Project Officer Forestry at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya

Major role will be                                                                     

To support the implementation of “Large-scale Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in Africa: Tree-rich landscapes to foster biodiversity, climate change resilience and better livelihoods” programme in Amboseli, Kenya.

 Roles and responsibilities
 
Programmes Development and Implementation

• Coordinates the implementation of the project and activities in line with work plans/ action plans;
• Provides technical support in project planning, monitoring and evaluation;
• Works with relevant key stakeholders and partners, including government agencies, community based conservation organizations/groups, the private sector to promote sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of natural resources within the project area;
• Leads in the assessments and reporting of progress, outcomes and impacts against project implementation and workplans/action plans including quality assurance and conservation innovations;
• Offers effective supervision including mentoring and performance management of staff under the project;
• Ensures compliance of programme development and implementation with WWF Kenya Strategic Plan 2020-2030, WWF Network Standards and government policies as appropriate;
• Prepares and presents periodic technical reports on the progress of implementation of project activities including timely donor reporting in the designated area;

Partnerships, Collaboration & linkages

• Identifies and pursues strategic collaborations and partnerships with governments, civil society organizations, WWF stakeholders and professional bodies in advancing conservation interests and goals in line with WWF Kenya’s collaboration and partnership policy framework and strategy;
• Promotes cross projects linkages and synergy in order to develop conservation capacity;
• Participates in the domestication of relevant national and regional policy instruments at local level in the forest sector;

Management of Resources and Budgets

• Support development of bankable conservation proposals as part of the wider resource mobilization strategy;
• In consultation with relevant WWF-Kenya theme and programme leads, finance team and operations team, develops cost-effective budgets and tracks conservation programmes budget implementation to ensure compliance with donor and internal financial regulations;
• Ensures prudent management and safety of conservation assets and resources in designated area;  

 
Key Skills/ Competencies

• Project administration and management;
• Knowledgeable in contemporary issues in farm forestry, forestry and related natural resources management sector; 
• Excellent skills in stakeholder engagement including local communities and partnership building;
• Problem solving and conflict management skills;
• Technical report writing;
• Proposal development, fund-raising and resource mobilization ability;
• Organizational and communication skills;
• Negotiation and contract management skills;
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to network and to develop and maintain strong relationships at all levels.;
• Financial management skills;
• Demonstrated ability to conceptualize, plan and implement strategic initiatives within the context of conservation, natural resource management, national development, and/or other related fields;
• Good understanding and working relations with diverse partners including national and county governments;
• Must have a good command of computer skills. Knowledge on GIS software will be an added advantage;

Required Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in forestry, natural resource management, environmental science, biology of conservation or related field of studies. A master’s degree and other additional professional trainings in related fields will be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least five years of field experience in natural resources management issues;
•  Have education background and experience in forest resource management, forestry extension or farm forestry in Kenya; 
• Must have a good understanding of forest conservation initiatives in Kenya, resource assessment at national & local level, addressing socio-economic factors, resource threats impacting the landscape & key farm forestry/forest resources, developing and implementing conservation plans;
• A proven ability to work effectively with local Civil Society Organizations and facilitating links between government and communities;