Operations and Administration Manager

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

This position is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Conservation Finance, the Operations and Administration Manager will own and lead day-to-day operations (including onboarding, financial transactions, expense tracking, time reporting, and travel logistics) for the entire Nature Finance Africa programme, ensuring compliant, and efficient processes that support delivery across multiple work streams and partners. The role is responsible for setting operational priorities, improving processes, and proactively identifying risks.

They will also maintain accurate project data, support internal and donor compliance, and coordinate meetings and events. In addition, the role also involves liaising with IT and other departments to resolve operational issues and ensure smooth functioning.

• Support the Senior Vice President, Conservation Finance, on all operational and administrative matters.
• Serve as the primary resource and subject matter expert (“go to person”) for operational matters on the programme and within the Nature Finance department, ensuring services run efficiently and in alignment with CI and CSA policies.
• Educate and support staff in applying operational procedures and resolving queries.
• Coordinate onboarding processes and manage HR documentation.
• Organize travel logistics and process related expense reports.
• Provide logistical support for internal meetings and external events.
• Liaise with IT to resolve departmental tech issues.
• Ensure full compliance with CI, CSA, and donor operational, financial, and contractual requirements, serving as the primary point of accountability for audits, reviews, and reporting readiness.
• Oversee financial transactions, including purchase orders, reimbursements, reclasses, and expense tracking, and ensure integrity as well as alignment with budgets and donor requirements.
• Maintain accurate project data in CI’s management systems and generate reports as needed.
• Own the time reporting process, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely resolution of discrepancies (this includes monthly review of time reporting and collaboration with payroll to ensure correct coding and adjustments).
• Maintain organized filing systems and track contracts and donor agreements for compliance.
• Support the Programme Director in strengthening programme coordination and delivery tracking across the departments/ work streams, ensuring alignment of timelines, outputs, and reporting requirements.
• Maintain and support the effective use of project management systems (including ), ensuring milestones, tasks, risks, and dependencies are accurately captured and regularly updated to enable informed oversight by the Programme Director.
• Support the preparation of programme dashboards, governance reports, and working group updates, proactively following up with workstream leads to ensure timely submission of inputs and visibility of risks or bottlenecks.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Normal office environment.
• Up to 10% travel annually.
• Flexible working hours will be discussed during the interview process, aligned with the requirement to be available to work across time zones.
• This is a fixed-term assignment, initially expected to last 2 years, with potential for extension based on performance and funding.

• Bachelor's degree/three-year tertiary qualification in Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources, or a related field, or equivalent.
• 4 to 6 years of relevant experience in operations, administration, or finance.
• Strong interpersonal skills and sound judgment.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to…