Director of Finance & Operations - Europe

YOUR POSITION WITH TNC

The Director of Finance & Operations, Europe serves as the region’s senior finance leader and operations integrator—the regional equivalent of a CFO with broader operations integration responsibilities. The role is a trusted partner to the Regional Managing Director, Europe and operates within a global matrix, with accountability to Global Finance for financial stewardship, standards, and alignment, and to the Regional Managing Director for regional strategy execution and organizational effectiveness.

In this role, the Director partners closely with both the Senior Director of Finance & Operations, Global Regions and the Regional Managing Director, Europe to support regional leadership, drive key priorities, and ensure effective execution across the Europe region. The role has broad Finance & Operations responsibility across a region that operates in multiple countries, while combining strategic oversight with practical hands-on leadership appropriate to the size, structure, and complexity of the region.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reporting to the Senior Director of Finance & Operations, Global Regions, with a dotted-line relationship to the Regional Managing Director, Europe, the Director serves on the Europe Leadership Team, leads the regional Finance & Operations team, and provides leadership and coordination across countries, programs, and enabling functions. The role also serves as Managing Director of the related entity through which TNC operates in Germany, with responsibility for its effective management and governance. The Director helps shape and execute regional priorities while contributing Europe perspectives and learning to TNC-wide Finance & Operations initiatives.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

Strategic Finance Leadership

• Leads regional financial stewardship across Europe, including strategy, planning, forecasting, performance management, and long-term financial sustainability.

• Serves as a senior financial advisor to the Regional Managing Director, Europe and senior regional leaders, providing forward-looking, integrated financial insight to inform strategic and operational decisions.

• Leads regional budgeting, forecasting, and multi-year planning processes, ensuring rigor, consistency, and alignment with regional priorities and enterprise standards.

• Establishes and reinforces financial discipline, resource optimization, and stewardship across the region.

• Maintains forward-looking visibility into financial risks, funding pressures, and sustainability concerns, ensuring timely mitigation and escalation.

• Ensures compliance with global finance policies, controls, reporting requirements, and audit standards, partnering with global finance leaders as required.

• Contributes actively to the Global Regions Finance & Operations leadership team by sharing learning, advancing common approaches, and clearly articulating where regional differences or exceptions are necessary.

Regional Operations and Organizational Effectiveness

• Acts as the regional operations integrator, providing senior-level oversight and coordination across support functions operating within the Europe region.

• Establishes and manages the regional operating cadence for planning, prioritization, decision-making, execution tracking, and performance review, supported by clear accountability and governance mechanisms.

• Drives organizational effectiveness and execution discipline by translating regional priorities into coherent plans, proactively identifying gaps in ownership, process, capacity, capability, or decision-making, and coordinating action to address them.

• Contributes to regional capacity planning and resource allocation discussions, helping ensure trade-offs are made transparently and aligned to strategy.

• Champions continuous improvement and operational excellence, embedding scalable, repeatable ways of working appropriate to the region’s size and structure.

Executive Partnership and Strategic Execution

• Acts as a trusted strategic and operational partner to the Regional Managing Director, Europe, helping translate strategic intent into integrated operational and financial execution.

• Supports leadership alignment and decision-making by synthesizing complex information into clear analysis, options, trade-offs, recommendations, and decisions needed rather than only identifying issues.

• Coordinates and tracks strategic initiatives, ensuring progress, risks, and dependencies are actively managed and escalated.

• Leads or contributes to enterprise Finance & Operations initiatives within the region, supporting effective implementation of global priorities.

Cross-Functional Integration and Matrix Leadership

• Leads regional alignment of enabling functions operating within a global matrix, ensuring cohesive delivery in support of Europe priorities.

• Influences outcomes without direct authority by building strong relationships, clarifying expectations, resolving competing priorities, and enabling transparent trade-off decisions.

• Partners with global and regional functional leaders to adapt enterprise standards and operating models to regional context while maintaining consistency and compliance.

• Clarifies ownership, decision rights, dependencies, timing, and escalation paths across functions and ensures material regional issues move toward resolution, while respecting the authority of functional leaders.

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Oversees regional governance frameworks spanning financial, operational, compliance, legal, safety, and reputational risk.

• Serves as Managing Director of the related entity through which TNC operates in Germany, fulfilling applicable governance, fiduciary, statutory, and organizational responsibilities in coordination with regional and global leadership.

• Ensures effective controls, escalation mechanisms, and assurance processes are in place and operating as intended.

• Ensures critical finance, operational, banking, compliance, and entity responsibilities have clear ownership, appropriate delegation, documented processes, and continuity coverage.

• Oversees regional risk identification, mitigation, and reporting, ensuring material issues are elevated to appropriate leadership and governance bodies.

• Promotes a culture of accountability, integrity, and stewardship, setting expectations for ethical and responsible management across the region.

Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Serves as a senior leader on key regional leadership and governance forums.

• Builds and maintains trusted relationships with global, regional, and business unit leaders, enabling effective collaboration across a complex stakeholder landscape.

• Leads and develops a multidisciplinary team by setting clear expectations, managing performance, delegating effectively, building leadership capability, and ensuring succession and backup coverage for critical responsibilities.

• Represents the region and organization externally, including with donors, partners, and stakeholders, as required and in coordination with regional leadership.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and 9 years related experience or equivalent combination, including 3 years managing operations functions and experience working at a senior level;

• Experience managing the finances of a complex organization, business unit, region, or major program, including financial planning, forecasting, performance management, controls, and long-term financial sustainability;

• Experience preparing, interpreting, and presenting financial and operational analyses, forecasts, and management reports to support senior leadership decisions;

• Experience leading budgeting, forecasting, multi-year planning, resource allocation, and financial performance processes for a significant and complex portfolio;

• Experience conceiving, developing, and managing multiple complex projects or strategic initiatives, including coordinating plans, tracking progress, and addressing risks and dependencies;

• Management experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, including setting direction, managing performance, delegating significant responsibilities, building leadership capability, and establishing succession or backup coverage;

• Experience working in a complex, matrixed, and geographically dispersed organization and influencing outcomes across functions and reporting lines;

• Experience supporting financial and operational governance, risk management, compliance, internal controls, and escalation processes;

• Experience supporting finance and operations across multiple countries, including working with differing statutory, tax, regulatory, audit, donor, and financial reporting requirements;

• Experience managing or providing senior oversight of a related legal entity, including governance, fiduciary, statutory, compliance, and reporting responsibilities;

• Professional proficiency in both German and English, with the ability to communicate effectively in business, governance, and stakeholder settings;

• Experience building effective relationships with senior leaders and diverse internal and external stakeholders, communicating complex issues clearly, and providing practical counsel and recommendations;

• Experience coordinating finance and operations across multiple functions or business areas and improving processes, systems, and ways of working;

• Demonstrated experience exercising sound judgment and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive matters.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experiences are appreciated;

• Advanced understanding of best practices in non-profit management;

• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information and communicate it clearly through written materials, presentations, and senior-level discussions;

• Expert knowledge of current and evolving trends in relevant discipline;

• Proficiency in working independently as well as jointly with colleagues on a team;

• Relevant accounting or finance degree and professional qualification, such as CPA, ACCA, CA, or equivalent; and/or

• Knowledge of IFRS or other locally applicable accounting frameworks, nonprofit accounting, donor financial requirements, and statutory reporting;

• Experience providing support in HR processes.

Who We Are:

The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that we can create a world in which people and nature thrive. We’re rooted in our mission and guided by our values, which include respect for all people, communities, and cultures. Whether it’s career development, flexible schedules, or a rewarding mission, there’s many reasons to love life inside TNC. Want a better insight to TNC? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube   to hear stories from staff or visit  Glassdoor.

One goal is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that all our colleagues around the globe feel a sense of belonging and that their unique contributions to our mission are valued. In addition to the requirements in our job postings, we recognize that people come with talent and experiences outside of a job and consider each applicant’s unique experience. Please apply – we’d love to hear from you. To quote a popular saying at TNC, “you’ll join for the mission, and stay for the people.”

What We Bring:

Since 1951, TNC has been doing work you can believe in. Through grassroots action, we have grown from a small non-profit into one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than 1 million members, over 400 scientists, and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and partners, we impact conservation around the world! 

TNC offers competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our Benefits and Perks here.

We’re proud to offer a flexible work environment that supports the health and well-being of the people we employ.

Our recruiting process includes a rolling interview process to ensure we engage applicants in a timely manner. This means we may review applications in the order in which they are received. Once a strong candidate pool is identified, the role will be unposted. The timeline may vary depending on the expressed interest in the role, so we highly encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Employees must submit their application by logging into Workday and applying via the Jobs Hub.

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to equal employment opportunity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

The successful applicant must meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy's background screening process.

TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to [email protected] with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.