Park Manager

African Parks is seeking an experienced Park Manager to lead one of Africa’s most significant conservation projects. This demanding, high-accountability role combines strategic direction, operational delivery, people leadership, financial stewardship, sustainability, and multi-stakeholder governance in a complex and challenging environment.

The successful candidate will lead a multidisciplinary management team and oversee:

• Strategy execution
• Stakeholder engagement
• Financial performance
• Infrastructure development
• Tourism operations
• Organisational culture

Conservation knowledge is advantageous; however, the essential requirement is the ability to lead by example and deliver results in a complex operational environment.

The Park Manager is accountable for the integrated management and sustainable development of Boma National Park in accordance with the mandate agreement between the Government of South Sudan and African Parks.

The position carries overall accountability for the park’s leadership and performance across five integrated management domains:

• Strategic leadership
• Operational excellence
• Financial stewardship
• People leadership
• Stakeholder governance

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• Develop and execute the park strategy in alignment with the management agreement, African Parks’ strategic objectives, and the five-year business plan.
• Advance and contribute to African Parks’ landscape strategy for South Sudan.
• Translate strategic priorities into measurable operational outcomes, including annual activity plans and capital and operational budgets.

• Identify and drive opportunities for sustainable development, growth, innovation and improved organisational performance.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure the effective management of all park operations and infrastructure, including law enforcement, conservation, community and commercial activities.
• Oversee the implementation of annual work plans and capital projects.
• Ensure that resources, systems and processes are aligned with the delivery of strategic objectives.
• Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with African Parks’ policies and standard operating procedures.

• Oversee logistics, construction, community development, law enforcement, aviation, and conservation programmes.

Financial Management and Sustainability

• Maintain overall accountability for the park’s financial performance, annual budgets, compliance, financial discipline, controls and resource allocation.
• Ensure strong governance, compliance and risk management practices.
• Ensure rigorous procurement compliance and financial controls across all departments.
• Provide accurate financial and operational reports to the Park Board, African Parks and relevant stakeholders.
• Identify and develop sustainable revenue streams, including tourism, donor funding and nature-based solutions.
• Drive financial sustainability and operational efficiency.

• Work closely with the Funding and Reporting Manager to ensure compliance with donor

People Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary leadership team capable of delivering the park’s strategic, operational and financial objectives.
• Build a strong, values-based culture focused on accountability, collaboration and results.

• Recruit, manage, and evaluate staff while supporting career development, local talent pipelines, and succession planning.
• Embed a values-based organisational culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, integrity, and performance.

Stakeholder Management and Governance

• Serve as the principal representative of the park when engaging with state and national government authorities, donors, local communities, traditional leaders, private-sector partners and other stakeholders.
• Build strategic partnerships that strengthen the protected area’s long-term success.
• Maintain strong relationships with boards, committees and oversight structures.
• Maintain compliance with the Management Mandate and all relevant regulatory requirements.

Conservation and Community Impact

• Champion community conservation outcomes through strong support and leadership of specialist community teams.
• Support initiatives that improve livelihoods, create employment opportunities and strengthen community partnerships.

• Use existing and newly developed datasets to demonstrate measurable ecological and socio-economic impact.
• Continue developing the park’s commercial activities and tourism offering to support long-term sustainability.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance will be assessed against the following outcomes:

• Park governance and functionality: All departments are established, adequately resourced, and operating in accordance with African Parks’ standards and the Priority Targets
• Financial sustainability: Revenue streams are diversified, expenditure is disciplined, and the park demonstrates increasing operational sustainability.
• Conservation outcomes: Measurable ecological improvements are achieved through community-led conservation initiatives and effective law-enforcement support.
• Stakeholder confidence: Strong, trust-based relationships are maintained with national and state government, communities, NGOs, and key donors.
• Team capability: A high-performing, locally representative team is supported by clear professional-development and succession
• Organisational culture: Accountability, transparency, integrity, and values-based leadership are consistently demonstrated throughout the Park Management Unit.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate should possess:

• A degree in Business, Finance, Public Administration, Natural Resource Management, Tourism, Conservation or a related discipline.
• At least 8 years of senior leadership experience managing complex organisations, business units or large-scale operations.
• Demonstrated success in leading multidisciplinary teams in challenging and remote environments.
• Strong financial, commercial and operational management capability and experience.
• Proven ability to manage senior stakeholder relationships, including relationships with government officials, boards, donors, private partners and community leaders.
• Experience in tourism, conservation, infrastructure, development, hospitality, non-governmental organisations, the public sector or related industries.
• Strong strategic thinking, communication and decision-making skills.
• Proven project management capability, including delivering capital and operational projects on time and within budget.
• High levels of resilience, adaptability and personal integrity.

Desirable Experience

The following experience would be advantageous:

• Experience working in Africa or other emerging markets
• Experience in conservation, law enforcement, tourism, natural resource management, wildlife protection or development sectors.
• Experience managing donor-funded programmes or public-private partnerships.