Temporary Philanthropy Officer

The Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) is a collaborative of foundations seeking to realize the potential of forests and lands to mitigate climate change, benefit people, and protect the environment. The CLUA member foundations are the ClimateWorks Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies also awards grants in alignment with the CLUA strategy. By bringing together our resources and diverse expertise, CLUA supports policies, practices, and partnerships that halt and reverse forest loss, advance sustainable land use and development, and secure the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous and forest communities. For more, please visit climateandlandusealliance.org

CLUA hosts Forest, People, Climate (FPC), a collaborative of philanthropic donors, civil society and community-based organizations seeking to half and reverse tropical deforestation while supporting just, sustainable development. FPC focuses on equitable and enduring solutions that safeguard tropical forests and support those stewarding them, in particular Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, and Afro-descendants in tropical forest countries. CLUA hosts FPC to accelerate progress toward our shared goals of supporting efforts to halt and reverse tropical deforestation. For more, please visit forestspeopleclimate.org. 

Background 

Forests, People, Climate (FPC) is a collaborative of philanthropic donors, civil society, and community-based organizations seeking to halt and reverse tropical deforestation while supporting just, sustainable development. We focus on equitable and enduring solutions that safeguard tropical forests and support those stewarding them, in particular Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, and Local Communities in tropical forest countries.

Through this collaboration, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, funders, and other experts partner to identify the strategic priorities that must be addressed to end and reverse deforestation, mobilize the funding for those priorities, and connect with and strengthen broader networks of partners to move funding to support the work.

FPC focuses on ensuring funding flows to where it is most needed for success, in particular to Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, and Local Communities in tropical forest countries.

Initiative Overview

Forests, People, Climate (FPC) has set an ambitious goal of securing $2 billion in funding commitments over five years to safeguard tropical forests and communities, shift finance and markets, and strengthen public support. This includes supporting Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendants, and Local Communities (IP, AD & LC) in protecting and governing their lands. These communities are at the forefront of climate and biodiversity solutions, yet they continue to receive only a fraction of the global funding dedicated to conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable development. To bridge this gap, FPC is launching the Rights & Tenure Collective, a new initiative designed to expand and diversify the donor base, mobilizing resources from new and emerging funders who share FPC’s mission but may not have historically contributed directly to IP, AD & LC-led initiatives.

Expanding this network of aligned funders is essential to achieving long-term systemic change. Many philanthropic institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate social responsibility programs express a commitment to environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and community-led conservation but lack the familiarity, mechanisms, or confidence to fund these groups directly. This project aims to address this gap by cultivating a new category of donors who are deeply committed to equity, climate action, and local leadership. The objective is to provide a structured entry point for funders who wish to increase their impact while ensuring that resources are allocated effectively, sustainably, and with full respect for IP, AD & LC autonomy.

By strengthening relationships with new donors and fostering a deeper understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in direct IP, AD & LC funding, FPC seeks to create a more resilient and diverse funding ecosystem. The Rights & Tenure Collective will not only mobilize significant financial commitments but also work to transform donor practices—shifting from short-term, project-based funding toward long-term, unrestricted support that empowers IP, AD & LC to lead their own conservation, governance, and climate resilience efforts.

To ensure the successful implementation of this initiative, FPC is seeking a Philanthropy Officer to manage and drive the development of the Rights & Tenure Collective. This Philanthropy Officer will play a pivotal role in coordinating donor engagement, program strategy, and operational implementation while also providing flexible program support to the broader FPC team and its partners.

Position Description 

The temporary Philanthropy Officer will serve a crucial role supporting the FPC Team to ensure priorities are on track and issues are identified and resolved in a timely fashion. The Philanthropy Officer will dedicate 75% of their time to developing a network of donors aligned with FPC, with a focus on IPLCAD issues, leading  a program that engages them more directly with FPC and partners and 25% to broader programmatic support for FPC and its partners.

Location

The Philanthropy Officer is a 6-month, temporary, full-time position, based in the United States. The position will require work across multiple time zones, and with colleagues around the world, with some travel required for donor convenings and partner engagements.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

The Philanthropy Officer will primarily:

Lead Coordination of Donor Network (75%)

• Program Strategy & Implementation
• • Develop and oversee the strategy, structure, and operational framework.
  • Support the recruitment and engagement of new donors, particularly individual philanthropists and institutional funders unfamiliar with IPLCAD led funding models.
  • Design and implement a learning and engagement strategy to deepen funders’ understanding of Indigenous land tenure, governance, and conservation approaches.
• Donor Engagement & Relationship Management
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for new donors and aligned funders identified by the Development team.
  • Represent FPC to the funder community at conferences and events.
  • Facilitate connections between donors and IPLCAD organizations, ensuring alignment with community priorities in partnership with FPC and CLUA program officers.
  • Develop materials and briefings for donors, including impact reports and funding opportunities.
• Operational & Administrative Oversight
  • Establish and maintain a streamlined process for funder participation, pledges, and commitments.
  • Coordinate virtual and in-person convenings, learning events, and donor field visits in collaboration with FPC partners.
  • Monitor and evaluate progress, documenting key learnings and recommendations for scaling the initiative.

Flexible Program Support for FPC and Partners (25%)

• Provide research, analysis, and coordination support for FPC’s broader work on Indigenous rights, climate justice, and biodiversity protection.
• Contribute to cross-cutting initiatives, including advocacy efforts, strategic communications, and donor engagement.
• Support the development of reports, funding proposals, and presentations related to FPC’s mission.
• Collaborate with FPC partners to strengthen alignment and coordination across initiatives.  

Preferred Experience & Competencies

Applicants will ideally have many of the following competencies and some of the following experience:

• A minimum of 8+ years of experience in relevant climate and nature issues, including territorial rights, organizational capacity building, forest management and land use, finance and markets, strategic communications, extractive industries, and/or climate change in tropical forests or Brazil/Indonesia
• Demonstrated capacity to understand and work effectively with Indigenous, Afro-Descendent, and local communities’ representative organizations, civil society organizations, governments, private sector, academic institutions, and donor partners.
• Ability to think and act strategically across sectors, geographies, and FPC’s priority issues.
• A record of effectively coordinating complex partnerships and/or processes, involving multiple institutions and individuals in a multicultural team setting, and responding rapidly and successfully to emergent challenges and opportunities.
• Experience collaborating with international teams, with demonstrated sensitivity to the experiences, needs, and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and identities.
• Close understanding of key environmental, political, and social issues and trends in Indonesia.
• Excellent judgment, with the ability to adhere to confidentiality requirements and handle sensitive matters with discretion.
• Strong emotional intelligence, with the ability to facilitate relationship building across CLUA.
• An innate sense of, and deep commitment to, diversity, equity, and inclusion with experience working in diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environments and experience in gender-equity/anti-racist/anti-colonial work, as well as a strong commitment to ongoing justice and equity work.
• Ability to travel and to work outside of typical work hours (i.e. early mornings and/or late evenings) when required to accommodate various time zones.

Equal Opportunity and Access

CLUA provides equal employment opportunity and aims to have a staff who reflect its fundamental principles . At CLUA, selection, employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law. 

Application Process

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. CLUA will complete an initial review of applications received by May 2, 2025 and on a rolling basis thereafter until the position is filled. To be considered, please apply online and submit a cover letter and resume in English.