World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, seeks a Program Associate to support the Wildlife Conservation team’s initiatives to combat wildlife trafficking and natural resource crime in its priority places, and wildlife policy advocacy initiatives in the US and internationally. The role will include conducting research and analysis, monitoring progress, developing materials for external audiences, engaging with public, private and civil society sector partners, coordinating amongst WWF teams internally and globally, and external partners, and providing technical and administrative support for projects and events.

Salary Range: $54,100 - $67,700

Position Length: Limited Term - 2 years

Location: Washington, D.C. (Hybrid work structure with minimum of 2 days a week in office)

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.  In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.  

• Supports the Wildlife Team with research, coordination and technical implementation on projects and priorities related to wildlife trade and trafficking, natural resource crime, protected and conserved areas governance and ranger support, and wildlife policy advocacy
• Helps track project and program progress and provides input to program planning and review.
• Participates in the development of innovative solutions for meeting priority conservation goals and helps to identify opportunities and incentives for achieving those goals.
• Assists with the development and reviews of short- and long-term work plans, program materials, and reports.
• Supports the team with preparation of scopes of work, budgets, and administrative documentation for contracts, ensuring compliance with donor requirements.
• Assists in drafting funding proposals and donor progress reports
• Represents WWF at external meetings and workshops.
• Supports coordinated advocacy and lobbying on wildlife policy issues nationally and internationally.
• Assists in communicating programs and projects to diverse audiences through public presentations, public outreach, written materials, and other outreach channels.
• Supports and produces reports, materials, data and tools for projects, governments, private sector partners, general audiences, and WWF stakeholders.
• Provides administrative and logistical support for projects, and activities including events.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Key Competencies

Organization and Attention to Detail: to support complex programming and projects, different requests with different urgencies, assist with reporting to stakeholders using multiple sources. Need to ensure data and outputs are accurate and on time for decision making and deadlines.

Proactive, Adaptive, Problem Solving and Judgement: to respond on time to different stakeholders following policies and procedures, looking for advice from other colleagues, and learning from past experiences (own experiences or from others), need this position to be a problem solver. Additionally, to adjust to different scenarios, think of a better way to apply approaches and manage workloads depending on each situation and learn from each experience.

Intellectual Curiosity: to learn new tools, new processes, other colleagues' work, to understand how to always improve in our jobs.

Interpersonal Communication and Collaboration: Clearly communicates with colleagues and external partners. Listens carefully to different perspectives and works with others to design and implement conservation actions together.

• A Bachelor’s degree with 2 to 4 years of experience in conservation, wildlife trade, wildlife policy, protected areas management or transnational crime.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills are required, including the ability to communicate complex issues both verbally and in written form.    
• Ability to effectively prioritize and produce high-quality work under time constraints.   
• Proven ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment with remote colleagues.   
• Strong research and analytical skills, particularly online research methods.   
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office software and systems. Experience with AI tools preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including demonstrated understanding of when to use courtesy, tact, and/or diplomacy to effectively communicate with all constituents.   
• Demonstrated knowledge of wildlife trade and trafficking preferred.
• Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams. 
• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values:
  • COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
  • INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
  • RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
  • COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

To Apply: 

• Submit cover letter and resume through our Careers Page, Requisition #26061

• Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone 

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.