Technical Officer at International Union for Conservation of Nature

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A LOCAL POSITION FOR KENYAN NATIONALS OR THOSE WITH THE RIGHT TO WORK IN KENYA. NO EXPATRIATE BENEFITS SHALL APPLY.

The Biodiversity and Protected Area Management Programme (BIOPAMA) aims to improve the long-term conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, in protected and conserved areas and surrounding communities. It is an initiative of the ACP Group of States financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund (EDF), jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). Specifically, the programme will enhance existing institutions and networks by making use of available best science and knowledge for building capacity to improve policies and inform decision-making on biodiversity conservation and protected areas management and governance. By improving access to, and availability of, relevant data and information, the BIOPAMA programme aims to enhance the management of protected areas (terrestrial and marine) and national systems of protected and conserved areas. A Regional Resource Hub and Regional Reference Information System are initiated to be established in the Eastern and Southern African region to enable the provision of relevant data and information to assist in improved planning and decision-making as well as exchanging knowledge. The Resource Hub will focus on supporting the region to achieve its targets on improved protected area management and governance through the collection and collation of relevant information and development of tools and capacity needed for sound decision making.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Technical Officer, BIOPAMA Regional Resource Hub for Biodiversity and Protected Areas will be responsible for coordinating the development of the Resource Hub for Biodiversity and Protected Areas and expanding the networks of contributors and users in Eastern and Southern Africa. S/he will work closely with Protected Area agencies and Regional Experts in collection and collation of data and information for effective management and governance of the protected and conserved areas in the region. The incumbent will work closely with PA agencies on institutionalizing relevant data collection and monitoring systems in this regard. S/he will further work with PA agencies and other relevant partners and institutions to ensure that the information is used in relevant decision-making fora and can support protected and conserved areas in working towards and achieving high performance standards for protected and conserved areas. S/he will liaise closely with the relevant Regional Economic Communities (RECs), particularly the EAC Secretariat, IGAD Secretariat, IOC Secretariat and SADC Secretariat and EC-JRC Regional Reference Information System (RRIS) Technical Developers for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), as well as the EC-JRC Regional Points of Contact for ESA to help identify priority decision-making and capacity building needs for the development and application of the RRIS to meet the requirements of the relevant RECs. S/he will support the Regional Resource Hub and REC Secretariats by delivering knowledge products that can be integrated into technical reports and presentations at relevant meetings, conferences and fora. S/he will participate in and support the Resource Hub Steering Committee and other relevant regional governance or technical advisory structures as appropriate.

DUTIES
The Technical Officer (TPO) will be responsible for the following main duties:

• Programme management and implementation:
• Ensure effective and efficient implementation of the BIOPAMA project in Eastern and Southern Africa regions through timely implementation of project activities in accordance with the BIOPAMA workplan, project documents, supporting agreements (e.g. contracts, MoUs, etc.), annual work plans and the procedures of IUCN, Regional Resource Hub host and the relevant RECs;

More specifically the PO is expected to carry out the following duties:

• Work with the IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) Conservation Areas and Species (CAS) Programme’s Senior Programme Officer (SPO), Technical Coordinator (TC), the EC-JRC, Resource Hub host, all REC Secretariats, relevant Departments of Environment and Natural Resources and relevant national and regional institutions and technical experts to help collate information and identify priorities for protected area management effectiveness and governance;
• Provide leadership in the identification of the effectiveness and application, data product and service needs for the Regional Resource Hub and RRIS;
• Work with the IUCN ESARO CAS SPO, TC, EC-JRC, Resource Hub host and relevant technical experts to inform the development of appropriate protected area management effectiveness and governance assessment and decision support tools that are relevant to the ESA region;
• Develop and support the implementation of a capacity building programme focused on protected area management effectiveness and governance, specifically related to data collection, analysis and reporting;
• Develop a strategy to help institutionalize relevant protected area management effectiveness and governance assessments in at least seven countries in the region over the project lifetime (5 years);
• Support the development of expert networks linked to the Resource Hub and in support of decision making on protected area management and governance;
• Support the development of State of Protected Area Reports for the ESA region in accordance with agreed priority needs of the region;
• Ensure that project budgets are utilized and monitored in accordance with IUCN internal controls and donor agreements;
• Lead and ensure the collection, collation, and reporting of all project data and documents, and lead or assist with the submission of technical progress reports according to the agreed formats and deadlines;
• Provide technical support and facilitation to project activities, with support from the SPO, and ensure quality outputs that meet the satisfaction of donors, sub-grantees and project partners;
• Maintain project documents and regularly update summary sheets, project brochures and PowerPoint presentations in a format that is easily accessible to other members of the BIOPAMA IUCN, JRC, Resource Hub host and REC teams;
• Maintain appropriate and effective (timely, respectful and professional) communications with all IUCN, REC, Resource Hub host, and other programme stakeholders;
• Provide capacity strengthening to project partners to improve capacity to deliver on project activities and objectives; and
• Assume the line manager role for projects with field-based teams in the region where applicable.
• Stakeholder Engagement and representation:
• Assist in building and maintaining strong relationships with IUCN partners, donors, project participants and wider stakeholders and develop the
• Resource Hub network. More specifically:
  
  • Assist and support the SPO in developing and managing the relationship between IUCN and the RECs, as well as the Resource Hub host, in relation to the Resource Hub, ensuring that these stakeholders are appraised of and satisfied with project progress;
  • Develop and manage the network of Resource Hub contributors and users in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, ensuring that these stakeholders take ownership of the RRIS and Resource Hub functions and development, in line with regional needs and requests;
  • Engage with Members and Commissions in line with IUCN One Programme approach and integrate relevant expertise into the Resource Hub network as appropriate and feasible;
  • Engage with other relevant IUCN projects and programmes where they link to BIOPAMA objectives;
  • Represent IUCN at internal and external meetings as required and approved.
  • Monitoring, evaluation and learning:
  • Support the development and implementation of Monitoring and Evaluation systems and support accountability and programme learning processes.
• More specifically:
  
  • Support the development and effective implementation of M&E frameworks and systems for BIOPAMA in the Eastern and Southern African region. These should capture agreed upon, integrated impacts, in line with IUCN, the Resource Hub host and REC guidelines and procedures;
  • Contribute to the development of a project wide M&E framework which captures the objectives of BIOPAMA in line with global objectives;
  • Contribute to developing capacity for M&E within projects;
  • Ensure that all the information related to the implementation of projects is adequately filed, organized and updated for easy access;
  • Identify and use lessons to inform practice;
  • Document and share lessons and experiences, as appropriate, including taking the responsibility for specific knowledge products.
• Programme growth:
  
  • Contributing to processes that guide the growth of the ESARO Programme and development of the Thematic Programmatic portfolios. More specifically:
  • Promote the integrated collaboration between IUCN’s thematic portfolios;
  • Identify opportunities for new projects, building on the work of the Resource Hub, and work with the SPO to design and develop the concepts for these;
  • Work closely with IUCN members, commissions and/or partners, and the SPO to support the development of innovative proposals that address members’ and/or partners’ needs;
  • Support the investigation of additional fund-raising possibilities to ensure the sustainability of project activities and the portfolio.
  • Support the communication and dissemination (internally and externally) of portfolio achievements;
  • Other responsibilities:
  • Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time