Conservation and Storytelling Director

The Great Elephant Migration

Reports to the CEO | Full time | Senior management team

Direct reports:  Digital content creator (India); US based PR agency

Salary: $100,000–$120,000 per annum, depending on experience.

The opportunity

Help take a powerful story of human–wildlife coexistence around the world. We are seeking an inspiring conservation leader and exceptional storyteller to shape the next chapter of The Great Elephant Migration, bringing conservation knowledge, compelling content and influential partnerships to a public art movement with global ambition.

Following a hugely successful migration from the east to the west coast of the United States, the herd has brought the story of coexistence into major cultural centres, from Newport and New York to Miami, Houston, Jackson Hole and Beverly Hills, followed by Boston. The exhibition has raised millions for conservation and generated estimated cumulative media reach in the billions, bringing India’s experience of sharing space with wildlife to a broad international audience.

Our ambition for the next ten years is to take the herd to major cities around the world. Each migration will connect the story from India with the possibilities for coexistence in its host country. The opportunity ahead is to turn extraordinary visibility into deeper understanding, stronger partnerships and lasting cultural change in how people live alongside wildlife.

The elephants and the story they carry

The herd comprises 100 life-size elephant sculptures, each modelled on a real wild elephant. Created by Indigenous artisans through The Real Elephant Collective in southern India, they are made from Lantana camara, an invasive woody shrub that degrades wildlife habitat. Transforming lantana into art connects Indigenous livelihoods with the work of restoring forests.

The elephants carry the knowledge and experience of communities who share their landscapes with wildlife. India offers a powerful starting point: large human populations live in close proximity to elephants and other large, sometimes dangerous animals. We tell this story with honesty about the challenges and curiosity about the cultural values and practical approaches that make coexistence possible.

Explore The Great Elephant Migration

Our mission and how we work

Our mission is to inspire and enable human–wildlife coexistence through creativity, culture and storytelling. The Great Elephant Migration is an initiative of Coexistence Story, a US nonprofit working at the intersection of culture and conservation. Our work rests on three connected pillars.

Preserving coexistence

Support Indigenous enterprises that sustain livelihoods, craftsmanship and the cultural knowledge of communities living alongside wildlife. The elephant-making enterprise connects these livelihoods with the removal and productive use of invasive lantana.

Promoting coexistence

Use storytelling and public art exhibitions to bring coexistence into everyday culture. The herd opens the door to stories that help audiences understand how people and wildlife can share space, and inspires them to support that work.

Powering coexistence

Provide grants to people and organisations advancing human–wildlife coexistence, including the Coexistence Consortium and its Coexistence Champions in India, our wider conservation portfolio and locally relevant projects in exhibition destinations.

Elephant sales, donations, sponsorship and fundraising support this model. The creation of the elephants sustains artisan livelihoods, while funds raised through the migration help deliver the exhibitions and support coexistence projects in India and beyond. Each destination offers an opportunity to connect global storytelling with a local conservation partnership and financial support for coexistence on the ground.

Your role

You will provide conservation leadership and lead our storytelling and communications, serving as a principal public voice for the exhibition and organisation alongside the CEO and key board members. You will connect the work we fund with the stories we tell, ensuring that every exhibition is grounded in credible conservation practice and creates opportunities for people to engage.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will sit on the senior management team alongside the COO, Head of Exhibitions and Head of Development. You will help shape organisational strategy, bringing conservation insight to decisions about exhibitions, partnerships, funding and public engagement.

You will be supported by an India-based Human–Wildlife Coexistence Content Manager and a digital video editing team in India. You will set editorial direction, commission content and guide their work, building a reliable flow of stories from the field to our global audiences.

Key responsibilities

Conservation Leadership and Public Voice

• Develop our conservation narrative and serve as an authoritative, engaging spokesperson in media interviews, talks, panels and exhibition events, working closely with the CEO and relevant trustees.
• Translate research and practical experience into accessible stories. Keep our messaging accurate, current and sensitive to the realities of communities sharing space with wildlife.
• Lead media relations strategy, working with the PR agencies to identify compelling press opportunities and coordinate external PR support. Prepare briefings, key messages and spokespeople for each migration.

Strategic Partnerships and Local Coexistence

• Build relationships with conservation organisations, researchers, Indigenous leaders and cultural partners who can strengthen the migration’s content, reach and impact.
• Identify credible coexistence projects and conservation partners in each exhibition destination. Develop proposals for local support, undertake proportionate due diligence and bring recommendations through the organisation’s agreed approval process.
• Create shared campaigns, talks, educational activities and content with partners, connecting India’s story with local species, communities and conservation challenges.

The Coexistence Funding Portfolio

• Provide day-to-day leadership of the broader coexistence funding portfolio, maintaining close relationships with grantees and tracking delivery, learning and results.
• Work with the Conservation Committee, CEO, COO and finance colleagues on grant priorities, budgets, reporting and accountability, within agreed funding and approval arrangements. The Conservation Committee is led by Dr Alex Zimmerman and makes the recommendations for project support.
• Work closely with the Coexistence Consortium and the Coexistence Champions we fund annually in India to understand their progress, support their storytelling and share their experience with wider audiences.
• Gather meaningful evidence and stories from funded projects for donor communications, annual reports and public content. Ensure claims reflect what the work has achieved and what remains to be learned.

The Matriarchy and Influential Voices

• Develop The Matriarchy as an active community of storytellers, philanthropists and notable conservationists. Recruit members who bring knowledge, creativity, audiences and commitment to coexistence.
• Mobilise their voices through content, media opportunities, events and advocacy. Equip members with clear messages and engaging material they can share through their own networks.
• Partner with the Head of Development to connect this engagement with cultivation and fundraising, while maintaining a coherent conservation story.

Storytelling and Communications Delivery

• Lead an editorial strategy that tells a broader, year-round story of human–wildlife coexistence, extending beyond exhibition news to the people, species and practical solutions at the heart of our work.
• Direct the India-based content manager and video editing team, commissioning field stories, interviews, short films and social content through clear briefs, schedules and constructive feedback.
• Develop social media and website storytelling, strengthening audience engagement and making it easy for people to learn more, share stories, attend exhibitions, buy elephants or support the mission.
• Oversee annual reports, newsletters, donor and partner materials, education resources and other publications, working with colleagues to communicate conservation progress and funding impact clearly.
• Build on and continually evolve exhibition brand, core brand, signage, interpretation and QR-linked content. Work with the Head of Exhibitions to make the coexistence story accessible and relevant in each destination.
• Maintain consistent messaging, editorial standards and an organised content library. Ensure contributors are credited, consent is obtained and Indigenous voices are represented with care and agency.
• Manage the agreed conservation and communications budget, prioritise team capacity and coordinate suppliers. Track media quality, audience engagement, partner activity and evidence of learning and action, alongside reach.

What you will bring

• A strong record of senior leadership in conservation, environmental storytelling or a closely related field, with credible knowledge of human–wildlife coexistence and community-led approaches.
• Exceptional writing, editorial judgement and public speaking skills, with the ability to make complex ideas clear, memorable and relevant to different audiences.
• Experience as a spokesperson or in media relations, and a record of building productive partnerships across organisations and cultures.
• Experience supporting conservation programmes or grants, assessing progress and translating field evidence into responsible, compelling communications.
• Strong understanding of digital storytelling, social media and video, with experience directing content teams or creative collaborators.
• The ability to lead people, manage budgets and priorities, and deliver in a small, ambitious organisation where senior leaders also take a practical role in the work.
• Cultural sensitivity, sound judgement and a collaborative approach to working with Indigenous communities, field practitioners, donors and trustees.

Experience in India, Indigenous partnerships, public art or exhibitions, and an established conservation or media network would be particularly valuable. The role requires international collaboration across time zones and travel for exhibitions, partner engagement and field visits.

This is an opportunity to help shape a distinctive approach to conservation: using a migrating herd of artworks to influence culture, amplify the people making coexistence possible and generate support for their work around the world.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $100,000–$120,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
• Paid time off.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Access to a 401(k) plan and additional voluntary benefits.

Location

• This is a fully remote position.
• Candidates must work to an ET time zone and ideally reside in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Delaware. Preference will be given to candidates within a reasonable travel distance of Philadelphia or the New York metropolitan area, as occasional travel (10–15%) and periodic in-person meetings are expected.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Coexistence Story is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences to apply. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected status.