Senior Programme Officer, Business & Nature

at  International Union for Conservation of Nature

SENIOR PROGRAMME OFFICER, BUSINESS & NATURE

Vacancy #:
6888
Unit:
Business and Nature
Organisation:
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Location:
Headquarters, Gland, Switzerland
Reporting to:
Senior Programme Coordinator
Work percentage:
100%
Grade:
P2
Expected start date:
13 September 2024
Type of contract:
Max-term (24 months with possibility of renewal)
Closing date:
05 July 2024

REQUIREMENTS

- - Master’s degree in Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Policy, Sustainability Management, or another relevant field required. Strong grounding in biodiversity, conservation, sustainable development and social science concepts and theory, beyond immediate field of expertise.
- Minimum 8-10 years of experience, and minimum 5 required in engaging and working with the private sector on biodiversity themes, with a preference for experience on the ground (environmental and/or biodiversity assessments, biodiversity net gain reviews or monitoring, certifications…).
- Technical understanding of IUCN key standards, tools and metrics (in particular IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species and of Ecosystems, Nature-based Solutions global standard, STAR metrics, IBAT) or other scientifically reputable equivalents. Some experience with Life Cycle Assessments would be an asset.
- Proven experience in developing, managing and coordinating projects, including planning, execution, monitoring & evaluation, technical and financial management and reporting.
- Experience in supervising staff and coordinating consultants.
- Proven ability to operationalise concepts, from idea to ground implementation and to socialise and mainstream scientific concepts and approaches in order to encourage their appropriation by non-specialist stakeholders.
- Experience in planning and developing messaging in terms of effective knowledge uptake, understands and can adapt to target audience.
- Ability to take initiative, exercise good judgment, think laterally and resolve complex issues in a dynamic and changing environment.
- Works well under pressure, with the ability to prioritise and successfully optimise the allocation of time, people, and other resources.
- Skilfully prioritizes, manages, and balances operational task flows and can identify, anticipate and address critical operational dependencies. Successfully manages competing demands and deadlines.
- Professionalism and diplomacy in communicating cross-culturally and with diverse audiences.
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with meticulous attention to detail.
- Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Proficiency in written and spoken. French and/or Spanish is desirable.

Under the supervision of the Senior Programme Manager, Business & Nature and in close coordination with the team and its Head, the main duties and responsibilities include:

• Lead the development and implementation of technical proposals to the private sector that leverage IUCN’s data, metrics and knowledge products as well as IUCN’s technical support & analytics to deliver Nature Positive outcomes;
• Develop private sector use and application of IUCN standards, metrics, and tools, such as the IUCN’s approach to measuring nature positive, Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric, NbS Standard, and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) while promoting the application of the mitigation hierarchy and the implementation of IUCN’s relevant policies;
• Leverage partnerships with individual companies and sectoral bodies to support the refinement of IUCN’s tools & knowledge, providing technical feedback to the relevant thematic teams, with a particular focus on tools and approaches related to Nature Positive measurement and approaches;
• Explore the possible complementarity and combination of IUCN tools (such as STAR) with approaches supported by other actors or in other context (such as, for instance, Life Cycle Assessments) to increase the relevance of IUCN tools in different sectors and extend their outreach;
• Facilitate Independent Scientific and Technical Advisory Panels, providing strategic expertise to address complex and controversial issues and build trust amongst stakeholders;
• Develop and submit concepts and funding proposals to donors for projects related to enabling conditions (regulatory…) that could accelerate the sectoral transition to Nature Positive;
• Ensure the provision of technical assistance, capacity building, and contribute to sectoral transformation as part of IUCN’s collaborative efforts with the private sector;
• Ensure high quality delivery of projects and initiatives associated to each partnership with the private sector according to the priorities defined in the annual workplans;
• Ensure effective, efficient, and adaptive management of resources (financial, human, and intellectual) for each project in accordance with IUCN project management standards;
• Coordinate with project teams across the IUCN offices on joint implementation and delivery, including through internal agreements;
• Engage and manage consultants and external project counterparts where need for portfolio delivery is required;
• Work with colleagues to ensure effective implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks for the business lines and project portfolio.
• Ensure key results and lessons learnt are communicated in insightful knowledge products and promoted through various media channels and networks, to reach both external and an internal audiences;
• Strengthen IUCN’s capacity, influence and external visibility on work with the private sector, including by developing new training programmes to promote IUCN’s tools and approaches for the private sector and support their uptake (in collaboration with the IUCN Academy);
• Participate in meetings, conferences, and platforms of relevance to the work program described above, to advance and showcase IUCN technical and thought leadership to drive sector-wide transformation, and to influence and mobilize new networks, partners, and stakeholders.
• Collaborate and engage IUCN global programmes, regions, IUCN members, and commissions on IUCN flagship initiatives and crosscutting issues.
• Nurture working relationships with existing partners and establish new partnerships, including resource mobilization.

The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, in a small organization such as IUCN, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them, but which are not part of their regular job description. Where any task becomes a regular part of an employee’s responsibilities, the job description will be changed in
consultation with the employee and the Human Resources Management Group.