Regional Coastal and Ocean Ecosystems Manager at International Union for Conservation of Nature

Job Description

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in , IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1, Member organisations and the input of some 16, experts

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Implementation and portfolio management;

Oversee the development of activities workplans and related budgets, in collaboration with other regional leads, national teams and partners; Day-to-day coordination of projects implementation and activities delivery in line with the Blue Nature area of work in order to ensure the highest quality of outputs and outcomes as well as guarantee that activities are implemented in line with project workplans and budgets; Develop relevant programme KPIs and ensure its good monitoring and reporting; Support national and lead on regional technical reporting and on the development of a regional Blue Nature annual report.

Strategic and Technical leadership;

Provide leadership, strategic guidance and direction to the Blue Nature area of work, as a member of the Regional COR Team; Lead the strategic development of the Blue Nature area of work, including periodically conducting situation and scoping analysis to develop/refine the COR strategic framework, ensuring that priorities identified are relevant to IUCN’s members and partners and aligned with IUCN’s value proposition; Act as a driving force for innovation to position IUCN as a leading organization in terms of large-scale restoration and conservation approaches and mechanisms and in particular on efforts to reach net-gain of critical blue ecosystems by (compared to ); Ensuring that IUCN’s work in the region is of high technical quality, based on good science and drawing upon state-of-the-art thinking and knowledge; Unlock synergies and collaboration with other regional COR area of works and IUCN ESARO’s programmes and projects when and where possible; Develop, lead and supervise a COR regional programme team to ensure that individuals work together as an integrated team, that there is coherence and consistency in programmatic outputs and a high quality of technical advice is given to IUCN global and regional programmes, field programmes, projects, members and partners.

External engagement and communication;

Ensure that IUCN is adequately represented in relevant regional and international fora and negotiations and facilitate discussions on relevant marine and coastal emerging issues to position IUCN as a reference in the region; Provide evidence-based support and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues on emerging issues and policy debates; Lead coherent and consistent communication of lessons learnt to key decision-makers and other stakeholders within the region and globally as appropriate, including via the web, print and media; Lead in identifying and managing potential risks associated with IUCN’s public positions and design strategies to mitigate the risks that have been identified; Act as a focal point for facilitating and supporting the involvement of IUCN Commissions, Members and other members of the Secretariat in the development and implementation of programmatic activities.

Programme Development and Resource Mobilization;

Lead in the identification of strategic fundraising leads and in developing related concepts. This will involve establishing, maintaining and nurturing good relationships with donors, funding agencies and other technical partners so as to ensure the financial viability of the Blue Nature pillar of the COR programme; Lead the development of related full proposals once a concept note has been selected. This work requires coordination with the national teams, regional team, global programme colleagues as well as with IUCN members, partners and consultants; Work with IUCN ESARO COR Head and senior management to identify donors and key strategic partners aligned to thematic and cross thematic priorities in the ESARO region.

Monitoring and Evaluation;

Contribute to the development of the ESARO COR Intersessional Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Framework; Ensure IUCN work is accountable to donors and other stakeholders through the establishment and management of effective accountability mechanisms and processes; Provide leadership to use data for programme decision making, for the implementation of management actions based on the findings of monitoring, and to ensure that feedback from stakeholders inform programme development; Lead regional reporting processes and requirements.

Other responsibilities;

Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Requirements

Education;

An advanced degree in environment, social and/or political science, international cooperation or related fields; Computer literacy in relation to office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint) use of internet and online communication tools.

Work Experience;

We’re looking for an outstanding, hands-on, highly motivated, autonomous, innovative, solution oriented, results driven and resourceful individual with at least seven years of proven experience with: Sound expertise in marine and coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration, nature-based solutions, Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction or related fields; Strong expertise and experience in designing and implementing large-scale ecosystem management and restoration activities and in engaging local stakeholders in locally-led approaches at seascape level; Up-to-date knowledge on climate impacts on coastal and marine systems, coastal and marine biodiversity conservation, with particular reference to large-scale ecosystem restoration and conservation at site, national and regional levels; Familiarity with established and emerging biodiversity conservation approaches, and methodologies and processes related to coastal and marine management and in particular in the context of the newly established Global Biodiversity Framework; Experience in network development and alliance building skills to consult and collaborate across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals; demonstrated ability to build consensus in cross-cultural situations; Ability to interact effectively with and directly support or identify experts required to support all aspects of the ESARO Programme with information on ecosystem conservation and restoration and more generally blue nature-based solutions; Experience with result-based portfolio and project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation methodologies and principles and facilitation skills; Strong experience with project and programme development and management, with demonstrated fundraising, budgeting and programme planning abilities and past performance, including experience of development and successful marketing of project proposals with donors, and subsequent delivery and reporting; Experience with important bilateral and multilateral donors; Strong interpersonal, management and supervisory skills and experience, with a minimum of 5 years’ in managing organizations and/or teams; Computer literacy in relation to office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint) use of internet and online communication tools; Demonstrates strong leadership and people – management experience including supervision of staff, consultants and coordination and effective management of virtual team settings; Demonstrated ability to work under pressure managing competing demands and complex situations and deliver satisfactory and timely results; Must be a strong team player with proven communication and diplomacy skills and ability to work effectively with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams displaying sensitivity and respect for diversity; Must be a proactive individual who is able to energize and motivate teams; Committed to continuous learning and proactive and mature attitude towards self-development;

Language requirement;

Excellent verbal and communication skills in English is essential, with ability to communicate in French and/or Portuguese as an added advantage;