Conservation Programme Coordinator – HeidelbergCement

Stichting BirdLife Europe

Brussels, Belgium

BirdLife Europe, in Brussels, is looking for:
Conservation Programme Coordinator – HeidelbergCement – Birdlife

1 Introduction

BirdLife Europe is the European Division of BirdLife International, and is one of the six BirdLife regional offices around the world. It is composed of an international team of permanent staff working on conservation, capacity building, policy, management, finance, fundraising, advocacy, science, communication, marketing and administration. Stichting BirdLife Europe supports the European and Central Asia Partnership of BirdLife International, which consists of 45 independent, grassroots Civil Society Organisations, governed by a democratic programme.

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of autonomous, national non-governmental conservation organisations, with a large grassroots membership, in 117 countries and territories. BirdLife works together as a Partnership to conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, by working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. BirdLife is the global authority on the status of bird species, has unparalleled technical expertise in bird and biodiversity assessment, and provides a global outreach through its national Partners and decentralised Secretariat.

HeidelbergCement is a growing global company active in the building material production. The Group provides high quality products (among other cement and aggregates) and reliable service to its customers and communities in more than 40 countries worldwide. HeidelbergCement is committed to improving the well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry solutions and efficiency advancements and to promote a sustainable future. It is committed to measure, monitor and constantly improve its environmental performance, working towards the goal of sustainable development. HeidelbergCement pays special attention to protecting biodiversity, minimising the impact of climate change, and establishing global standards and guidelines for environmental impact and performance

BirdLife and HeidelbergCement share a common vision of achieving environmentally sustainable development. Both strongly believe that there is a business case for integrating conservation into private sector operations. They have signed an agreement for three years to bring the two organisations together on a global basis in view of forming a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.

The partnership between BirdLife and HeidelbergCement is premised on the basis that corporates and NGOs with compatible aims and interests can generate significant gains, for both business and biodiversity, through working together. Both parties share responsibility for ensuring that the objectives of this Partnering Agreement are achieved through pro-active engagement, with the aim of developing a long-term and evolving programme of activities.
HeidelbergCement has developed a comprehensive Environmental Management System that is being implemented across the global business. It is envisaged that biodiversity values and management systems will be integrated into this, and will extend beyond existing systems in Europe.
BirdLife International adopted a global strategy in 2004 outlining its mission, vision and objectives for achieving sustainability in the human use of natural resources through bird and habitat conservation. It has also adopted guidance and policies for working with the private sector in strategic partnership to achieve these goals.

2 Overall purpose of job

The overall purpose of this job is to strengthen BirdLife International’s and HeidelbergCement’s ability to achieve sustainable development and in particular provide better protection for biodiversity at local (site), national and international levels and increase the scientific knowledge around the high value of quarries to biodiversity. The Conservation Programme Coordinator will be responsible for setting up and implementing a Conservation Programme for 2011-2014 which includes the formulation of joint biodiversity projects in different European countries in phase 1, the follow-up of the proximity analysis during phase 2 and the implementation and documentation of the first pilot projects in Europe during phase 3.
Please click here to download the full Job Description

3 Qualifications required:

PLEASE, READ THIS CAREFULLY: Before submitting your application take time to score your qualifications for this job. Remember to be honest, this is the best way to increase your chances to get the job. You need to score each required qualification from 0 to 3: 0 = I do not have this qualification, 2 = basic, 2 = good, 3 = very good). Then sum up the scores to obtain the total.
Before submitting your application, please answer to the following questions and you will know whether you are qualified enough to apply to this job:

Question Answer

Do you score any 0 or 1 in qualifications from 1 to 17?
YES: you are not qualified enough to apply to this job
NO: please pass to the following question

Is your total score more than 75?
NO: you are not qualified enough to apply to this job
YES: you can apply for this job

If you are qualified to submit your application, please attach the next table with your scores to the cover letter.
Please consider that any application sent without individual and total scores or with any 0 or 1 in qualifications from 1 to 17 or with a total score of less than 75 will be automatically discarded.

Essential Qualifications

(Score: 0 = I do not have this qualification, 1 = basic, 2 = good, 3 = very good)

Score

1 Good general education – University Degree in relevant environmental subject: Biological Sciences and/or nature conservation.

Experience & Knowledge

2 At least 5 years work experience in birds and nature conservation, ideally within an NGO
3 Good general knowledge and authoritative manner about birds and conservation.
4 Sympathy and skill for working with the corporate sector in a critical but positively productive manner
5 At least 3 years experience in working with collaborative partnerships, ideally cross-sector, in particular between NGOs and Business sector
6 At least 3 years work experience of proposal development, project management, including budgetary management
7 An understanding of the business case and drivers for conservation of biodiversity.
8 Good understanding of EU nature conservation policy issues, in particular the Birds and Habitats Directives
9 Knowledge about BirdLife work / programme

Skills & Abilities

10 Excellent written skills with the ability to produce technical nature conservation briefs and reports
11 Excellent communication and presentation skills required to build relationships with partners and stakeholders
12 Good interpersonal, networking and team working skills
13 High standard of computer literacy (Excel, Word, Power Point and Outlook and the Internet)
14 Ability to plan ahead and work within agreed timeframes
15 Long-term multi-project management skills and ability to understand and generate budgets
16 Fluent in English
17 Additional languages, especially German

Approach to work

18 Accuracy and precision
19 Demonstrable ability to create and follow work plan and prioritise own workload with minimum supervision.
20 Flexibility and adaptability (multiple assignments, working under pressure, responsiveness to requests, follow-up of decisions)
21 Openness: capacity to integrate new ideas and approaches
22 Ability and willingness to travel for work
23 Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends as required

Personal disposition

24 Commitment to nature conservation
25 Strong self motivation and curiosity
26 Problem solving attitude and capacity to resolve potential conflicts.
27 A diplomatic but outgoing and confident and committed personality able to enthuse and convince doubters on both sides about the opportunities for biodiversity conservation in extractive industry sector industry specifically and corporate sector generally
28 Assertiveness and confidence
29 Creativity both in thinking and in executing tasks
30 An individual with the dedication and vision to continue meeting the ongoing challenges of developing and maintaining a successful partnership programme.

TOTAL

4 How to apply:

Please submit a full CV and a comprehensive cover letter (both in English) setting out your reasons for applying for the post and outlining the qualifications experience knowledge and skills that you feel you can bring to the role to: europe@birdlife.org
Closing date: 23rd October 2011 at midnight. Please consider that applications received after the closing date will be automatically discarded.
Interview day: 7 November 2011 (9am – 3pm)

5 Short listing and interviews:

Short listing is based on CV and cover letter. Successful candidates will be asked to attend face to face interviews and perform an additional test.
Please note that due to the large number of expected applications, only successful candidates will be contacted.