Senior International Development Officer

at  The James Hutton Institute

We are looking to recruit a Senior International Development Officer on a part time basis (30 hours per week) fixed term to September 2025 in the first instance.

EXPERIENCE:

• Extensive experience of leading complex projects and managing relationships between stakeholder with diverse backgrounds.
• Experience in partnership and/or network development.
• Experience of working at the science policy interface in environmental, sustainability, &/or water sector issues
• Experience with project management processes such as budget management, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting
• Experience of successful proposal writing and income generation
• Experience in the design and facilitation of workshops, meetings, and training.

SKILLS:

• Good organisational, planning and communication skills
• Excellent IT skills including a proven track record of developing a range of knowledge outputs, including high quality written outputs (paper/policy briefs/blogs) and presentations.
• Experience in social media
• Ability to manage conflict and expectations among diverse stakeholders

EXPERIENCE:

• Experience of developing visual and multi-media content
• Experience with project management tools and approaches
• Experience of adaptive management – using strategies and tools that ensure continuous improvement and efficiency in operations
• Experience of International development in sub–Saharan Africa

ADDITIONAL NOTES/REQUIREMENTS

• Interviews will likely take place in the week commence 8th July 2024

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

One of the largest interdisciplinary centres of its kind, the Hydro Nation International Centre (HNIC) provides a translational hub for the water community-of-practice. The HNIC brings together a critical mass of the Scottish water research community to focus on developing talent, promoting innovation, supporting expertise and maximising impact and outcomes that can be applied in any global context. HNIC is growing in terms of capacity and reputation and recently embarked on an exciting international project “Scotland’s Global Partnership for Knowledge and Expertise in Water and Climate (SPARKE): A peer-to-peer partnership with the Global South”
Under the auspices of HNIC, the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) delivers evidence-based research and expert knowledge to meet policy needs and is one of five virtual Centres of Expertise funded by Scottish Government. Building on the success of the CREW model, the Scottish Government has committed to supporting peer to peer partnerships with international jurisdictions of interest. The aim of these partnerships is to support skills development in knowledge management and science-policy exchange.
HNIC is seeking a Senior International Development Officer to lead the SPARKE project and work with middle/top level Government officials in Scotland and Malawi, the Nation Water Resource Authority (Malawi), key NGOs and the academic community to understand how improved access to data, information, knowledge and skills promote more efficient and effective evidence-based decision making in the water sector. Through the development of a Blueprint of good practice, it is anticipated that the partnerships developed through SPARKE will result in the creation of policies and procedures that are effective, efficient, and more likely to achieve positive outcomes for the management of water resources.
Key to the Senior International Development Officer’s role is the ability to coordinate the design and delivery of a range activities to support the Scottish Government’s international development priorities including Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Access to clean water and sanitation for all) and the Malawi Vision 2063. The successful candidate should have significant experience in end to end project/financial management; the skills to co-construct and facilitate training courses and workshops to optimise the sharing of knowledge and expertise amongst knowledge makers and decision makers, and have the confidence to make decisions at a senior level, including vital experience in diplomacy, handling and resolving conflicts and balancing views from a range of stakeholders in a national and international context.
Excellent communicate skills are essential for this position and an understanding of the subtleties of effective cross-cultural engagement methods, as well as having a good understanding of the challenges of translating scientific research into policy-relevant outputs. The post holder will be expected to show leadership and initiative in stakeholder identification and analysis, partnership development, and in the design of network activities that result in impact through change in policy, behaviour, environmental management etc. In addition, the post holder will be expected to undertake an ongoing practice of monitoring and evaluation of programme outcomes and to document the evolution of the network to facilitate adaptive project management, reporting, and recommendations for future activities.
The ideal post holder will have the autonomy to seek new sources of funding and should have a track record of successful income generation through drawing on existing partnerships and professional contacts in academia and more widely to generate income and help grow activities in the HNIC.
It is envisaged that the postholder would have the option to undertake hybrid (home-based and office- based working) with occasional meetings at the James Hutton Institute premises (Aberdeen and Dundee) and at other venues throughout Scotland driven by project need. There will also be a requirement for some international travel.
Potential applicants may contact Dr Rachel Helliwell (email: Rachel.Helliwell@hutton.ac.uk, mobile: 07854758876) to discuss this position.