ZSL is Hiring for an Asia-based Sustainable Finance Specialist

About ZSL

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity founded in 1826, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for conservation science and applied conservation. ZSL’s purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals from going extinct. This is realised by carrying out field conservation and research in over 50 countries across the globe and through education and awareness raising at our two zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, inspiring people to take conservation action. Sitting within the Sustainable Business & Finance Department, the Sustainable Finance Programme aims to close the $1 trillion financing gap for nature, through working both on the demand side with investors to increase the financing for nature, and on the supply side to develop investible, nature positive projects and enterprises.

About the Tiger Conservation Coalition

The TCC brings together leading biologists and experts in wildlife crime, human-wildlife coexistence, policy, finance, development, and communications, with unprecedented alignment on achieving tiger conservation at scale. Its member organisations include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Environmental Investigation Agency; Fauna & Flora; Natural State; Panthera; TRAFFIC; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Wildlife Conservation Society; Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The recruitment supports the Tiger Conservation Coalition’s goal to develop sustainable financial strategies for tiger conservation aiming to mobilise USD 1 billion in additional funding by 2034, as pledged at the Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference in Bhutan on April 2024.

A key element of the sustainable financing strategy of the TCC is to select, design, develop and test various financing mechanisms in selected tiger landscapes, tailored to address specific conservation threats and deliver measurable conservation outcomes. The TCC has previously commissioned sustainable financing plans for four tiger landscapes across five countries, including Bhutan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, India and Nepal. The plans assessed over 20 nature financing mechanisms and identified the most suitable ones based on their relevance and feasibility. The Sustainable Finance Specialist will build on these plans to further work on the sustainable finance mechanisms in three of the landscapes, as outlined in this Terms of Reference.

Purpose

The Tiger Conservation Coalition (TCC) is looking for a Sustainable Finance Specialist or an environmental economist (to be based with ZSL) to support the development and implementation of nature financing instruments in support of tiger and tiger landscape conservation across current and former tiger range states.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a work plan for the activities to be undertaken by the Sustainable Finance
  Specialist under the scope of this ToR
• Review and analyse the existing financing plans to select up to two mechanisms per landscape to
  test
• Perform further analytical work for the conceptual development, refinement and customization
  of the selected instruments, including but not limited to financial/economic analyses and
  calculations, revenues, expenditure and impact modelling, activity design and scenario-based
  forecasting to ensure the financial viability and alignment to conservation goals
• Develop detailed implementation plans for the selected mechanisms
• Define the legal, implementation, and monitoring and verification frameworks, including but
  limited to required partnerships, regulatory needs, and operational steps for each pilot
• Consult or guide the consultation with local stakeholders to assess willingness and readiness to
  participate in or contribute to the financing schemes
• Support the fundraising, investment readiness and roll-out of sustainable finance mechanisms in
  collaboration with local partners
• Share lessons learned and best practices with the Tiger Conservation Coalition
• Provide an outline of a sustainable finance strategic approach and action plan to be approved by
  the TCC and Finance Sub-Committee Chairs
• Facilitate technical discussions during TCC meetings and join Working Group meetings as and
  when required between TCC members.

The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and additional tasks
may be assigned from time to time that are in line with the level of the role

Key Selection Criteria

• Degree in a topic related to sustainability, finance and/or biodiversity or equivalent work
  experience
• Experience in research and analysis on topics related to sustainable finance
• Experience of working with international teams in cross-cultural environments
• An understanding of financial institutions and the investment, lending and asset management
  process
• An understanding of key trends and topics in sustainable finance and investing in nature
• Experience writing grant applications and/or consulting proposals
• Experience manipulating and analysing quantitative datasets
• Demonstrated passion for nature and biodiversity
• A willingness to travel nationally and internationally.

Application Process

Submit a CV and cover letter that addresses the key selection criteria to reuben.clements@zsl.org
by 12pm BST on Monday, 23 Jun 2025