Program Officer Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

Program Officer, Brazil

Summary

The Bezos Earth Fund seeks a strategic and agile Program Officer to support its growing portfolio in Brazil, with a focus on accelerating measurable impact across its Amazon conservation priorities. This cross-cutting role is designed for a dynamic professional who thrives in complex, multi-stakeholder environments, brings a strong understanding of Brazil's political, social, and institutional context, and combines strategic foresight with operational know-how to deliver results and impact.

Since 2021, the Bezos Earth Fund has committed over $300 million to conservation efforts across the Amazon, including a $100 million initiative in Brazil focused on protecting forests, strengthening Indigenous and community-led conservation, advancing sustainable production systems, and improving science-based decision making. Building on this foundation, the Fund is scaling its Amazon portfolio to accelerate protection, reduce deforestation driven by cattle and fire, expand restoration, and strengthen monitoring and accountability systems in partnership with government, civil society, and the private sector.

Major Function:

The Program Officer will work in close coordination with senior Earth Fund team members, grantees, partners, and other stakeholders to enhance project alignment, improve collaboration across thematic areas, and identify opportunities to scale up impact. The role requires active monitoring and interpretation of political and social dynamics to identify emerging risks, challenges, and opportunities, and to ensure that Earth Fund initiatives are contextually grounded and adaptive.

The Program Officer will play a vital part in advising internal decision-makers, helping to shape strategic responses, and ensuring the Fund's work remains both effective and relevant. The Officer will also represent the Bezos Earth Fund in engagements with government, civil society, and community actors, and should be equally comfortable working in grassroots settings and high-level policy spaces.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Coordination and Support

• Support the implementation and coordination of projects in Brazil, accelerating measurable impact across four interconnected priorities: scaling protection of Protected Areas and Indigenous Lands, reducing deforestation from cattle and fire, advancing large scale restoration, and strengthening science-based monitoring and accountability systems.
• Identify opportunities for synergies between projects, sectors, and stakeholders to maximize conservation and restoration outcomes and cost effectiveness.
• Help align grantmaking and implementation with broader strategic frameworks and local realities, including Brazil's 30x30 commitments and national conservation priorities.
• Support the identification, design, and development of new grant opportunities in Brazil, including contributing to concept development, partner engagement, and due diligence, in coordination with Program leaders.

Monitoring and Implementation Support

• Track project implementation of grants, workplans, and milestones across grantees and portfolios, ensuring timely execution and alignment with Earth Fund objectives and measurable progress toward targets such as hectares protected, hectares under improved management, deforestation reduction, cattle traceability expansion, and restoration milestones.
• Identify risks and challenges in grant implementation and project execution and work with grantees and partners to co-develop adaptive solutions.
• Support local partners (particularly civil society and community-based organizations) in strengthening delivery, reporting, and coordination capacities.

Stakeholder Engagement and Liaison

• Foster and maintain strong relationships with governmental institutions, Indigenous organizations, civil society, academia, and local communities, promoting alignment and strengthening implementation of projects and initiatives.
• Represent the Earth Fund in relevant forums, dialogues, and meetings at the community, subnational, and national levels.
• Provide briefing materials, talking points, and memos to support internal decision-making and strategic positioning.

Context Monitoring and Intelligence

• Track developments in Brazil's political, regulatory, agricultural, and environmental landscape, including land tenure, enforcement, supply chain transparency, and fire management policies, to identify trends, risks, and windows of opportunity.
• Provide concise strategic analysis to Earth Fund leadership on emerging risks, sensitivities, and windows of opportunity that may affect conservation outcomes, and document implementation of lessons and coordination challenges.

Communication and Knowledge Sharing

• Prepare concise briefings, progress updates, meeting summaries, and stakeholder maps for internal and external use.
• Convene, organize, facilitate support meetings, learning exchanges, and dialogues between grantees, government, and civil society actors to encourage cross-pollination of ideas and innovation.

 Education and Experience:

• Graduate degree in biodiversity, environmental policy, development studies, political science, public administration, natural resource management, economics, or a related field relevant to environmental governance and sustainable land use required.
• 5-7 years of relevant professional experience, preferably with a mix of roles in civil society, government, or multilateral organizations, ideally within Brazil.
• Strong understanding of Brazil's environmental governance, Indigenous land frameworks, cattle supply chains, fire dynamics, and conservation finance mechanisms.
• Strong familiarity and professional experience working in the Brazilian Amazon and with federal and state level institutions.

 Skills and Abilities

• Strong alignment with the mission and urgency of the Bezos Earth Fund and its Amazon initiative.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in Portuguese and English, including the ability to produce clear, concise briefings and strategic analyses for senior leadership.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with disciplined follow through and attention to detail across multiple grants and workstreams. Demonstrated ability to support oversight of complex, multi partner initiatives, including experience contributing to grant development, review, and monitoring processes, and tracking measurable conservation outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to review proposals, budgets, and narrative reports, combined with sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive information.
• Strong political judgment and contextual analysis skills, with the ability to anticipate risks and navigate evolving regulatory and institutional environments in Brazil.
• Proven ability to build and maintain trust-based relationships across government, Indigenous organizations, civil society, and private sector actors, and to work effectively across cultures and diverse stakeholder groups.
• Commitment to working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, with a respectful and collaborative approach.
• Comfortable operating across levels, from community settings and field engagements to high level policy discussions and collaborating effectively within a small and fast-moving team.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

 Physical Requirements and Working Conditions: 

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• This is a Brazil-based role. The successful candidate will be hired under local employment terms and conditions.
• May require extended hours for urgent issues or to meet established deadlines.
• May undertake domestic and/or international travel.

To Apply:

This position offers a competitive salary and includes a benefits package. The Bezos Earth Fund is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination. The Earth Fund recognizes diversity as an asset essential to accomplishing its work. We actively welcome all qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, gender identity or expression, genetic information, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin, ethnicity, disability, military/veteran status, compensation history or any other basis prohibited by law. Qualified applicants are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter as soon as possible.