Strategic Management

• In collaboration with the Country Representative, South Africa, facilitate the strategic development of the COR Country thematic Programme;
• In collaboration with the Country Representative, develop and maintain strong strategic partnerships with in-country programmes, regional programme units, members, commissions, technical agencies, government and non-governmental partners (national, provincial and city level), private sector, policy bodies and donors, and work closely with and other thematic programmes to develop and maintain an appropriate project portfolio and funding for implementation of the country programme;
• Oversee the development and implementation of any relevant marine and coastal initiative in the country, ensuring alignment with key strategic national action points agreed across regional conventions (Nairobi Convention, Abidjan Convention, and Benguela Current Convention), and provide where needed, guidance and support to the development and implementation of other IUCN Initiatives;
• Ensure that IUCN is adequately represented in relevant country fora and negotiations on marine and coastal issues and facilitate discussions on relevant thematic emerging issues to position IUCN as a reference;
• Provide support at regional and international level when required coordination with the Country Representative;
• Develop, coordinate and supervise COR programme country team to ensure that individuals work as an integrated team, ensuring coherence and consistency in programmatic outputs, and that high quality of technical advice is given to IUCN national programmes, field programmes, projects, members and partners;
• Oversee the development and implementation of annual budgets and work plans and provide a timely progress report of the Programme financial and technical activities in accordance with IUCN’s standards and procedures.

Eligibility Criteria

Education:

• Minimum of an advanced degree in environmental sciences, marine and coastal management, natural resources management, sustainable development or any other discipline that is relevant to nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources or related fields combined with experience in similar organization/s or programmatic setting;
• Computer literacy in relation to office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint), use of internet and knowledge management tools;

Work Experience:

• We’re looking for an outstanding, hands-on, highly motivated, autonomous, innovative, solution oriented, results driven and resourceful individual with at least 7 to 10 years of proven experience in:
• Natural resource management, coastal and marine conservation, protected and conserved areas, environmental economics, or regenerative blue economy;
• Programme coordination and management, project development and fundraising, budgeting, project planning, and day-to-day delivery of activities;
• Result-based portfolio and project cycle management, and monitoring and evaluation methodologies;
• Adaptable to rapidly changing priorities and able to manage multiple deadlines and deliver high quality work.

Language requirement:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English is essential.