IUCN is a Membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organizations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. IUCN Sri Lanka’s programs support sustainable natural resource management initiatives of Members and Partners.
The IUCN project portfolio covers biodiversity and ecosystem related niche projects funded by the Private Sector, Government, UN Agencies and I/NGOs. These projects have the potential to develop pilots that can be used in larger projects and vise-versa, including value chain developments and policy advocacy. Currently, IUCN Sri Lanka is expanding its project portfolio and planning to develop a number of new projects.
Biodiversity Team of IUCN Sri Lanka plays a significant role in delivering IUCN Sri Lanka’s mandate and with the expanding portfolio, there will be extensive field coordination work and include biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management interventions and generating information and ideas helpful in policy changes addressing barriers or sustainable development. In this context, biodiversity aspects in terrestrial, coastal and marine, water resources, etc. will need to be further researched and incorporate with IUCN and other global and local experiences such as Nature Based Solutions (NbS), Eco-DRR, River Basin Approaches, Pollution Loads, Climate Challenges etc. into the Project Development.
In this context IUCN Sri Lanka seeks a suitable candidate for the position of Programme Officer (Biodiversity) to support the design and delivery of biodiversity and ecosystems related projects.
Key Responsibilities:
Programme Officer (Biodiversity) on a day to day basis, will consult with the Senior Programme Officer – Biodiversity Team and the relevant Project Managers on the required technical assistance for programme/project development. The incumbent will assist the biodiversity team with concept development, proposal writing and project development work incorporating IUCN’s global tools such as Roam, NbS, Eco-DRR, Red Listing, Green Listing, Natural Capital Accounting, etc. to add value to project objectives. In particular, s/he will be instrumental in the identification of eco business and enterprise opportunities, building capacity of partners and green value chains and promote for Payments for Ecosystems Services (PES) innovative approaches through the project interventions. In the process, the incumbent is expected to work with multiple agencies in Government, NGO and Private Sector.
Specific Duties:
Literature Surveys and Compiling material for Programme/Project Development:
Ensure all project documentation (progress reports, consulting and other technical reports, minutes of meetings, etc.) are properly maintained in hard and electronic copies in an efficient and readily accessible manner for the benefit and use of the biodiversity team.
Summarize biodiversity information for future project development purposes.
Compilation of technical reports, field baseline data collection, analyzing and editing of documents including literature review to build the capacity of the Biodiversity Team.
Search, review and collect information for applications, EoIs, and submission of concept notes for funding opportunities worldwide under the them of biodiversity and related concepts and inform the Senior Programme Officer accordingly
Programme Development and Resource Mobilization:
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Officers of the Biodiversity Team, draft concept notes, develop proposals and full projects on the identified opportunities coming within the mandate of the biodiversity team.
Mobilize resources and prepare budgets for those funding opportunities.
Assist the Biodiversity Team in designing relevant field methodologies to assess the biodiversity, ecosystem services and identify the ecological restoration sites with the help of environment and field experts.
Support the Biodiversity Team in identifying restoration methodologies and develop ecological restoration plans to restore selected landscapes.
Under the supervision of the Senior Programme Officer, provide required technical assistance to prepare land use management and zonation plans together with implementation strategies.
Programme Implementation, Reporting and Knowledge Management:
Coordinate the biodiversity surveys and ecosystem services surveys under IUCN portfolio.
Assist the Biodiversity Team in finalizing the relevant assessment reports with the help of the IUCN Programme Coordinator and the field experts.
Provide quality assurance support for these reports prior to sharing with Programme Coordinator/Country Representative.
Design relevant awareness and knowledge materials related to project work.
Provide coordination and administration support for ongoing biodiversity related projects.
Organize events, training programmes, consultations, etc in partnership with the key stakeholder audiences as per the project/programme requirements
Transfer of global knowledge, Innovative practices and Supporting Futuristic Research:
Develop awareness programmes and design different dissemination materials including multimedia scripts on biodiversity related subjects.
Review, document and disseminate global knowledge and best practices on biodiversity and sustainable land management among the relevant parties in the industry.
Identify the research needs and trends in the industry and mobilize resources accordingly.
Identify different global forums, opportunities, communities of practice, etc and keep the biodiversity team informed so that the relevant team members can become a partner/member of these entities in order to update the knowledge.
Perform any other duties as assigned by Programme Coordinator or the Country Representative.
Requirements:
Possess the ability and commitment to work and give results with minimum supervision.
Ability to work under pressure and to coordinate and link with multi-disciplinary experts, communities, government and non-government organisations and the private sector.
Willingness to travel to project sites when required.
Good knowledge and experience in species knowledge and biodiversity resources conservation in Sri Lanka
Excellent writing and communication skills especially in English Language.
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.
Proven track record of programme formulation and management and ability to deliver the outputs on time.
Sound liaison, coordination, negotiation and representational skills at local and national levels.
Demonstrated skills of knowledge management and capacity including the use of current software.
Education:
A Post-graduate Degree (MSc) preferably in the fields of biology, ecology, natural resource management, science or nature based solutions and relevant fields of study.
Experience:
Minimum of 5 years working experience in providing technical and programme support in a related field such as species knowledge, biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration and/or project management.
Working with multi-disciplinary teams, including local and expatriate technical experts
Managing projects on natural resources management and possess sound inter-personnel management skills with stakeholders and local village groups (both government and non-government agencies).
Engaging local communities in natural resources conservation and demonstrated experience in enhancing their knowledge in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
Preparation of reports and scientific publications using the project outputs, monitoring and evaluation and resource mobilization
Languages:
Excellent command of English (verbal/written) coupled with excellent communication and presentation skills. fluency in Sinhala and/or Tamil and knowledge of languages is an additional qualification.
Experience in office applications (MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint) and web-based management tools, experience in using design software is an additional qualification.
