Seeking a Strategic Leader for Chief Executive Officer Position at GKEPF

Organisation: Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (www.gkepf.org)
Position: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Location: Based within the Greater Kruger Landscape and able to work from the GKEPF Head Office – Timbavati Private Nature Reserve (TPNR)
Appointment: Immediate
Salary: Market-related and negotiable
Minimum Qualification: Undergraduate university degree; postgraduate degree preferred
To Apply: Email CVs to recruitment@gkepf.org

About GKEPF:

The Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) is an independent, non-profit company established in 2016 in direct response to the rhino poaching crisis in the Greater Kruger region which is a globally significant conservation landscape spanning more than 2.5 million hectares of unfenced protected areas across South Africa and Mozambique.

Eleven founding members, including nine private reserves, one provincial park, and one national park, came together to form a strategic alliance. GKEPF was created to enable a unified, cross-boundary approach to conservation, intelligence-sharing, and the fight against wildlife crime and to foster a safe conservation landscape for both people and wildlife. Since then, GKEPF has become a key player in regional law enforcement support, technological integration, and stakeholder alignment.

Operating in one of Africa’s most complex and contested conservation environments – marked by escalating environmental crime, socio-economic disparity, and evolving ecological threats, GKEPF has built collaborative systems, deployed advanced technologies, and fostered resilience in surrounding communities.

Despite a decline in poaching numbers in recent years, the threat to wildlife, particularly from illegal trade in wildlife products (IWT), especially rhino horn, remains severe. GKEPF plays a pivotal operational and strategic role alongside SANParks, provincial agencies, private reserves, neighbouring community stakeholders, law enforcement, and the judiciary to meet these threats head-on.

What We’re Looking For:

We are seeking a strategic, impact-driven leader to serve as Chief Executive Officer. The CEO will guide GKEPF into its next phase of growth and delivery – coordinating efforts across the region, driving innovation in law enforcement integration, and strengthening alliances across national, provincial, private, and community-owned reserves, as well as developing more effective prevention and intervention strategies for the safety and long-term sustainability of both people and wildlife.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Lead a regional environmental protection non-profit with an estimated (and growing) annual budget of R40 million and a team of ten, focused on operational and people-centred approach to sustainability, law enforcement support, and cross-sector collaboration in the Greater Kruger region.
  • Build and retain strong relationships with existing donors and funding partners, while expanding the funding base and implementing a robust fundraising strategy.
  • Enhance the region’s capabilities to protect endangered species, especially rhino, by strengthening collaboration, technology adoption, and intelligence sharing among stakeholders.
  • Coordinate regional strategic planning and cross-boundary responses to environmental crime.
  • Oversee and promote the effective sharing of intelligence and operational data between members, law enforcement, and trusted partners.
  • Drive deployment of shared resources and technologies in support of conservation security and protection.
  • Implement priority projects to improve protection within the landscape and in neighbouring communities.
  • Strengthen community engagement efforts and support initiatives that build resilience in socio-economically vulnerable areas in both South Africa and Mozambique.
  • Leverage partnerships with NGOs, educational institutions, and development agencies to increase impact.
  • Facilitate growth-oriented development alternatives and economic pathways for communities adjacent to conservation areas.

Key Skills & Strengths Required:

  • Strategic Leadership & Systems Thinking
    Proven ability to lead teams, develop and implement strategy, and navigate complex conservation and socio-political environments.
  • Protected Area Management & Law Enforcement Integration
    Experience in managing or supporting protected areas and working effectively with law enforcement agencies to implement wildlife protection strategies.
  • Counter Wildlife Crime Expertise
    Expertise in developing and implementing strategies to combat wildlife trafficking and illegal poaching.
  • Solution-Oriented Policing
    Skilled in developing interventions that address root causes of wildlife crime using targeted, intelligence-based methods.
  • Community Engagement & Development
    Experience working with and building relationships with local communities and fostering their participation in conservation efforts
  • Fundraising & Donor Relations
    Proven experience in fundraising, including donor cultivation, grant writing, and strategic partnerships. The CEO, with active support from the Board and Chairperson, will be responsible for enhancing existing funding relationships, identifying new opportunities, and optimising the long-term fundraising strategy of the Foundation.
  • Organisational Governance & Operations
    Skilled in establishing and strengthening organisational frameworks to ensure effective operations and accountability. A working knowledge of the many wildlife management structures, management authorities and working committees of the landscape is preferred.
  • Rhino and Wildlife Management
    Working knowledge and/or practical experience in the management of rhino and other key wildlife species, with an understanding of their conservation, security, and ecological needs within a protected area context.
  • Project Management
    Proven ability to identify, fund, and manage priority projects that provide shared resources to stakeholders. One of GKEPF’s key objectives is to establish priority projects, where the projects focus on the provision of shared resources to stakeholders. The CEO will lead project scoping, budgeting, technology assessment, and implementation, including multi-stakeholder initiatives and landscape-scale interventions aligned with Board priorities.

Knowledge or prior experience working within the Greater Kruger landscape will be an advantage.

To Apply:
Please send a CV and brief cover letter to recruitment@gkepf.org

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of your application, please consider your submission unsuccessful.