Head of Africa

The application period will close on November 2, 2026, 9:00 am CET.

Background

Global Fishing Watch (GFW) is an international, nonprofit organization committed to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency. Founded in 2015 through a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth, and Google, Global Fishing Watch became an independent nonprofit organization in June 2017.

Our organizational strategy is centered on three pillars: 1) countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; 2) strengthening marine protection by improving the design and effectiveness of marine protected areas, and other conservation measures; and 3) generating, and openly sharing actionable, and credible data on human activity at sea - increasing a science-based understanding of what is happening across our ocean and influencing change.

An overarching principle across all GFW's work is promoting transparency in fishing, and other human activity, at sea in both policy, and practice. In doing so, we aim to realize our vision of a healthy, productive and resilient ocean. Across our work, we strive to make human activity at sea more visible, measurable, and accountable, built on our technology and open data, which empower governments, as well as civil society to improve ocean monitoring alongside management.

Purpose of Role

The Head of Africa Region will provide strategic, and operational leadership for Global Fishing Watch's Africa portfolio - currently active in Senegal, Gabon, Madagascar, and with sub-regional fisheries bodies, including the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC). This senior leader will be accountable for developing, and driving the Africa regional strategy, leading a distributed regional team, ensuring rigorous financial stewardship, and managing complex grant deliverables alongside partner relationships.

The successful candidate will combine high-level political engagement, in support of public data transparency, efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and advance marine protection, consistent with Global Fishing Watch's strategy; with the operational discipline required to manage multi-country programs, sub-grants, and donor relationships. Crucially, this leader will look beyond their immediate region to contribute to wider organizational objectives, and ensure strong cross-regional alignment, learning, and central organizational cohesion.

Primary

The job holder will have the following key

Regional Strategy and Program Delivery (35%)

Lead Regional Strategy: Design, implement and regularly evaluate the Africa regional strategy, and work plans, ensuring alignment with Global Fishing Watch's organizational goals, and impact priorities.

Advance Data Transparency: Develop and deliver political strategies to secure public commitments for fishing vessel tracking data, and vessel registry data sharing across the continent, with an immediate focus on deepening engagement with the SRFC, along with priority West and East African countries.

Tool Adaptation and Policy Impact: Work closely with internal technical, and policy teams to adapt our data tools to the explicit needs of partner governments, and NGOs (local and international), positioning regional data cooperation as a cornerstone in the fight against IUU fishing, and achieving the global “30×30” target of protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.

Partnership Development: Build a continental engagement pipeline of stakeholders, and partners. Identify and assess strategic partnership opportunities, maintaining a clear, and prioritized pipeline for engagement across Africa.

Grant Management and Financial Stewardship (25%)

Grant Oversight & Reporting: Serve as the primary accountable lead for all Africa regional grant deliverables, ensuring strict compliance, high-quality execution, and timely narrative, alongside financial reporting to funders.

Sub-Grant and Partner Coordination:...