Managing Director, Sustainable Debt

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change.

Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Situated within WWF's Nature Finance and Investment (NFI) team, the Managing Director (MD), Sustainable Debt will lead a team that designs and oversees our global strategy to mobilize financing from debt markets for WWF's nature and conservation priorities. The strategy focuses on opportunities at both the sovereign and corporate levels. The MD will build and lead a team responsible for identifying high impact transaction opportunities, managing WWF's engagement from origination through close, and strengthening partnerships with sovereign, corporate, financial institutions, philanthropic and multilateral stakeholders.

The role will span debt conversions, sustainability linked-loans and related sustainable debt instruments with a focus on ensuring that WWF's technical strategic and conservation contributions are credible, high quality, and align with organizational priorities.

• Strategic Direction and Implementation
  :
  Responsible for originating, structuring, and scaling WWF's global sustainable debt portfolio to mobilize capital for conservation outcomes. Accountable for transaction origination, structuring, negotiation, execution, and portfolio oversight of WWF-supported sustainable debt initiatives. Identifies and develops high-priority transaction opportunities to mobilize debt markets funding for conservation through mechanisms such as debt conversions, sustainability-linked bonds, sustainability-linked loans, among others in close collaboration with other WWF US teams and Country Offices across our global network.
• Corporate Debt Strategy Development
  :
  Builds WWF's reputation and capability as a provider of science-based KPIs for new corporate debt instruments to drive funding towards high-priority sustainability priorities. Develops and cultivates strategic relationships with private sector firms in key economic sectors related to WWF conservation priorities. Manages relationships with key stakeholders to potential transactions including banks, investors, credit enhancement providers, lawyers, etc.
• Execution
  :
  Manages and supports the parallel execution of multiple large debt transactions for WWF under risky, complex, and often-changing political and economic circumstances (in coordination with relevant teams).
• Management
  :
  Oversees a small and growing team of professionals within NFI, sets priorities, including a pipeline of potential transaction opportunities. Manages the Sustainable Debt Pillar's budget and builds the capacity of both WWF US and Country Office staff in support of NFI's goal of significant capital mobilization to conservation finance.
• External Engagement
  :
  Represents WWF in public- and market-facing engagements, sustainable debt fora in the US and abroad. Represents WWF within the Debt for Nature Coalition and works with its members to expand scope and scale of our collective impact.

• Collaboration: Ensures alignment and delivery of integrated conservation finance initiatives, including integration of KPIs into sustainable debt transactions, by aligning those KPIs with WWF's organizational priorities, which requires collaboration across different programmatic and Country Office teams.
• Resource Mobilization
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  Leads efforts both to raise donor funds and source investor capital for deal development capacity and specific debt transactions.

• Other Duties
  :
  Performs other duties as assigned, consistent with the roles and responsibilities of the position.

• Executive Presence & Influence: Represent WWF with diplomacy, credibility, and authority while engaging sovereign governments, corporate leaders, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, investors, and other senior stakeholders.

• Strategic Thinking & Execution: Identify high-impact opportunities, assess complex trade-offs, exercise sound judgment, and deliver results in dynamic, fast-moving environments.

• Strategic Partnership Building: Build trusted, long-term…