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Director, Multilateral Finance Unit

Vacancy #:   6814
Unit:   Multilateral Finance Unit
Organisation:   International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Location:   North America Regional Office, Washington D.C., United States of America
  Depending on the situation and candidate preference, the successful candidate for this role could be based at the IUCN Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland
Reporting to:   Chief Operations Officer
Work percentage:   100%
Grade:   M2
Expected start date:   15 January 2024
Type of contract:   Fixed-term (36 months with possibility of renewal)
Closing date:   02 June 2024
BACKGROUND
IUCN is a Partner Agency to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) since 2014 and an Accredited Entity to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) since 2016. This portfolio represents the majority of the portfolio where IUCN Secretariat plays the role of an implementing agency overseeing the execution on the ground of a portfolio of project.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Director, Multilateral Finance Unit provides strategic leadership and oversees globally the development, management and quality of IUCN GEF and GCF portfolio. The position builds IUCN overall capacity to implement and execute GEF and GCF projects, drives compliance with policies and processes, and ensures accurate and timely monitoring and reporting. The Director, Multilateral Finance Unit supervises a team of 4 and has functional oversight (matrix reporting line) on the portfolio leads in the regions and centres. The position reports to IUCN Chief Operations Officer.

Strategic leadership
• Leads IUCN’s overall relationship with the Funds, ensuring open and efficient communication, and a constructive collaboration that drives the success of IUCN GEF-GCF portfolio;
• Leads the design of the strategy for engagement with the Funds, including programme and financial objectives;
• Leads high level strategic partnerships with key technical partners and donors that can be rolled out at programme and project level;
• Responsible for leading technical and corporate discussions with the Funds’ Secretariat relevant representatives;
• Leads the design of processes for GEF/ GCF engagement and proposal development, consult regularly with IUCN Secretariat Senior Management to identify opportunities to leverage these instruments;
• Identify and share perspectives on relevant baselines and co-financing opportunities for new and innovative initiatives in consultation with relevant programmes in IUCN Secretariat, Commissions and Members;
• Responsible for project approval along the IUCN project cycle, including the coordination of projects reviews;
• Provide strategic advices and information to IUCN Senior management on current portfolio status and opportunities for engagement with the Funds.

Quality assurance and control
• Lead the development of relevant policies and processes needed to develop and manage high quality portfolio of projects funded by the Funds, in partnership with relevant corporate, Regional and Centers Programmes;
• Responsible for overall portfolio monitoring and quality control;
• Responsible for ensuring IUCN’s accreditation to the Funds is up to date, and that key criteria are regularly reviewed to ensure IUCN’s credibility and compliance as a partner agency or an accredited entity to these Funds;
• Ensures all IUCN and Funds policies and processes, including fiduciary, environmental and social and safeguards system, are applied to all projects in the portfolio.

Programme Management
• Develop and implement global and regional roadmaps and strategies to build programme teams’ capacity to implement GEF and GCF projects;
• Plan, manage and distribute the agency fees generated by the portfolio of IUCN projects;
• Oversee the development of the necessary quality and project management tools to successfully implement GEF-GCF project and ensures project managers are trained on the use of these tools and on compliance with donor regulations;
• Plan the human and financial resources required for the management of the programme, in coordination with Regional, Centres and Corporate Directors involved in the programme funded by GEF and GCF;
• Leads the communication of relevant and strategic information from the Funds to IUCN Secretariat, Members and Commissions;
• Represents the Programme at Senior Management level within and outside IUCN.

People Management
• Oversees the recruitment, management and development of the Multilateral Finance Team, including performance planning and assessment and career and skills development;
• Provides functional and direct reports with ongoing feedback, clear expectations, and support to deliver against their work objectives and annual performance plan;
• Maintains a positive work environment for direct and functional reports, free from harassment, that facilitates collaboration and information sharing and is conducive to attracting, retaining, and motivating diverse talents.

The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, in a small organisation such as IUCN, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them but which are not part of their regular job description. Where any task becomes a regular part of a staff member’s responsibilities, the job description will be changed in consultation with the manager, the staff member and the Human Resources Management Group. Anyone of the three may initiate the consultation.
REQUIREMENTS
  • Master’s degree in a field relevant to environment and development, including natural resources management, environment science, environmental economics, or equivalent;

• At least 10 years of international experience in the management of large, complex natural resource management programmes, especially those focusing on forest conservation, sustainable management and restoration, water and marine resources management, land and ecosystems management;

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in successfully engaging with GEF and GCF, in terms of programme development and management;

• Demonstrated technical understanding and expertise across range of themes and issues relevant to global programmes including environmental economics, sustainable forest management, restoration, land management, water resources management, climate change, natural resource governance, and biodiversity conservation;

• Demonstrated ability to interact with and mobilize private sector partners in IUCN related activities;

• Demonstrated experience in results-based management, including fiduciary matters and environmental and social safeguards;

• Strong network of relevant professional relationships, including those with donors and technical partners;

• Ability to retain an unimpeachable integrity in all circumstances, including in handling ambiguous or complex situations;

• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills and the ability to effectively engage at a high level;

• Extensive knowledge and experience in management and leadership abilities with a deep sense of self-awareness;

• Ability and experience in conflict management and mediation, skilled negotiator;

• Proficiency in written and spoken English. Other IUCN languages (French, Spanish) an asset;

• Recruitment Notice:

Please note that the recruitment process for this position is managed by a dedicated recruiting agency. All applications received will be reviewed by the agency, and candidates whose profiles align with the requirements of the role will be contacted directly by them.
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). Please note that only selected applicants will be personally contacted for interviews.

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


About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 16,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

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