Programme Manager- Mozambique Country Office Full-Time

Background:

In Mozambique, IUCN began its activities in 1993 and established the Country Office in 1998. Since then, IUCN´s country representation in Mozambique has been developing various projects and activities in partnership with the government, other partners and donor agencies.

The focus of the IUCN programme implemented out of the Mozambique office has largely been at local and national level about engaging in a broad range of areas primarily related to the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources. Since 2015, it has increasingly engaged and invested in the marine and coastal conservation sector in Mozambique and has since then built a strong portfolio of projects in this sector. Today, because of its particular exposure and vulnerability, Mozambique and the broader Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region is facing the full scale of the climate and biodiversity crisis, directly putting more than 60 million people lives at risk. 2019’s Idai and Kenneth Cyclones are the most recent catastrophic events that illustrate the urgent need to take action to protect these communities, conserve these ecosystems and restore their biodiversity so that the people that rely upon them for goods and services as well as for their livelihoods and income will be less impacted and more resilient.

The world is about to enter into a decisive period of its history. The next 10 years (2020-2030) will determine the future of our and the next generations for centuries. Unprecedented challenges require unprecedented solutions. Aware of this reality, IUCN has therefore decided to redesign its WIO coastal and marine resilience program strategy so that it can address efficiently current challenges. This new strategy, called Towards a Blue Future, aims at rolling out the IUCN ESARO’s Blue Resilience Framework constituted of 3 key pillars: Blue Planet, Blue People and Blue Partnerships. The Blue Planet pillar aims at securing the integrity of critical blue natural capital features. This pillar focuses on supporting the establishment and increase effectiveness conservation measures. Areas of work include Marine Protected Areas, Locally Managed Marine Areas and Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. The Blue People pillar aims at increasing ocean and coastal conservation benefits for the people as well as increasing ocean and coastal stewardship among stakeholders. Areas of work include sustainable seascapes, blue economy and coastal livelihoods and implementation of nature-based solutions. Because overcoming today’s challenges will require all parties to join forces in order to dramatically increase the level of impact, we believe that innovative and ambitious partnerships will be a critical piece of the solution. Setting-up such type of partnerships is IUCN’s DNA. The Blue Partnerships pillar therefore aims at supporting the establishment of these factors of acceleration so that coastal and ocean conservation can be achieved at scale. Areas of work include innovative conservation finance, science and technology and communication.

This strategy aims at responding to the needs of Mozambique and the WIO region, both in terms of conservation and development. Because keeping ecosystems healthy and protecting biodiversity provide so many benefits, unlocking the potential of WIO’s natural capital by promoting the development of a blue economy represent a unique opportunity. The Programme Manager – Mozambique, will primarily play a lead role in such ambition and will therefore support the Head of Office in revising coastal and ocean resilience programmatic strategy for the Mozambique Office as well as take a lead role in representing and positioning strategically the program among a broad range of stakeholders, coordinating day-to-day activities of projects currently in portfolio as well as on program development and resources mobilization efforts. This will represent approximately 70-80% of its workload. The Programme Manager will develop, resource, and manage IUCN Mozambique’s COR programme activities in the country in close collaboration with other relevant IUCN programmes, Members, Commissions and partners. He/she will be responsible for the overall management of COR programme activities, ensuring that they are coherent and consistent with IUCN’s “one programme” approach, build on and align with IUCN ESARO’s regional programme and Blue Resilience Framework and add value to nationally defined priorities. The Programme Manager is responsible for: I) Guiding the strategic direction and development of the thematic areas, including development and marketing of project proposals with donors (including multi-country proposal when opportune and relevant); 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 country COR programmes and projects are regularly monitored and evaluated.

The Programme Manager will also play a strategic role in the Mozambique Country Office by supporting to the Head of Office in terms of overall program and projects management and coordination as well as in terms of fundraising. The Programme Manager will therefore also be contributing and providing support to other programmatic areas such as forest, ecosystem management, water and business & biodiversity. This will represent approximately 20-30% of its workload. These percentages are indicatives and will be subject to variation depending on work priorities.

This position reports directly to IUCN Mozambique – Head of Office and functionally to the IUCN ESARO Technical Coordinator – Marine and Coastal Resilience Programme. The Programme Manager is also a senior member of the IUCN Mozambique’s senior management team 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 also includes (when requested) contributing to the development of and adhering to IUCN/ESARO policies and procedures related to both organizational and Programme management. He/she will also serve as a senior member of the regional COR program that helps set strategic directions and define priorities for IUCN Mozambique’s broader engagement on Marine and Coastal issues.

The Programme Manager will be based in Maputo, Mozambique.

Job description

Major responsibilities:

• Ensuring that IUCN’s work in the country is of high technical quality, based on good science and drawing upon state of the art thinking and knowledge;
• Under the direct supervision of the Head of Office and in collaboration with the COR Regional Technical Coordinator, leading the strategic development of the Mozambique 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;
• Leading fundraising and resource mobilization for the programme 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 programmes and the IUCN strategic partnerships unit when required. Provide additional support on regional fundraising activities when required and in close coordination with the COR Regional Technical Coordinator;
• 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;
• Work closely with IUCN Commissions and other thematic programmes to develop and maintain an appropriate project portfolio and funding for implementation of the country programme;
• In close collaboration with the Regional Technical Coordinators, developing and maintaining strong strategic partnerships with global programme units, members, commissions, 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 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 marine and coastal emerging issues to position IUCN as a reference in the country; Provide additional support at regional and international level when required and in close coordination with the COR Regional Technical Coordinator
  Developing, coordinating and supervising a COR 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;
• 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 practices;
• Supporting the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems and processes at programme and project level.

Specific duties:

Day to day operations;

• Provide managerial oversight of the Country COR Programme Portfolio of projects;
  Convene regular meetings with project staff to review progress on projects as well as cost recovery and provide monthly reports to the Head of Office and Regional Technical Programme coordinator. of the COR programme;
• Day to day implementation and coordination of activities of the CRCC’s Work Package 6 (i,e. innovative conservation finance) LEAP and SOMN 2.0 projects including (i) lead the planning and implementation of project; (ii) define project tasks and resource requirements; (iii) develop full scale project plans; (iv) manage project budget and resource allocation; (v) plan and schedule project timelines; (vi) track project deliverables using appropriate tools and (vii) constantly monitor and report on progress of the project to all stakeholders;
• Providing technical advice, guidance and support to other marine and coastal projects (eg. Blue Solutions, MARPLASTICCs), as well as other to thematic lead, delegating appropriately;
  Ensuring that all 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);
• Capitalize and disseminate to key decision-makers within the country and region, lessons learnt from programmes and projects as well as those learnt from partners;
• Working closely with the Finance and Administration Department as well as Human Resource focal point to ensure that projects/programme 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.
• In close coordination with the Head of Office, the COR Regional Technical Coordinator and the Regional Communication officer, ensure that IUCN’s work is effectively shared (including by producing high quality communication material) and communicated widely, including on online platform and other media channels.
• Contributing to the development of the IUCN Mozambique Intersessional Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Framework;
• Ensuring that all projects develop and effectively implement M&E frameworks and systems, in line with the overall regional M&E framework.

Other Duties;

Carry out other relevant tasks assigned by, and mutually agreed with the line manager and
Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Requirements

Education:

• An advanced degree in management of natural resources, biology, ecology, oceanography, environmental economics, political sciences, MBA or related fields.

Work Experience;

• At least 7-10+ years of proven experience.Demonstrated experience in programme development, coordination of projects and fundraising, including experience of development and successful marketing of project proposals with donors, and subsequent delivery and reporting;
• Demonstrated budgeting, programme planning and day-to-day activity coordination abilities
  Experience with result based portfolio and project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation methodologies and principles and facilitation skills;
• Experience working with communities and understanding the dynamics at community level;
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating the establishment of networks and multi-stakeholder participatory processes;
• Experience in advocacy and policy influencing especially with governments at different levels.

Language Proficiency;

• Excellent verbal and communication skills in English. Good command of Portuguese a strong added advantage.

Competencies;

• 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 (at least 25% of their time) and interact with different stakeholders from diverse cultures.

Functional competencies;

• The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience and an in-depth understanding of Mozambique as well as experience and understanding of neighboring countries, particularly trans boundary ecosystems.

Core Competencies;

• Transparency: Able to build trust and contribute to informed and responsible decision making by carrying out the work of IUCN in a transparent manner; provides clear guidance to ensure that objectives and desired measurable results are understood by members of the team;
• Inclusiveness: Understands and accepts cultural diversity, and provide a tolerant, positive and supportive working environment that fosters respect for diversity, demonstrates ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;
• Professionalism: Promote the organization’s interests, objectives and values in a diligent and professional manner;
• Accountability: Takes responsibility of individual and collective actions, promotes the IUCN One Programme approach

Applications