senior Leadership Team and will play a transformative role in evolution of WWF's strategic approach from individual species-focused to landscape and systems-focused conservation.

This role can be based in any capital city across Australia.

Key Focus Areas

• Lead the design, implementation, and scaling of regenerative programs focused on forests, biodiversity and biocultural regeneration.
• Translate WWF-Australia's strategic goals into actionable plans for the Country team, ensuring measurable impact and alignment with the Sky and Saltwater pillars.
• Oversee the integration of science, policy, and community insights to deliver landscape-level outcomes.
• Landscape Protection & Restoration: Advance WWF's contribution to the global 30x30 agenda.
• Lead strategic partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region to advance biocultural nature-based solutions—including forest and tiger regeneration—through collaborative initiatives and innovative international financing mechanisms for Nature.
• Forests: Protect, restore and regenerate forests while delivering climate and community benefits.
• Biocultural Work: Deepen partnerships with First Nations peoples and communities in Australia and internationally.
• Sustainable Agriculture: Scale and evolve WWF's
  Deforestation and Conversion Free
  initiatives and influence regenerative systems approaches to inclusive land-use transformation.
• Threatened Species Recovery: Integrate species protection within broader ecosystem and landscape strategies.
• Innovation & Change: Strengthen collaboration of the Country Teams' work within and across the organisation and drive integration for impact.

The Country team is highly capable with deep technical expertise, PhDs, and conservation practitioners, but need to connect the dots of their individual work within and across the organisational strategy. The Director will be tasked with leading cultural and structural integration, helping individuals collaborate across two major thematic "buckets" of work:

1. Forests
   – shape the evolving structure of the Country team, contributing to job architecture and succession planning to ensure an agile and inclusive leadership model to deliver creative and impactful regenerative solutions.
2. Biocultural Work
   – centring people, culture, and communities in regenerative conservation outcomes.

Success in 12 months will mean these formerly individual projects are aligned as integrated bodies of work delivering measurable strategic outcomes.

We are looking for candidates who bring the right blend of leadership, technical credibility, and transformational change experience.

• Scientific credibility – strong ecological, biodiversity, environmental, or conservation grounding (degree level minimum; PhD not essential).
• Cross-cultural leadership – experience leading both Indigenous and non-Indigenous teams in complex environments.
• Change leadership – demonstrated ability to drive transformational change, integrate silos, and lead cultural shifts.
• Profile & Influence – respected voice within the scientific/environmental community with the gravitas to lead experts.
• Stakeholder Engagement – ability to engage credibly with First Nations communities, government, business, and global partners.
• Government / policy exposure is highly valued, given the discipline and influencing skills it fosters.
• Representational experience in national and international forums, advocating for nature-positive outcomes and regenerative systems with government, civil society, philanthropic and private sector partners to amplify influence and deliver impact.

Personal Qualities

• Courageous, collaborative, inclusive, and aligned with WWF's I-CCaRe Values: Integrity, Collaboration, Courage, Respect.
• Skilled communicator who can reframe conflict as opportunity and inspire constructive dialogue.
• Strategic thinker who thrives on complexity, integration, and systems change.

Why Join WWF-Australia?

• Impact at Scale: Lead one of WWF's most strategically important portfolios.
• Transformation: Drive the shift from project-based conservation to integrated, landscape-level regeneration.
• Global Network: Part of a 7,000-strong team across 100 countries.
• Innovation: Work at the forefront of regenerative thinking and systems change.
• Inclusive Culture: Champion equity, diversity, and cross-cultural collaboration.
• Forward Positioning: WWF positions itself years ahead of national priorities. Examples include influencing Australia's Green Iron strategy and shaping global climate COP agendas.

This role is being handled by our preferred external search firm, One Executive. If any unsolicited CV's are received directly, they will be forwarded on to One Executive. And just to re-emphasise, this role can be based in any capital city across Australia.