The application period will close on November 2, 2026, 9:00 am CET. 

Background

Global Fishing Watch (GFW) is an international, nonprofit organization committed to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency. Founded in 2015 through a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth, and Google, Global Fishing Watch became an independent nonprofit organization in June 2017. 

Our organizational strategy is centered on three pillars: 1) countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; 2) strengthening marine protection by improving the design and effectiveness of marine protected areas, and other conservation measures; and 3) generating, and openly sharing actionable, and credible data on human activity at sea – increasing a science-based understanding of what is happening across our ocean and influencing change. 

An overarching principle across all GFW’s work is promoting transparency in fishing, and other human activity, at sea in both policy, and practice. In doing so, we aim to realize our vision of a healthy, productive and resilient ocean. Across our work, we strive to make human activity at sea more visible, measurable, and accountable, built on our technology and open data, which empower governments, as well as civil society to improve ocean monitoring alongside management.

Purpose of Role 

The Head of Africa Region will provide strategic, and operational leadership for Global Fishing Watch’s Africa portfolio – currently active in Senegal, Gabon, Madagascar, and with sub-regional fisheries bodies, including the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC). This senior leader will be accountable for developing, and driving the Africa regional strategy, leading a distributed regional team, ensuring rigorous financial stewardship, and managing complex grant deliverables alongside partner relationships. 

The successful candidate will combine high-level political engagement, in support of public data transparency, efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and advance marine protection, consistent with Global Fishing Watch’s strategy; with the operational discipline required to manage multi-country programs, sub-grants, and donor relationships. Crucially, this leader will look beyond their immediate region to contribute to wider organizational objectives, and ensure strong cross-regional alignment, learning, and central organizational cohesion.

Primary Responsibilities

The job holder will have the following key responsibilities:  

Regional Strategy and Program Delivery (35%) 

• Lead Regional Strategy: Design, implement and regularly evaluate the Africa regional strategy, and work plans, ensuring alignment with Global Fishing Watch’s organizational goals, and impact priorities.  
• Advance Data Transparency: Develop and deliver political strategies to secure public commitments for fishing vessel tracking data, and vessel registry data sharing across the continent, with an immediate focus on deepening engagement with the SRFC, along with priority West and East African countries. 
• Tool Adaptation and Policy Impact: Work closely with internal technical, and policy teams to adapt our data tools to the explicit needs of partner governments, and NGOs (local and international), positioning regional data cooperation as a cornerstone in the fight against IUU fishing, and achieving the global “30x30” target of protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.  
• Partnership Development: Build a continental engagement pipeline of stakeholders, and partners. Identify and assess strategic partnership opportunities, maintaining a clear, and prioritized pipeline for engagement across Africa. 

Grant Management and Financial Stewardship (25%) 

• Grant Oversight & Reporting: Serve as the primary accountable lead for all Africa regional grant deliverables, ensuring strict compliance, high-quality execution, and timely narrative, alongside financial reporting to funders. 
• Sub-Grant and Partner Coordination: Oversee the logistics, compliance, and programmatic performance of complex sub-grants to local, and regional partner organizations. 
• Budgeting and Fiscal Discipline: Formulate, track, and maintain the regional budget, working closely with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Business Finance Director to ensure strong financial controls, clear forecasting, and effective risk management.  

Team Leadership and Operational Management (20%) 

• Lead and Support the Regional Team: Supervise, mentor and inspire a distributed regional team, fostering a high-performance culture rooted in collaboration, accountability, diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Drive Performance and Accountability: Establish clear Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), manage day-to-day performance, and review progress.  
• Ensure Safe and Effective Operations: Enforce systems, policies and procedures to ensure a safe, secure, compliant, and welcoming work environment across multiple African jurisdictions. 
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Global Organizational Integration and Strategy (10%) 

• Strengthen Cross-Regional Cohesion: Dedicate a strategic portion of time to wider global objectives, actively sharing cross-regional insights, and identifying joint initiatives with other regional heads (LATAM, Med), and project staff (Pacific, Asia). 
• Central Alignment: Actively contribute to central organizational initiatives, working groups (e.g., Data Ethics, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), and the evolution of future global work streams. 

 Fundraising, Partnerships and External Representation (10%) 

• Resource Mobilization: Partner directly with the Chief Impact Officer, and the Partnership and Philanthropy team to identify, cultivate, and secure funding streams to sustain, and expand the Africa portfolio. 
• Represent Global Fishing Watch externally, and High-Level Diplomacy: Act as the primary spokesperson and face of the organization in Africa, building trusted relationships with government agencies, sub-regional fisheries bodies, intergovernmental bodies, civil society, funders/donors, while representing the organization at international, along with regional forums and conferences. 

Profile

Essential Experience and Qualifications

• Senior Leadership Experience: Progressive management experience leading large-scale, multi-country programs in Africa, ideally within an international NGO, intergovernmental agency, or ocean conservation space. 
• Grant and Compliance Mastery: Proven track record of managing large, complex, multi-donor grants, including robust financial oversight, sub-grantee management, and rigorous KPI reporting. 
• Political Acumen and Diplomacy: Demonstrated success in navigating high-level governmental relationships, ministerial networks, or regional bodies (such as the SRFC/CSRP or African Union) to achieve policy, or transparency outcomes. 
• Operational Excellence: Experience working with matrixed internal operations teams to implement standard operating procedures, project management frameworks, while monitoring, evaluation, and learning structures. 
• Language: Professional fluency in both English, and French is required. 

Desired Attributes 

• Comfortable operating at the intersection of technology, data, environmental policy, and ocean governance. 
• Strong relationship-builder with the credibility to engage senior government, donor, and civil society stakeholders. 
• Strategic thinker with strong operational judgement, and the ability to translate ambition into deliverable plans. 
• Committed to transparency, accountability, and responsible use of data for public good. 

Terms and Conditions

Employment will be held with an Employee of Record (EOR) contract in the host country. 

To apply for the post 

To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV/resume and a cover letter outlining your interest in the role and how you fulfil the requirements set out in the job announcement by clicking here. Please ensure you send your CV and Cover letter in the following format: full_name_CV_org_name_role and full_name_role_CL.

Please note: to ensure the security of your application and to ensure that your data complies with GDPR regulations, applications via email will not be accepted. 

Global Fishing Watch has engaged Upsall International to support this hiring process. All applications should be sent to Upsall international through the link above - applications sent through our website will not be considered.

The deadline for applications is Monday 2nd November, 9:00 am CET

The successful candidate will meet most, but not necessarily all, of the criteria above. If you don’t think you check all the boxes, but believe you have unique skills that make you a great fit for the role, we want to hear from you!

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Additional Information

Reporting to: Director Program Impact

Manages: Yes

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not supported at this time. 

Candidates must be authorized to work for GFW without visa sponsorship for at least two years after their start date, or for the entire duration of their contract if on a fixed-term agreement.

Individuals on student visas must be eligible for full-time employment on their visa and have valid work authorization (such as Optional Practical Training (OPT) or equivalent) that remains valid for at least two years or the duration of their contract. Candidates relying on a spouse’s visa for work authorization are not eligible, as they must independently qualify for employment.

Location: This is a remote role, but candidates must be legally authorized and based in the following countries to be considered: Senegal, Kenya

Permanent/Fixed Term/Contractor: Permanent

Full Time hours: Yes 

Compensation: A compensation range for this position is XOF 49m - 59m per year for Senegal-based employees -  KES 9m - 11m for Kenya-based employees. Compensation is commensurate with experience and will vary depending on the hired candidate’s country of residence, in accordance with local laws and regulations. GFW offers pension/retirement, health and other benefits commensurate with similar level GFW employees in the country of employment. The position may be a GFW employee, an employee of our Employer of Record Partner, or a contractor depending on the country of residence.

Equal opportunities: Global Fishing Watch is an equal opportunities employer. Global Fishing Watch is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within our organization and in the greater ocean management and conservation community. We believe that diverse backgrounds, skills, knowledge and viewpoints make us a stronger organization. Bringing together professionals who possess broad experiences and a spectrum of perspectives will enable us to reach our goal of improved ocean governance faster. We hire and promote qualified professionals without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or parental status, national origin, age, physical or mental disability or medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our organizational goals match the urgent challenges facing our global ocean, and our mission is designed to help secure a healthy ocean for all. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of humanity’s diversity, by providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all employees of Global Fishing Watch and for our partners, vendors, suppliers and contractors.

Accessibility and Accommodations: We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you are selected for an interview and need accommodations or adjustments at any stage, please let the Talent Acquisition Manager know during your initial call. We’ll do our best to support your needs. Any information you share will be kept confidential and used only to ensure you have a positive experience.