Chief Impact Officer

Chief Impact Officer (CIO)

Role overview

The Chief Impact Officer (CIO) reports to the CEO and sits on the leadership team, accountable for leading Global Fishing Watch’s global program. The CIO oversees program strategy, delivery, and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) to ensure the organization’s work results in measurable impact.

Mission focus areas

• Countering Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing
• Strengthening marine protection via improved effectiveness of protected areas and other conservation measures
• Promoting transparency in fishing and other human activity at sea (in both policy and practice)

How impact is driven

• Directly through program and policy work
• By scaling the organization’s platform so more governments and civil society can use it, supported by skills and resources that extend reach and impact of data and tools

Key responsibilities

• Lead a fully remote, global team across regions
• Provide strategic oversight to turn organizational goals into actionable, measurable delivery plans
• Support and coordinate with senior direct reports across functional areas, including:
  • Regional delivery
  • Analysis and capacity development
  • International policy
  • MEL
• Use an understanding of the organization’s technology to connect on-the-ground ambition with platform capability, combining science, policy influence, capacity development, and innovation
• Decide with the CEO and leadership team which ideas align with mission, donor needs, and resources
• Support fundraising and manage the program budget
• Oversee MEL to ensure impact measurement, learning, and adaptation
• Help build the next decade of impact following advances from the Audacious Project investment

Requirements

• Proven experience in international marine conservation
• Demonstrated ability forging major partnerships and engaging senior government officials across national, regional, and international fora
• Strong understanding of international ocean governance and related geopolitical dynamics
• Ability to translate complex goals into delivery plans and measurable outcomes
• Strong strategic and collaborative leadership style, fostering a culture of inclusion, accountability, and continuous learning

Nice-to-haves (implied)

• Deep familiarity with technology-driven transparency initiatives for ocean governance
• Experience leading multidisciplinary, multicultural teams remotely