Programme Officer – Environment Programme, with focus on Chile

Location:  Chile
Reporting to:  Environment Programme Director
Type of contract: Permanent
Application deadline: Monday 12 October, 09:00 CET

About Oak Foundation
Oak Foundation’s mission (www.oakfnd.org) is to contribute to a safer, fairer, and more sustainable world. With offices in Europe, Africa, and North America, Oak Foundation makes grants to organisations around the world.

About the Environment Programme
The Environment Programme focuses on safeguarding our future by restoring our connection to nature. The programme is organised across broad streams of work, including marine systems and livelihoods, conservation, rewilding, regenerative landscapes, and countering wildlife trafficking. We take a systems change approach by aiming to address the sources of the challenges we face as a society to improve the health and strength of communities and our natural environment. This approach allows us to see inter-connections and envision solutions across sectors to achieve multiple social and biodiversity benefits. 

Purpose of the role
This is a new role for the Environment Programme that will focus on helping to build and strengthen a country-based portfolio in Chile, supporting work across a range of nature conservation and environmental priorities — including terrestrial and marine ecosystems — through an integrated, “whole landscape” approach. The position will also support additional priorities of the Environment Programme, as needed. The role requires periodic international travel, including approximately two trips per year to Geneva, Switzerland to support coordination and collaboration across the programme. The position reports directly to the Environment Programme Director.

Main responsibilities

• Under the guidance of the Environment programme director and in consultation with the Lead Trustee, shape and manage a grant portfolio advancing conservation, biodiversity, and broader environmental initiatives across terrestrial and marine ecosystems in Chile.
• Provide strategic input and advisory support on grant-making across the wider Latin America region, contributing to portfolio coherence, shared learning, and overall impact.
• Manage the full grant cycle, from initial enquiry and assessment to final recommendation. This includes monitoring implementation, reporting on and closing grants, evaluating current and past grants, and drawing and sharing lessons from projects and groups of grants.
• Carry out site visits, assess capacity-strengthening needs, support grantee effectiveness, and capture and share learning across grants and portfolios.
• Promote collaboration and knowledge exchange among not-for-profit organisations, research institutions, philanthropic organisations, governments, and local communities.
• Contribute to collaboration across the Environment Programme, share lessons from grantees and regional groups of grants, and use these insights to inform programme strategy and wider practice.
• Contribute to internal and external reporting, including monthly and annual updates, Advisory Panel materials, and organisation-wide learning.
• Represent Oak Foundation at donor convenings, conferences, workshops, and other external forums.

Position requirements

• A university degree in an environment-related subject.
• 7–10+ years of professional experience in conservation, sustainable forestry, grantmaking, parks management, or closely related fields.
• Significant professional experience in Chile, with strong understanding of the national context and relevant actors.
• Strong understanding of community-based natural resource management, and biodiversity challenges and opportunities in Chile and across Latin America.
• Proven ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders, including not-for-profit organisations, local communities, government agencies, researchers, peer funders, and private-sector partners.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to assess complex social and environmental contexts and identify priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, a collaborative working style, clear and concise writing, and confidence in expressing views in open discussions.
• Commitment to efficiency and demonstrated ability to stay organised and meet tight deadlines.
• Understanding of financial reporting and budgeting in not-for-profit or government organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Professional proficiency in English and Spanish is required.
• Confidence using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Salesforce, and willingness to learn other tools as needed.
• Experience in grant-making or working closely with philanthropic funders is an advantage.
• Willingness to travel internationally as required, including twice a year to Oak’s Geneva office.
• Commitment to Oak Foundation’s values.

Additional qualifications

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 on the Upsall International website.

Please ensure you send your CV and Cover letter in the following format: full_name_CV_org_name_role and full_name_role_CL.

If you have any questions about the role or organisation, please reach out to Zoe Oldham at zoe@upsallinternational.com. 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.

By submitting your application, you confirm that you have read and understood our job applicant’s data privacy notice. 

Oak Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, as detailed in our child safeguarding policy. We expect all staff to share this commitment. Please note that the successful candidate will undergo reference checks and be required to provide a police record prior to starting employment.