Position Title: Financial Modeling and Planning Expert

Reports to: Director, Global Portfolio

Status: Exempt

Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week

Location: The role is remote, but this person will need to work on Eastern Standard Time

Job Summary

You’ll join a top-notch team and innovative partnership, Enduring Earth, committed to community economic development and the durable protection of hundreds of millions of hectares of land and ocean. Enduring Earth is a collaboration of The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, World Wildlife Fund and ZOMALAB, the family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton.

This role has dual purpose: 1) supporting deal teams to develop detailed conservation plans and financial models for Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiatives that provide long-term financial support to area-based conservation programs and 2) leading the development of playbooks and standards across a portfolio of PFP initiatives to accelerate deal development, improve quality, and build capacity. You may work on concurrent projects based in different geographic territories; develop and manage working relationships with Enduring Earth staff, partner organizations, and consultants; and bring expertise, leadership, and strategic perspective on how to use conservation finance tools across the portfolio. You will collaborate with finance professionals from across various organizations on the development, design, and implementation of priority initiatives.

Responsibilities

Support and provide capacity to teams to develop PFP initiative financial models:

• Develop detailed long-term financial models (projections of costs and funding needs, mapping costs to funding sources, financial analysis) for Project Finance for Permanence and other large-scale area- based conservation initiatives.
• Communicate financial analysis scope, approach, assumptions to various audiences; based on analysis, make recommendations on sustainable financing mechanism prioritization, design, and implementation.
• Participate in various workshops and working groups with internal and/or external partners and stakeholders.
• Support deal teams on costing and financial modeling as requested, in certain cases serving as financial modeling partner or counterpart.
• Build team and stakeholder capacity on financial modeling and related processes.
• Contribute to funding proposals by providing technical content.
• Other responsibilities assigned by Enduring Earth or PFP management.

Develop, implement, and advise on portfolio wide playbook, standards, and resources for PFP financial modeling and planning:

• Develop shared costing approaches, assumptions (e.g., bank of example cost inputs and assumptions, standard on what must be costed in across PFPs prior to close) and methodologies across geographies and support deal teams in early stage-costing as demanded.
• Work with financial modeling leads to develop playbook for standard approach(es) to financial modeling (e.g., developing and establishing best practices for financial and economic inputs, assumptions, and methodologies.
• Participate in and lead knowledge-sharing and technical learning sessions.
• Work closely with sustainable finance expert and lead to ensure accurate and risk-profile based modeling of SFMs into long term financial plans.
• Explore approaches to de-risk long-term financial plans at a deal and portfolio level.
• Ensure all team financial models meet agreed upon standards through support to lead organizations as demanded.

Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Ability

Qualifications required for success:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s, PhD degree in a management, finance, or conservation-related field preferred.
• 10-15+ years of work experience with at least six years’ experience in management consulting, business, finance, or conservation (or equivalent) required. A Master’s degree can substitute for two years of work experience.
• Extensive financial modeling, operations, and strategy experience.
• Experience working internationally desired.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Internet research.

Characteristics for success:

• Detail-oriented with excellent quantitative, analytical, oral and written communication skills.
• Must be client-focused and enjoy problem solving and working with teams spread across different time zones.
• High degree of flexibility, and ability to work against deadlines (including some nights and weekends), and under frequently changing circumstances.
• Able to lead group discussions with individuals working in different roles and countries, capable of training and guiding team members with a high degree of cultural sensitivity.
• Tactful, organized, persistent, comfortable with occasional ambiguity, sense of humor.
• Passion to solve complex and unstructured problems with smart people.
• Must be willing to travel 10-20% of the time.
• Must be fluent in English; fluency in Spanish and/or French a plus.

How to Apply

Please send your CV and cover letter to [email protected] in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than one page long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The document should be saved in MS Word or PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-022023. or Pat-Jones-CoverLetter-022023.

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible.

Closing Date: This position is now closed

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $150,000-$190,000; the posted compensation range may extend from the lowest to the highest pay the project, in good faith, believes it might pay for the job, depending on the circumstances.

Benefits for U.S based hires: “Comprehensive benefits package that includes 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (and their families). Employees are able to enroll in 401k retirement plan and are eligible for a 3% automatic contribution and up to a 3% employer match on 401k contributions. Employees are also eligible for pre-tax transportation benefits. Employees will receive 160 hours of vacation time, 80 hours of health leave, up to 2 days of casual leave, and 20 hours of volunteer leave annually. Employees will also receive 13 paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Employees are eligible for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave after 90 days of employment.”

Hiring Statement

Enduring Earth Deal Fund and Hub is a project of Windward Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. Windward Fund is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. Winward’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.

COVID-19 Policy

To center the safety and well-being of its employees, Windward Fund requires that any employee who is required to conduct in-person activities for their job must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within four weeks of their start date.  This position may require candidates to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  Accommodations may be sought and approved in accordance with the law by contacting human resources at [email protected].