Professor of Practice in Conservation Finance

Job Details

The Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures (SCF) in the Rob Walton College of Global Futures (CGF) at Arizona State University invites applications for a part-time or full-time, benefits-eligible, academic year (9-month), Professor of Practice appointment with an anticipated start in Fall 2026.

The Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures is a first-of-a-kind transdisciplinary school at the vanguard of redefining conservation as a field. It is part of the Rob Walton College of Global Futures (CGF), the academic cornerstone of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory (GFL) at ASU. The School of Conservation Futures will transform teaching and learning systems in conservation science to protect and restore the richness of life on our complex and rapidly changing planet. The school will value, uplift, and apply a wide array of worldviews, knowledge systems, and conservation practices to build and advance a global conservation community and workforce that reflects the local and global communities it serves. In partnership with a variety of organizations across the conservation sector, the school will serve a range of learners, including conservation organization employees, executives at multinational corporations, youth leaders, policymakers, and undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty will build an engaging and innovative curriculum that includes real-world skills, digital, hybrid, experiential, and place-based learning, as well as new technologies that build upon the application and theory of conservation science.

The school seeks innovative faculty leaders that will support the long-term vision of the school and its impact, to join the faculty in support of building the school’s curriculum and professional preparation programs, to develop a world-class research and knowledge-to-action enterprise and develop the school’s engagement strategy to support conservation impact with practitioners worldwide. The school’s leadership seeks unique leaders that will contribute to the school’s vision and purpose, working in a highly collaborative way to support the establishment of the school as a world-class institution. Prospective faculty members should articulate how their expertise, experience, and leadership abilities will contribute to the school. Preference will be given to applicants with experience working in real-world conservation contexts, and with demonstrated strengths in both applied conservation practice and teaching. This Professor of Practice position will contribute to teaching, mentoring, and curriculum development, and partner-engaged work in areas focused on conservation finance. This position will work collaboratively with colleagues to help further establish the school as a globally significant field catalyst for the conservation sector. Applicants should espouse the values reflected in the ASU Charter.

The ideal candidate should bring deep, practice-oriented expertise in established conservation finance approaches—including but not limited to public funding mechanisms, philanthropic and NGO grant-making, payment for ecosystem services approaches (e.g., for carbon, water, biodiversity), protected-area financing, and market-based instruments—paired with the ability to teach how these tools are applied to meet global conservation targets. They should understand the current global finance landscape and resource-mobilization barriers facing conservation—such as insufficient and fragmented public budgets, limited private-sector participation, governance and scalability constraints, measurement and valuation gaps, and inequitable access to finance—so they can train students to diagnose financing shortfalls and design realistic funding strategies. Finally, they should be fluent in emerging and innovative conservation finance instruments, such as blended finance structures, impact bonds, green/blue biodiversity credits, debt-for-nature swaps, nature performance payments, and blended financing models. They should also have either experience with, or interest in preparing students to critically assess parameters relevant to financing solutions, and to design innovative strategies for conservation projects using established and innovative financing approaches to achieve measurable conservation outcomes.

Essential Functions/Duties

Curriculum Development and Professional Preparation

We seek faculty members who will take a leading role in designing and delivering a world-class curriculum for the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures at ASU’s College of Global Futures. Successful candidates will demonstrate excellence in developing innovative, competency-based courses and experiential learning opportunities that prepare current and future conservation practitioners for real-world career paths, including field training, project-based instruction, internships, and partnerships with government, NGOs, and industry. Candidates should be committed to inclusive teaching practices, mentoring an inclusive student body, integrating interdisciplinary perspectives and applied tools (e.g., policy, management, restoration, monitoring, and emerging technologies), and contributing to ongoing curriculum assessment and continuous improvement to ensure graduates are job-ready and impactful in conservation practice. Faculty members will be expected to deliver both immersion (in-person) and online format of undergraduate and graduate level classes and non-degree offerings.

Supporting Conservation and Practice (Conservation Extension/Field Catalyst)

We seek faculty members who will join the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures as active partners in conservation practice, engaging deeply with frontline organizations, financial institutions, private sector, governments, industry, NGOs, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders to co-design, implement, and scale real-world conservation solutions. Successful candidates will demonstrate a track record and commitment to sustained, reciprocal partnerships that move beyond conventional service—including joint project leadership, shared decision-making, capacity building, policy translation, and long-term evaluation of outcomes—and who can embed students and trainees in partner-engaged practice settings to accelerate impact. Candidates should value ethical, equitable collaboration, leverage institutional resources to support partner priorities, and help establish the School as a trusted convenor and applied research partner that delivers measurable, co-developed conservation results. Candidates are expected to participate in school, university, and professional service as well as externally facing programs such as ASU’s Learning Enterprise and Global Education Office.

Research Enterprise for the School of Conservation Futures (optional)

While not required for this teaching and practice-focused role, we welcome candidates who have interests in helping to support the development of a world-class research enterprise within the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures at ASU, particularly in the area of conservation finance, pro-nature enterprise, and innovative resource mobilization. The School’s research program development will leverage the assets and resources of the Rob Walton College of Global Futures, the Julie Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, and ASU more broadly. Successful candidates who are interested in developing a research component to their appointment will demonstrate a strong commitment to catalyzing interdisciplinary, solution-oriented research that advances protection, sustainable management, and large-scale restoration of natural systems; mentor and attract multi-disciplinary teams of scholars and trainees; secure and leverage external funding and partnerships across academia, government, industry, and communities; and contribute to strategic program development, infrastructure growth, and translational pathways that move science into effective conservation policy and practice.

Required Qualifications

• At least 10 years of significant professional experience in the conservation financing approaches, with practice-based expertise and experience in real-world contexts.
• Demonstrated leadership or professional expertise working with conservation organizations, financial institutions, philanthropic foundations, government agencies, or cross-sector partnerships that support conservation outcomes.
• Demonstrated interest in teaching, mentoring, training, or supervising students, early-career professionals, or practitioners.
• Ability to teach courses related to conservation finance and resource mobilization.
• Candidates should demonstrate that their prior work promotes the values of ASU as reflected in the ASU Charter.

Desired Qualifications

• An advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MPA, MS in finance, economics, environmental management, or related field) or equivalent professional experience in conservation finance, environmental finance, impact investing, public finance, or related fields.
• Professional experience working with conservation practitioner organizations such as government agencies, nonprofit organizations and civil society sector, philanthropic foundations, financial institutions, or impact investment organizations supporting conservation initiatives.
• Demonstrated expertise designing or implementing conservation finance strategies, funding mechanisms, blended finance models, or resource mobilization strategies for conservation programs. Experience translating financial frameworks and funding strategies into real-world conservation programs and initiatives. Field experience in conservation practice, including applied work with conservation organizations, government agencies, NGOs, Tribal Nations, or community-based initiatives, and the ability to translate field-based experience into student learning and applied conservation solutions.
• Evidence of strong commitment to teaching excellence and student success, including experience or interest in mentoring students, early-career professionals, or practitioners in conservation, environmental finance, or related fields. Demonstrated interest in, or direct experience, in developing and delivering teaching in immersion (in-person) and online format using learning management systems and instructional technologies including asynchronous online teaching, lectures, effective assessments, and other classroom activities.

Application Instructions

Applications should be submitted at https://apply.interfolio.com/185448. Only electronic submissions will be reviewed. Review of applications will begin June 12, 2026, and continue every two weeks thereafter until the search is closed. Official transcripts are required for employment.

Applications must contain:

1. A cover letter that describes the applicant's match for the position.
2. A teaching experience and philosophy statement, (no longer than 1 page in length) including an explanation of how the goals of the ASU Charter are reflected in your teaching and mentoring.
3. Optional: A research statement (no longer than 2 pages in length) describing the candidate's research experience, interests, and fit with the School of Conservation Futures.
4. Curriculum vitae.
5. Contact information for three professional references (including name, title, affiliation, e-mail address, and phone number).