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Regional Water and Wetlands Programme Coordinator for central and West Africa

Closing date: 06 July 2012 (extended)

BACKGROUND


Contexte

Our mission: “To influence, encourage & assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity & diversity of nature & to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable & ecologically sustainable.”

IUCN is a world leader in developing knowledge and understanding for effective conservation action. A unique worldwide partnership, IUCN brings together states, government agencies & NGO members, & some 10,000 scientists & experts from 181 countries in a global web of networks to provide a neutral forum for dialogue & action on environment & sustainable development issues.

Following an organisation-wide decentralisation process, IUCN regional offices in Central Africa and in West Africa have been merged into a single new office: the Regional Office for Central and West Africa. IUCN Central and west Africa Region currently has nearly 200 staff members working in its offices in Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Congo DR, Congo. The IUCN Regional Office for Central and West Africa is located in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The IUCN Regional Water & Wetlands Program (RWWP) Coordinator reports directly to the Regional Programme Coordinator and functionally to the Head of IUCN’s Global Water Programme. He/she will serve as both a senior member of the Regional Programme committee that delivers the technical program of IUCN in Central and West Africa and the IUCN global Water Programme team that helps set strategic direction and define priorities for IUCN’s broader engagement on Water conservation.

The RWWP Coordinator will develop, resource, and manage IUCN’s water programme activities in the region in close collaboration with other relevant IUCN programmes, members, commissions and partners. He/She is responsible for the overall management of RWWP activities, to ensuring that they are coherent and consistent with IUCN’s “one programme” approach, build on and align with IUCN’s Water conservation framework and add value to regionally and nationally defined priorities.

The RWWP specific duties are:
- Take a lead role in the development of the Regional Water and Wetlands Programme through providing vision and guidance in developing a well-defined strategic focus in the short, medium and long term, ensuring:
? effective and institutionally aligned programming and project implementation,
? systematic monitoring and evaluation of on-going programmatic activities and;
? coherent and consistent communication of lessons learnt to key decision-makers within the region
- Provide technical advice, guidance and support on Water and Wetlands conservation and on links between livelihoods and water-based ecosystem services to Project Offices and/or Country Offices and act as the focal point for the Water and Wetlands related activities particularly with members, commissions, partners and other IUCN component programmes as required;
- Work closely with IUCN Commissions, Country offices, Project Offices and other thematic programmes to develop and maintain an appropriate project portfolio and funding for implementation of the Regional Programme;
- Work with colleagues in the region and headquarters on water, river basin and wetlands issues to ensure that they function as an integrated team, that there is coherence and consistency in the policy statements, and that a high quality of technical and policy advice is given to field programmes and projects;
- Coordinate the development, analysis and dissemination of Water and Wetlands policy relevant to the Region and other networks in the most effective way;
- Oversee the development and implementation of the Water and Nature Initiative, the Global Water Initiative and other relevant water-related initiatives in Central and West Africa;
- Provide, where needed in the region, guidance and support to the development and implementation of other IUCN Cross Cutting Initiatives;
- Ensure that IUCN is adequately represented in relevant regional, international fora and negotiations on water, river basin and wetlands conservation management in Central and West Africa;
- Develop and maintain appropriate collaboration and partnerships with relevant organizations on water-related issues of mutual interest and in particular ensure meaningful engagement of local IUCN members in the implementation of the RWWP.
- Lead fundraising for the Regional Water and Wetlands Programme through development of proposals, maintaining good relationships with donor and funding agencies so as to ensure the financial viability of the Programme;

- Oversee the development and implementation of annual budgets and work plans and provide a timely progress report on programme finances and technical activities in accordance with IUCN’s practices;

-
- Participate in joint planning, assessment and communication activities of the Regional Programme Meetings and facilitate the development of joint programmes with members and partners.
- Capitalization and dissemination in the region of lessons learnt from our programmes and projects as well as those learnt from partners and colleagues;
-
- Supervise staff and lead capacity development on water related issues in component programmes;
- Facilitate group discussions on relevant water and wetlands issues, including emerging ones to position IUCN as a reference in water and wetlands in the region;

REQUIREMENTS
The successful candidate will have demonstrated the following experience and skills:

- Candidates should possess an advanced degree in a natural science related to water and wetlands conservation or related fields and at least 10 years of relevant work experience
- Experience with project and programme development and management
- Relevant working experience on issues related to water and wetlands conservation
- Demonstrated fundraising, budgeting and programme planning ability
- Demonstrated outstanding skills in network development and network administration and ability to achieve results through networking in cross-cultural situations
- Lead and inspire multicultural and multidisciplinary teams
- Exposure to and knowledge of major issues in water and wetlands conservation and their linkage to livelihoods and poverty reduction, both policy and field related
- Proven writing ability
- Demonstrated spoken and written fluency in French and English
- Advanced computer processing skills
- Availability to travel mainly in Central and West Africa, and in others regions.

DUTY STATION: The successful candidate will be based in Ouagadougou-Burkina Faso, with frequent travel across Central and West Africa.

FUNCTION GROUP: SP in the IUCN classification system

Applications:

Interested candidates who meet the selection requirements are requested to send their curriculum vitae, a letter of motivation in French or English (the letter must specifically address the Selection Criteria/requirements in the order presented above), and the names and contact details of three referees, including one recent employer.

Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the "Apply" button.
Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST).
Other job opportunities are published in the IUCN website: http://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/
For more information about the position, and to apply to the job, please visit the following link: https://hrms.iucn.org/iresy/index.cfm?event=vac.show&vacId=240

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Contexte

Our mission: “To influence, encourage & assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity & diversity of nature & to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable & ecologically sustainable.”

IUCN is a world leader in developing knowledge and understanding for effective conservation action. A unique worldwide partnership, IUCN brings together states, government agencies & NGO members, & some 10,000 scientists & experts from 181 countries in a global web of networks to provide a neutral forum for dialogue & action on environment & sustainable development issues.

Following an organisation-wide decentralisation process, IUCN regional offices in Central Africa and in West Africa have been merged into a single new office: the Regional Office for Central and West Africa. IUCN Central and west Africa Region currently has nearly 200 staff members working in its offices in Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Congo DR, Congo. The IUCN Regional Office for Central and West Africa is located in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The IUCN Regional Water & Wetlands Program (RWWP) Coordinator reports directly to the Regional Programme Coordinator and functionally to the Head of IUCN’s Global Water Programme. He/she will serve as both a senior member of the Regional Programme committee that delivers the technical program of IUCN in Central and West Africa and the IUCN global Water Programme team that helps set strategic direction and define priorities for IUCN’s broader engagement on Water conservation.

The RWWP Coordinator will develop, resource, and manage IUCN’s water programme activities in the region in close collaboration with other relevant IUCN programmes, members, commissions and partners. He/She is responsible for the overall management of RWWP activities, to ensuring that they are coherent and consistent with IUCN’s “one programme” approach, build on and align with IUCN’s Water conservation framework and add value to regionally and nationally defined priorities.

The RWWP specific duties are:
- Take a lead role in the development of the Regional Water and Wetlands Programme through providing vision and guidance in developing a well-defined strategic focus in the short, medium and long term, ensuring:
? effective and institutionally aligned programming and project implementation,
? systematic monitoring and evaluation of on-going programmatic activities and;
? coherent and consistent communication of lessons learnt to key decision-makers within the region
- Provide technical advice, guidance and support on Water and Wetlands conservation and on links between livelihoods and water-based ecosystem services to Project Offices and/or Country Offices and act as the focal point for the Water and Wetlands related activities particularly with members, commissions, partners and other IUCN component programmes as required;
- Work closely with IUCN Commissions, Country offices, Project Offices and other thematic programmes to develop and maintain an appropriate project portfolio and funding for implementation of the Regional Programme;
- Work with colleagues in the region and headquarters on water, river basin and wetlands issues to ensure that they function as an integrated team, that there is coherence and consistency in the policy statements, and that a high quality of technical and policy advice is given to field programmes and projects;
- Coordinate the development, analysis and dissemination of Water and Wetlands policy relevant to the Region and other networks in the most effective way;
- Oversee the development and implementation of the Water and Nature Initiative, the Global Water Initiative and other relevant water-related initiatives in Central and West Africa;
- Provide, where needed in the region, guidance and support to the development and implementation of other IUCN Cross Cutting Initiatives;
- Ensure that IUCN is adequately represented in relevant regional, international fora and negotiations on water, river basin and wetlands conservation management in Central and West Africa;
- Develop and maintain appropriate collaboration and partnerships with relevant organizations on water-related issues of mutual interest and in particular ensure meaningful engagement of local IUCN members in the implementation of the RWWP.
- Lead fundraising for the Regional Water and Wetlands Programme through development of proposals, maintaining good relationships with donor and funding agencies so as to ensure the financial viability of the Programme;

- Oversee the development and implementation of annual budgets and work plans and provide a timely progress report on programme finances and technical activities in accordance with IUCN’s practices;

-
- Participate in joint planning, assessment and communication activities of the Regional Programme Meetings and facilitate the development of joint programmes with members and partners.
- Capitalization and dissemination in the region of lessons learnt from our programmes and projects as well as those learnt from partners and colleagues;
-
- Supervise staff and lead capacity development on water related issues in component programmes;
- Facilitate group discussions on relevant water and wetlands issues, including emerging ones to position IUCN as a reference in water and wetlands in the region;

REQUIREMENTS
The successful candidate will have demonstrated the following experience and skills:

- Candidates should possess an advanced degree in a natural science related to water and wetlands conservation or related fields and at least 10 years of relevant work experience
- Experience with project and programme development and management
- Relevant working experience on issues related to water and wetlands conservation
- Demonstrated fundraising, budgeting and programme planning ability
- Demonstrated outstanding skills in network development and network administration and ability to achieve results through networking in cross-cultural situations
- Lead and inspire multicultural and multidisciplinary teams
- Exposure to and knowledge of major issues in water and wetlands conservation and their linkage to livelihoods and poverty reduction, both policy and field related
- Proven writing ability
- Demonstrated spoken and written fluency in French and English
- Advanced computer processing skills
- Availability to travel mainly in Central and West Africa, and in others regions.

REQUIREMENTS

APPLICATIONS

Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the "Apply" button.

Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST).

Other job opportunities are published in the IUCN website: http://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/