Call for Mentors in Conservation: Empower the Next Generation of Women Leaders with Wildlife Conservation Action

Across Africa and beyond, conservation efforts are becoming increasingly complex, community-driven, and urgently needed. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and growing pressure on natural resources require strong, informed leadership that can navigate both ecological and social challenges. Yet despite their experience and contributions, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles across the conservation sector. The Call for Mentors in Conservation by Wildlife Conservation Action (WCA) seeks to address this gap by inviting established women in conservation to step forward and guide the next generation of female leaders.

This mentorship opportunity is designed specifically for mid- to late-career women professionals in conservation who are ready to share their experience, wisdom, and leadership insights. By becoming a mentor, participants play a vital role in strengthening women’s leadership pipelines, fostering sisterhood across the sector, and shaping a more inclusive and resilient future for conservation.

Why Mentorship in Conservation Matters

Mentorship is one of the most powerful tools for professional growth, yet access to mentors remains uneven, particularly for women working in conservation and environmental fields. Careers in conservation are often shaped by field realities, long hours, and complex community dynamics, making informal knowledge and lived experience just as valuable as formal training.

For early-career women, guidance from experienced professionals can be transformative. Mentors help navigate career decisions, leadership challenges, and moments of uncertainty while offering reassurance, perspective, and encouragement. At the same time, mentors themselves benefit by reflecting on their journeys, strengthening professional networks, and contributing to lasting change within the sector.

By calling on experienced women to mentor others, Wildlife Conservation Action recognizes that building strong conservation outcomes depends not only on technical solutions, but also on investing in people and leadership across generations.

About Wildlife Conservation Action

Wildlife Conservation Action is a Zimbabwe-based conservation organization working at the intersection of biodiversity protection, community empowerment, and human-wildlife coexistence. The organization focuses on landscapes where people and wildlife share space, particularly in regions experiencing high levels of human-wildlife conflict.

Through locally grounded approaches, WCA supports both ecological sustainability and community wellbeing. Its work emphasizes collaboration with local communities, recognizing that conservation solutions are most effective when they are inclusive, culturally informed, and locally led.

WCA’s priority action areas include:

• Human-wildlife conflict mitigation
• Environmental education and awareness
• Climate-smart livelihoods
• Applied research and monitoring
• Conservation leadership

These focus areas reflect the organization’s belief that long-term conservation success relies on strong leadership, shared knowledge, and community participation. The Call for Mentors in Conservation builds directly on this philosophy by placing leadership development and mentorship at the center of conservation practice.

Who This Mentorship Opportunity Is For

This call is aimed at established women in conservation, particularly those who are mid- to late-career and ready to give back to the sector. Mentors may come from a wide range of backgrounds, including wildlife conservation, environmental management, research, community-based conservation, policy, education, or advocacy.

What unites mentors is not a specific job title, but a willingness to:

• Share professional experiences, lessons learned, and leadership insights
• Support early-career women navigating conservation pathways
• Strengthen networks and solidarity among women in conservation
• Help create spaces where women can lead confidently and authentically

Mentors are invited to lead with purpose, generosity, and openness, recognizing the value of both successes and challenges in shaping future leaders.

The Impact of Becoming a Mentor

By participating in this mentorship initiative, women in conservation contribute to more than individual career development. They help:

• Retain talented women within the conservation sector
• Build confidence and leadership capacity among emerging professionals
• Transfer knowledge that is rarely captured in formal training
• Challenge gender imbalances in conservation leadership

Mentorship strengthens the sector as a whole by ensuring that experience, skills, and institutional knowledge are not lost, but passed on to those who will carry conservation work forward.

How to Apply

Women interested in becoming mentors are invited to apply through the official online form. The form allows applicants to share their background, experience, and motivation for joining the mentorship initiative.

Apply to become a mentor with this google form.

For more information about Wildlife Conservation Action’s work and conservation focus areas, visit their website.

Looking for more opportunities? Visit the Opportunities for Youth website to explore additional leadership, mentorship, and professional development programs.