Current Openings at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• Project Management;
• Facilitate the preparation of detailed work plans, budgets and schedules for project activities implementation in collaboration with partners and stakeholders and under the guidance of the Team Leaders.
• Carry out processes related to inception, contracting and start-up of activities including establishment of indicators, benchmarks, work plans and inception workshops.
• Coordinate and monitor, under guidance from the Team Leaders, the administration of project budgets and work plans according to approved external contracts and internal agreements, work plans, internal procedures and policies, and donor requirements.
• Manage project consultancy assignments and contracts, monitor progress, and coordinate all activities.
• Coordinate among various stakeholders at community, sub-basin, national, and regional levels.
• Supervisor of all river basin management (RBM) staff in case there are staff at the RBM office.
• Lead the project’s field level workshops and similar events.
• Ensure timely, high-quality delivery of project outputs and full compliance with donor requirements and IUCN’s internal procedures
• Technical Direction and Capacity building;
• Provide technical support for restoration planning, ecosystem-based adaptation, and nature-based solutions, ensuring alignment with IUCN’s tools and standards.
• Prepare Terms of Reference and procurement documents for water management infrastructure works and services - preparations of bidding documents, BoQs, Technical drawings, Engineering designs, Technical Evaluations of bidding documents), for example, the irrigation scheme, water supply construction works
• Supervise and assure the quality of the works and services provided by sub-contractors.
• Assess and support the implementation of nature-based solutions that contribute to ecosystem restoration, climate change adaptation and management, as well as provide opportunities for transboundary cooperation between communities – e.g. implementation of catchment management plans, and wetland investment plans.
• Develop and apply a set of guiding criteria for the selection of water management infrastructure drawing on the principles of Nature-based solutions
• Work with communities to select the most appropriate physical water management infrastructure
• Sensitize local communities in collaboration with Local Government Authorities, County Governments, and Basin Water agencies on conservation and protection of the environment to ensure water resources in the sub-basin continue to provide envisaged service to the present as well as future generations.
• Develop policy-relevant materials to communicate the relevant information arising from CREATES to stakeholders.
• Facilitate technical training in Information Management Systems and Decision Support Systems for water resources management.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Communications and Knowledge Management.
• In coordination with M&E Officer, develop and apply the projects monitoring instruments and systems.
• Contribute to the development and timely submission of all required project reports
• Undertake regular visits to project sites, evaluate programmatic outputs, and impacts both quantitatively and in terms of quality implementation.
• Document case studies, best practices and lessons learned and develop communication materials for dissemination to target audiences.
• Ensure Project activities sustainability in collaboration with project beneficiaries and authorities.
• Participate in the Project annual, semi-annual and quarterly PMU and Steering Committee governance meetings and make presentations on project performance, among others.
• Fundraising and project development;
• Support the identification of new funding opportunities and in the preparation of concept notes, project proposals, and partnership agreements to scale-out project activities in the water sector restoration and NbS portfolio.
• Support networking with key development partners, national institutions and NGOs to support project implementation and portfolio expansion.
• Keep abreast of development needs and Programme opportunities in the landscape including those in line with implementing partners priorities and programmatic principles.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building;
• Foster and maintain strong partnerships with stakeholders, including government agencies, regional intergovernmental entities, civil society organizations, research institutions etc.
• Design and deliver capacity-building activities and provide technical support to project partners and stakeholders.
• Contribute to the coordination and facilitation of regional platforms, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and community-of-practice events on NbS and ecosystem restoration.
• Representation;
• Network and liaise with all the partners and potential partners, developing and maintaining partnerships and strong relationships across all sectors (including the private sector).
• Maintain good working relationships with development partners, non-state actors, private sector, community leadership and visiting donor teams
• Represent IUCN on issues at strategic, political and technical meetings, seminars and other events and processes as may be required from time to time.
• Additional;
• Support the preparation and dissemination of technical reports, case studies, policy briefs, and communication materials related to water, NbS, restoration and climate resilience
• Undertake any other tasks as may be assigned by and mutually agreed with the line manager.

REQUIREMENTS

Education background;

• Graduate Degree in water resources management (hydrology or hydraulics), integrated water resources management (IWRM), civil engineering, environmental management, or comparable studies.

Professional experience;

• Demonstrated knowledge in the areas of Integrated Water Resources Management, Nature-based Solutions for water, transboundary water management, climate change adaptation
• At least 8 years of relevant regional experience with relevant project work and implementing projects related to IWRM, NbS and climate change adaptation
• Experience with Information Management Systems and Decision Support Systems for water resources management is an advantage
• Practical experience in supervision and quality assurance of water management infrastructure works
• Experience of living and working in developing countries, especially in Africa
• Working experience with IUCN, UNEP, River Basin Organisations and national governments is an advantage.
• Respect for gender and age differences and diversity in culture, race, religion and sexual orientation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills demonstrated ability to engage with local stakeholders and communities, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen, respect for colleagues and ability to work as part of a team.
• Proven track record in the management of international and multi-stakeholder projects, particularly those funded by bilateral donors, or multilatera

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MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• As the CREATES specialist for the application of the ESMS and Gender Principles, this position is responsible for ensuring that ESMS and Gender procedures, standards and principles are applied across all phases of the project implementation. The GESS specialist will lead the sustainability framework for the active projects, responsible for implementing the crucial cross cutting functions of the project ensuring that all activities of the project are socially and environmentally sustainable and comply with Denmark and IUCN Policies and Standards related to Gender, Environmental and Social Safeguards, and Indigenous People Frameworks.
• Key responsibilities include the preparation of ESMS screening reports for projects, advising proponents on safeguard-related improvements of project design, support the preparation of ESIAs and safeguard documents and coordination of the ESMS clearance process. The specialist will also provide ongoing implementation oversight to guarantee that ESMS requirements are complied with. Where a safeguard related grievance is raised, he/she will be instrumental in solving the matter proactively. He/she will also build ESMS capacity to enhance ESMS compliant and Gender transformative project design and ensure effective implementation of the risk management strategies. This involves coaching and training of project team members and partners.
• This position will also monitor the application of safeguard tools, distil lessons learned and support the regional ESMS Coordinator in system development and refinements to increase the system’s efficiency.
• The GEES specialist will provide support to the project team (technical and MEL), partner organizations partners, private sector entities, and other stakeholders on effective integration of cross cutting (women, youth and environment) considerations beyond compliance, by identifying opportunities to add value to the system changes, transformation and paradigm shifts that lead to long term impact and sustainability of CREATES.

SPECIFIC DUTIES;

• CREATES ESMS application;
• Application of ESMS procedures on the regional project portfolio, specifically;
• Environmental and social due diligence at project design stage;
• Screen projects on environmental and social impacts, define risk category, identify necessary impact studies and safeguard tools/plans.
• Advise proponents on stakeholder engagement during project design and implementation phase.
• Support proponents in contracting experts for environmental and social assessments.
• Appraise the quality of final ESIA reports, environmental and social management plans (ESMP), gender action plan (GAP) and other safeguard tools.
• Ensure appropriate budgeting for ESMS activities.
• Conduct final compliance check and prepare ESMS clearance of projects.
• ESMS support during project implementation;
• Provide ESMS training for executing agency (EA) and relevant partners at project inception.
• Appraise any ESMS deliverables that are due in the inception phase.
• Support the EA in monitoring safeguard tools and reporting progress on implementation and compliance with all ESMS/GAP requirements.
• Contribute to annual project implementation reviews/ supervision missions and to the development of the ESMS specific aspects of the mid-term review and terminal review.
• Manage ESMS project data including entries to the Project Portal to assure maintenance of ESMS records.
• Grievance management and serious incident reporting;
• Support the EA in setting-up a project-level grievance mechanism.
• Register and report incoming grievances, monitor progress solving grievances and, where applicable, work with EA to solve grievances;
• Ensure timely reporting of serious incidents and implementation of corrective actions.
• Build ESMS and Gender capacity in the project jurisdiction;
• To enhance ESMS-compliant and Gender-sensitive project design and ensure effective implementation of the risk management strategies, it is essential to strengthen capacity in those crosscutting functions. This involves:
• Train and coach staff and project proponents on ESMS and gender related procedures, principles and standards to ensure not only consistent application but also pro-active integration of ESMS and gender principles into project design;
• Support the regional ESMS Coordinator and gender specialists in the development of training materials and delivery of training sessions for ESMS and Gender;
• Build the capacity of projects staff, implementing partner organizations, and other stakeholders to effectively integrate GAP into their workplans.
• Contribute to the recruitment, hiring and on-boarding of new project ESMS/gender personnel in the region.
• ESMS development, refinement and learning;
• Supporting the regional ESMS Coordinator in system development, refinements and learning. This involves:
• Monitor ESMS and GAP implementation in the project to capture lessons learned and feed-back.
• Contribute to refining tools, templates, guidance notes based on project experience.
• Support documentation of good practices, success stories and case studies for regional knowledge sharing.
• Development, refinement and learning of Gender-in-conservation concepts and applications
• Ensure that principles of gender equality and youth engagement in nature and natural resources conservation are integrated into all aspects of the project. This involves:
• Develop and/or review, implement and monitor the implementation of Gender Action Plan in the project areas,
• Support the MEL Officer, CREATES to track, analyse and report against Gender and Youth disaggregated data within the project output as appropriate and on regular basis - quarterly, semi-annual, and annual.
• Develop and propose evidence-based policy and project interventions to reduce gender disparities, particularly focusing on enhancing women’s role in nature and natural resource management efforts,
• Contribute to enhancement of the system (including development of tools, templates, guidance notes etc) to increase effectiveness of application of gender principles.
• Generate lessons on the gender application identifying good practices and synthesising these practices for dissemination to stakeholders.

REQUIREMENTS

Education;

• Master’s degree in social sciences, Social Work, Gender/Women Studies, Development Studies, Community Development, Sociology or related field.
• Advanced training in Gender and Development studies.
• Professional or post graduate certification in Environmental or Social safeguards is an added advantage.

Work Experience;

• At least 7 years’ experience in advocacy for gender and ESMS issues and evidence-based results in gender analysis and mainstreaming especially in institutions which deal with climate change, environment and natural resources management.
• Significant experience with gender issues and social impacts is required.
• Previous experience in project management or monitoring and evaluation is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience of working in challenging knowledge-based and results-based environment.
• Experience of capacity building and training Development Program
• Experience in natural resource management projects, promoting rights-based approaches, improving socio-economic benefits and addressing and managing environmental, social risks or gender matters.