Head of Conservation Programmes at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya

The mission of the Conservation Programmes Function: 

To provide strong and effective leadership, strategic direction, oversight and coordination of WWF-Kenya’s conservation programmes. Working closely with colleagues and engaging key stakeholders, leads the overall strategic direction and design of WWF-Kenya’s conservation priorities ensuring they deliver against the WWF-Kenya Strategic Plan. Ensures effective planning and overall delivery of agreed conservation goals through effective leadership and oversight - including ensuring sound design, development and implementation of key programmes that together form a cohesive portfolio of WWF-Kenya’s conservation efforts; ensuring robust monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks are in place for all programmes and that these are regularly and effectively reported against to assess progress and demonstrate impact on habitats, wildlife and people. To help the WWF-Kenya Office grow in strength and influence by effectively representing its conservation work and through building strategic relationships with key decision-makers and other key stakeholders and partners.

Main Purpose of Role: 

The Head of Conservation Programmes is responsible for effective programme design, resource management, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of all conservation programmes. He/she will provide strategic leadership and oversight of conservation implementation and ensure that WWF-Kenya will deliver conservation impact at scale and reach the agreed level of conservation performance measured by KPI’s. The key accountability of this position is to deliver the effective implementation of all conservation programmes using adopted conservation standards and application of best.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, inspire, motivate, empower, develop capacity building/personal development plans for the Conservation team.
• Work with the Senior Leadership Team to develop a consistent approach to strategy execution and drive organizational performance.
• Guided by the overall WWF Kenya strategic plan, develop programme conservation action plans and annual work plans and oversee implementation of the conservation activities working with Government, Civil Society, Businesses and Partners.
• Establish, implement and oversee monitoring, evaluation and learning within conservation programmes and priorities in line with WWF-Kenya’s strategic plan to demonstrate achievement of our conservation goals.
• Work with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team to develop and implement funding strategies to support WWF-Kenya’s conservation programmes.
• Develop, establish and build strong enduring relationships with WWF-Kenya’s community of partners, staff, Board and supporters to strengthen interaction, creativity and conservation results.
• Maintain strategic oversight of conservation activities and monitor the effectiveness of the Conservation team who in turn coordinate priorities and activities.
• Participates and takes up conservation policy level engagement as necessary to influence change at all levels.
• Ensuring all programmes contribute to an overall strategic, cohesive portfolio, have effective conservation plans, deliver impact at scale and are effectively contributing to relevant priorities.
• Ensure the continuous and coherent flow of conservation project information internally and externally, as appropriate, to help promote the smooth and timely implementation of conservation programme objectives.
• Oversee all Conservation team processes and ensure that projects, plans and procedures are in place to support them.
• Oversee the development, integration and implementation of all conservation projects.
• Support Proposal Development including for funding opportunities for Conservation initiatives to ensure that the development of our most promising initiatives benefits from latest thinking on Conservation strategy development.
• Facilitates and coordinates a consistent and effective approach that promotes innovation across conservation programmes and projects run by WWF-Kenya.
• Establish a network of influence with key organisations and individuals in the Country to influence and inform national policy and decision-making.
• Establish and nurture effective working relationships and influence with other relevant WWF offices and colleagues including supporting offices and the Practices.
• Oversight of WWF-Kenya’s Practice focal points and their engagement, influence and maximising opportunities within the Practices
• Ensure that within programme monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks WWF Kenya has established solid baselines and SMART indicators for biodiversity and wellbeing targets as well as those associated with reducing Kenya’s “footprint”
• Leads on conducting and/or supporting conservation audits and evaluations as required and ensuring timely and effective implementation of all recommendations.
• Set annual conservation department budgets and ensure effective management of agreed work plans and budgets in line with WWF-Kenya’s procedures.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Advanced degree (masters or higher) in Conservation, Biology, Natural Resources,
• Environment, Ecology, Social Science or related discipline.
• At least 10 years of experience in planning and programme design, implementation,
• M&E, audits and evaluations of complex, large scale conservation projects and programmes - at both the conceptual and practical level.
• At least 5 years in a senior conservation leadership role effectively leading the staff and a portfolio of conservation projects and programmes.
• Experience in non-profit or environmental organization and knowledge of the WWF
• Network an advantage.
• Experience in securing funding for projects and conservation activities.
• Demonstrable experience in effective influence and advocacy on conservation issues.
• Demonstrable experience in building effective partnerships and coalitions with a variety
• of stakeholders.
• A deep understanding of the key conservation issues and context in Kenya and/or the East Africa region.

Required Competencies

• Experience of working in an international and/or inter-cultural environment, with NGO
• experience an advantage.
• Demonstrated evidence of strong strategic and analytical mind-set.
• Effective working in teams to achieve a common objective.
• Excellent communication skills, including fluent spoken and written Swahili and English.
• Strong interpersonal skills, a networker who is good at building effective working relationships.
• Solutions-oriented with effective problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and remote teams including at time against tight
• deadlines.
• Strong people management and leadership skills with a high degree of accountability.
• Excellent practical and theoretical knowledge of conservation planning at the field and programme level; monitoring, evaluation and learning and other essential tools and best practices required.
• Ability to interact with and influence senior leadership team, WWF-Kenya Board, relevant staff and the WWF Network in different functional areas in a positive manner.
• Ability to think flexibly and creatively while driving change and high performance.
• Decisive, proactive, collaborative and an excellent communicator.
• Passion and commitment to conservation and sustainable development.