Jobs at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Uganda - Technical Coordinator

Job Title : Technical Coordinator Forests and Climate Change,  Kampala, Uganda

I.OVERVIEW OF THE ESARO FORESTS & CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMME

The IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) operates in twenty two countries

in the Horn of Africa, east Africa, southern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.

Eastern and Southern Africa is home to a wide range of forest and woodland types which are

endowed with a considerable diversity of flora and fauna. They range from the arid and semi-

arid lands to a mix of tropical high forests and savanna woodlands and coastal forests. Some of

the dry savannah woodlands are biodiversity hotspots.

Forests and woodlands are critical for both human well-being and biodiversity in this region.

They contribute to socio-economic development through trade in timber and non-timber forest

products such as medicinal plants. They also contribute important environmental services such

as the protection of water sources and carbon storage.

The vision of IUCN ESARO in relation to Forests & Woodlands is to bridge the environment and

development agendas in pursuit of a just world that values and conserves the forest goods and

services on which people depend. The Programme's framework draws upon IUCN growing

recognition of the dynamics, complexities and links between biodiversity conservation and

sustainable development. It is informed by a thorough assessment of the key challenges and

transformation needs to better understand the relationship between livelihoods, sustainable

forest management, improved forest goods and services and the economies as a whole.

The forest programme strategic areas are: (i) Restoration and maintenance of Forest related

species diversity and ecosystem functions; (ii) Livelihood security, equality and sustainability of

development at local, national and regional levels; (iii) Enhanced capacities of actors and groups

influencing forest and woodland species and ecosystems; and (iv) enhance institutional

frameworks including polices and forest, governance.

Alongside Forests and Woodlands - Climate change is a priority programme area for IUCN

globally . IUCN - is primarily concerned with the impact of climate change on the world's

biodiversity and on people's livelihoods, as well as the impacts of actual or proposed mitigation

and adaptation measures.1-

1 Shaping a sustainable future: The IUCN programme 2009-2010.

Within IUCN's eastern and southern Africa region, IUCN has initiated pilot projects that seek to

develop the body of knowledge and influence policy around issues pertaining to community and

ecosystem based adaptation, with adaptation being viewed as an integral component for overall

poverty reduction and closely linked with sustainable management of natural resources. IUCN

ESARO has also started to actively engage in dialogues on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from

Deforestation and Degradation).

Recognizing the significance of climate change within eastern and southern Africa; IUCN ESARO

seeks to further develop a holistic and programmatic approach to supporting its members and

other stakeholders in the region to i) better integrate biodiversity concerns into climate change

mitigation and adaptation policies at all scales; and ii) support the adoption and implementation

of natural resource management policies and strategies to adapt to the impact of climate

change.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

The Technical Coordinator for Forests & Climate Change reports directly to the IUCN ESARO

Regional Programme Coordinator (RPC). The Technical Coordinator is responsible for: i) Guiding

the strategic direction and development of the thematic area, including development and

marketing of project proposals with donors; ii) Ensuring that programmatic activities within the

thematic area are effectively and efficiently implemented; iii) Promoting learning, knowledge

generation and innovation within both the thematic area and in relation to the ESARO

Intersessional Programme and Strategy; and iv) Ensuring that progress and performance of the

Thematic programme is regularly monitored and evaluated.

The Technical Coordinator is also a senior member of the ESARO Technical Coordination Group

(TCG) and, accordingly, works with the other members of the Group in strategic planning;

monitoring and evaluation; and learning, innovation and knowledge generation at the overall

Intersessional Programme level. This includes (when requested) contributing to the

development of and adhering to IUCN/ESARO policies and procedures related to both

organizational and Programme management.

The Technical Coordinator is also a member of the Global Forest Team and is therefore required

to participate in global processes and engage closely with and ensure linkages with the IUCN

Global Forests and Climate Change Programme (GFCCP).

A. Strategic Guidance

The Technical Coordinator is directly responsible for leading the strategic direction ESARO in

relation to Forests & Climate Change, in line with the ESARO Intersessional Programme and

Programme Strategy (which is ESARO's contribution to the IUCN global programme)

positioning IUCN as a lead technical body in the region. Successful strategic leadership is the

priority for the position. More specifically, this will involve:

    Ensuring that IUCN's work in the region is of high technical quality, based on good science and drawing upon state of the art thinking and knowledge
    Leading the strategic development of the Thematic Programme, including periodically conducting situation and scoping analysis to develop/refine the Thematic Area's strategic framework, ensuring that priorities identified are relevant to IUCN's members and partners and aligned with IUCN's value proposition;
    Working closely with GFCCP to maximize synergies between the global and regional Intersessional Plans and Annual workplans;
    Leading fundraising and resource mobilization for the Thematic Area through the development of proposals and maintaining good relationships with donors and funding agencies so as to ensure the financial viability of the Programme. This work requires coordination with the regional team, global programme heads and the IUCN strategic partnerships unit;
    Acting as a focal point for facilitating and supporting the involvement of IUCN Commissions, Members and other members of the Secretariat in the development and implementation of programmatic activities;
    Developing and maintain strong strategic partnerships with global programme units, members, commissions, policy bodies and donors;
    Developing, coordinating and supervising a Forests & Climate Change Thematic Programme team (including programme and project officers) to ensure that individuals work together as an integrated team, that there is coherence and consistency in programmatic outputs and a high quality of technical advice is given to IUCN global and regional programmes, field programmes, projects, members and partners;
    Providing evidence based support and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues on emerging issues and policy debates, as requested by and under the Delegation of Authority by the Regional Director; and
    Representing IUCN ESARO in Global and Regional Forums related to Climate Change and Forests, including the UNCCD.

B.Day to day operations

Accountable for overseeing the effective and efficient implementation within ESARO of

contracted projects/programmes, and the planning of the implementation of new projects

during negotiation phases with donors. This includes:

    Providing technical advice, guidance and support to projects, country offices as well as other Technical Thematic Coordinators, delegating appropriately;
    Ensuring that project/programme strategies and workplans are developed and implemented according to plan and commitments to partners and donors (including
    assuring quality of performance & progress, timing and budget);
    Working closely with the Finance and Administration as well as Human Resource Departments to ensure that projects/programmes are financially viable and have the necessary human and other resources necessary for effective implementation; and
    Ensuring that contractual obligations and IUCN's policies and procedures are efficiently adhered to.

C. Learning

Supporting learning processes and contributing to ensuring that ESARO utilizes lessons,

experiences and new knowledge to adapt and strengthen practices and approaches over time.

More specifically, this will involve:

    Establishing mechanisms and guidelines to enable lesson learning and sharing within the thematic area, where relevant;
    Identifying and using lessons to inform practice;
    Working closely with GFCCP to facilitate local to global (and vice-versa) learning and knowledge uptake;
    Coherent and consistent communication of lessons learnt to key decision-makers and other stakeholders within the region and globally as appropriate, including via the web, print and media; and
    Establishing and utilizing mechanisms to encourage innovation both within the Programme and the Organization

D.Monitoring and Evaluation

Supporting the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems and

processes at Programme and project level. More specifically, this will involve:

    Contributing to the development of the ESARO Intersessional Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Framework;
    Ensuring that all projects develop and effectively implement M&E frameworks and systems, in line with the overall Component M&E framework; and
    Contributing to developing capacity for M&E within the country office and projects within the country portfolio.

III. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

At least 10+ years of proven experience with:

    An advanced degree in natural science related to Forests and Woodlands or related fields;
    Demonstrated experience in working with Forests & Climate Change issues in the region;
    Demonstrated experience in working with international/regional organizations
    Proven high level of knowledge about policy and political issues in the region related to forests and climate change with demonstrated experience in engaging with regional Forest and Climate Change Forums and other policy processes ;
    Familiarity with established and emerging relevant conservation and natural resource management approaches, methodologies and processes - including Landscape/Ecosystem based approaches ;
    An in-depth understanding of the ESARO region, particularly in relation to Forests & Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction
    Demonstrated fundraising, budgeting and programme planning abilities and past performance, including experience of development and successful marketing of project proposals with donors, and subsequent delivery and reporting;
    Experience with result based portfolio and project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation methodologies and principles and facilitation skills;
    Strong interpersonal, management and supervisory skills and experience, with a minimum of 5 years' experience in managing organizations and/or teams;
    Demonstrated experience in facilitating the establishment of networks and multi-stakeholder participatory processes;
    Excellent verbal and communication skills in English is essential, with ability to communicate in Arabic, French and/or Portuguese as an added advantage;
    Computer literacy in relation to office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, powerpoint) use of internet and online communication tools; and
    Be willing to undertake frequent travel (approx 40% of their time) and interact with different stakeholders from diverse cultures.




How to Apply:

Applicants are asked to submit their CV in English and a supporting letter of

motivation along with the names and contact details of three referees, one of

whom should be a recent employer by e-mail : IUCN

Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office Email: earohr@iucn.org IUCN is

an Equal Opportunity employer

Deadline: 28/03/2013