Our mission is to prevent an impending sixth mass extinction – the first in Earth’s history driven by the actions of a single species: ours. Unlike traditional conservation efforts, Conservation X Labs focuses on leveraging the best technology, the newest innovation, interdisciplinary genius, and the power of the marketplace to boldly confront the biggest problems facing the planet. Though humans have driven this sixth extinction, we know humans have the power to reverse it.

Finance Innovations Consultant

Position Prospectus

Who We Are:

Conservation X Labs (CXL) seeks to solve the world’s greatest conservation problems by supporting innovative solutions that address the underlying drivers of extinction. We create solutions to prevent the extinction crisis through developing new technology in our labs, leading innovation competitions, and empowering talented innovators across disciplines to create transformative products that serve people and our planet.

CXL, working with Renaissance Philanthropy, is leading the operational phase of a new philanthropic fund that seeks to tackle fire, the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss, in three globally significant, non-fire adapted ecoregions in South America, the Amazon, Pantanal, and Chiquitania. The Fund will unite partners to build and test integrated prevention and response systems, develop behavior change, including through financial innovations, train and equip local teams, and harness new technologies, with the goal of preventing the loss of the Amazon.

The Role:

CXL is in search of a Financial Innovation consultant to join our South America team starting immediately through April 2026, with the possibility of extension. This position would directly support the South America Fire Test Fund team in developing a specific, actionable, evidence-based Financial Innovation plan that identifies priority financial innovations and tools, target actors and partners, and intervention & investment pathways to shift economic incentives toward standing forests and fire prevention in selected pilot geographies, consistent with the Fund's theory of change and cross-cutting focus on incentives and behavior change. The goal is to reverse the trajectory of fire-incurred forest degradation in the Amazon to prevent the Amazon from shifting from a rainforest to a grassland, with catastrophic impacts on global biodiversity and climate.

Scope of Work

The consultant will support the South America Fire Fund team to develop a Financial Innovation Plan aligned with the Fire Test Fund Strategy, other relevant evidence-based research, and stakeholder input. This plan, which should be a clear, practical framework for action, is a component of the cross-cutting elements of the Strategy. The consultant’s work will be anchored in pilot municipalities and Indigenous territories (LIFTs - Landscape Interventions for Fire Transformation). The Test Fund will seek to be adaptive, iterative, and evidence based, provide flexibility for accelerated execution and operational efficiency, to identify force multipliers, demonstrate regional legitimacy, and provide transparency and credibility.

Activities:

• Synthesize financial innovation elements of the Fire Test Fund Strategy and other relevant sources (including interviews with key partners and stakeholders) to identify priority financial mechanisms and target actors linked to reducing destructive fire:
  • Define a short list of priority financial instruments to pilot (e.g., fire suppression and prevention credits for avoided emissions, biodiversity credits, fire-free transition facilities, municipal risk financing bundles, fire-free producer accelerators) and assess the readiness of the financial products and markets for implementation.
  • Segment key audiences (e.g., smallholders, Indigenous communities, medium/large landowners, municipal governments) and articulate context-specific motivations, constraints, and financial needs
  • Identify and interview key players in the financial ecosystem for fire, including fire credit providers, private sector investors, carbon/biodiversity credit buyers) to assess how catalytic philanthropic investment can be used to unlock private capital and accelerate the market.
• Use established financial structuring frameworks to diagnose barriers and enablers to financial mechanism adoption and effectiveness in selected contexts:
  • Assess economic drivers, market failures, barriers, and incentive structures that currently favor land clearing and fire use, as well as how financial interventions may overcome them.
  • Identify existing financial flows, capital sources, and market infrastructure that can be leveraged, including ways that we may unlock private and government investment, such as first loss guarantees and blended capital.
  • Evaluate risk factors, transaction costs, and MRV requirements for different instrument types
• Outline feasible financial intervention pathways aligned with the Fund's prevention, incentives, technology, and LIFT pilot approaches. For example:
  • Blended finance vehicles (first-loss capital, credit guarantees, concessional tranches)
  • Payment for ecosystem services and results-based financing models
  • Carbon and biodiversity credit mechanisms (including fire suppression credits)
  • Micro-incentive and seasonal compliance payment structures
  • Market-based instruments (corporate procurement standards, tax abatements, green labels)
  • Ensure interventions are culturally grounded, feasible in low-capacity contexts, include participatory approaches with affected populations, and not dependent on national policy reform
• Articulate how financial innovation efforts will be implemented, tested, and learned from during the initial phase, including details appropriate for an operational plan:
  • Explicitly outline the approach to community consultations / input / participatory engagement to ensure accountability to affected/targeted populations
  • Provide recommendations on specific organizations and partners (financial institutions, platform providers, impact investors, MRV providers) to implement the financial innovation strategy for each of the ecoregions and LIFTs
  • Identify how financial mechanisms interface with technology platforms (early warning, decision support), behavior change interventions, and LIFT pilot geographies
  • Create this strategy consistent with the Test Fund's operational principles to be adaptive, iterative, and evidence-based; provide flexibility for accelerated execution and operational efficiency; identify force multipliers; demonstrate regional legitimacy; and provide transparency and credibility
  • Develop high-level indicators in collaboration with the Fund's M&E team

Expected Outputs (by mid-March): A concise Financial Innovation Plan (short report and associated slides targeted to decision relevance) with clear articulation of:

• Overall financial innovation strategy for fire consistent with the Fire Test Fund strategy
• Identification of priority financial mechanisms and target actors for the key experimental geographies of the fund, specifically the three initial ecoregions (the Amazon, Pantanal, and Chiquitania) and the experimental sites in those regions (LIFTs)
• Financial innovation rationale and key assumptions, including theory of how economic incentives drive behavior change
• Proposed financial instrument structures, deal terms, and delivery mechanisms, including ways to use philanthropic capital to unlock private capital and government resources.
• MRV framework requirements for each instrument type, including considering the technology stack developed by CXL.
• Specific recommendations on partners for implementation in the key geographies to allow us to operationalize this plan on day 1
• Approach to ensure participatory engagement, community consultation, and community accountability in financial mechanism design
• Linkages to other Fire Fund strategies and pilots (behavior change, technology/detection, response capacity)
• High-level learning questions and indicators
• Preliminary assessment of capital requirements and potential funding sources for pilot phase

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in conservation or climate finance, development finance, impact investing, blended finance, carbon/biodiversity markets, or related fields
• Demonstrated track record designing and structuring financial instruments (biodiversity & carbon credits, PES, results-based financing, credit facilities, market-based mechanisms)
• Deep understanding of economic incentives and how financial mechanisms drive behavior change
• Experience working in or on Latin American conservation, climate, or development contexts
• Fluency in English; Spanish or Portuguese highly preferred
• Excellent written and analytical skills
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable frameworks

Desired Qualifications:

• Understanding of fire ecology, land management practices, and integrated fire management
• Familiarity with South American land tenure, agricultural economics, and conservation finance landscapes
• Network of contacts in impact investing, carbon/biodiversity markets, or environmental finance
• Experience with participatory approaches and community-based conservation
• Background in behavioral economics and incentive design
• Ability to work in person in Washington, DC

Timeline

• Contract period: February - April 30, 2026
• Level of effort: Approximately 160-200 hours
• Key milestone: Final deliverables due by mid-March 2026

To Apply: Please submit your resume, a brief cover letter explaining your relevant experience and interest in this work, and a writing sample demonstrating your ability to synthesize complex financial concepts into clear, actionable frameworks.