International Union for Conservation of Nature (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. Headquartered in Switzerland, IUCN Secretariat comprises around 950 staff in more than 50 countries. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 15,000 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.
NbS is an all-encompassing concept for the use of nature as direct contribution to issues such as economic and social development, climate change adaptation, food security, water security, human health, and disaster risk reduction. IUCN is looking to scale up service provision through its NbS Global Facility by providing tailor-made financing, technical assistance, and policy influencing mechanisms for the accelerated deployment and implementation of NbS. The Subnational Climate Fund Initiative (SCF) is a global blended finance initiative that aims to invest in and scale up mid-sized, climate-resilient, low-carbon infrastructure and nature-based solutions in developing countries. SCF aims to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in sustainable private infrastructure through SCF’s Fund. SCF will also feature a dedicated, grant- funded Technical Assistance Facility – providing local capacity building, project development support, and certification for climate and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) impacts prior to investment.

This position maybe based in either Bonn, Germany or Gland, Switzerland (to be discussed).

The Senior Programme Officer will support the design and delivery of a set of programmatic priorities and activities of IUCN in support of the overall capacity building efforts on climate and NBS finance, under the supervision of the Senior Program Coordinator, NbS Finance, within the Centre for Economy and Finance and enterprise and investment team, and in collaboration other teams and global thematic centers. Furthermore, they will provide technical leadership for developing and delivering a 5-year capacity building program for SCF across various sectors, and a variety of stakeholders aimed to address current knowledge and capacity gaps and accelerate financing for climate, SDGs, and NBS, as part of technical assistance to unlocking private investment for climate and NbS. The Senior Programme Officer will substantially contribute to efforts in mobilizing knowledge, data, resources, partners, and networks to broaden the scope and impact of the finance portfolio regarding the priorities mentioned above and represent, as appropriate, IUCN as technical lead with relevant partners, global partnerships, meetings, and events.

Section A – Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Programme Officer will be responsible for the following:

1. Technical advice and quality assurance for capacity building on climate and NBS finance
• Design and implement a robust 5-year capacity building program on sustainable private investment to achieve the objectives of the Subnational Climate Fund and support wider market development for NBS finance aligned with the IUCN’s NBS Facility, namely:
o Design and implement a facilitative framework to capture the critical priorities of SCF stakeholders and beneficiaries in addressing current capacity and knowledge gaps for accessing and upscaling climate finance to deliver an adaptive and highly relevant capacity building program. The capacity building will support the deployment of SCF investment in sustainable energy, water and sanitation, energy efficiency, and NbS. The SCF stakeholders range from project developers to national and sub-national governments to regional and national financial institutions and investors. The capacity building program will capture global, as well as regional and national priorities and gaps for capacity building to deploy capital into a pipeline of investable and high-integrity projects for climate, nature and local economic development.
o Lead the design and delivery of the capacity building program of the SCF technical assistance facility, and other complementary efforts of the IUCN NBS Facility "finance catalyst" via a hybrid model of in-person and virtual training, mentoring, and other means identified to address gaps to access knowledge and information. The capacity building efforts will need to address current needs and foresee future needs and opportunities and work alongside the pipeline development process of SCF.
o Mobilize and coordinate a portfolio of internal and external experts to implement the capacity building program. Furthermore, ensure engagement and contribution from SCF project partners, IUCN staff - including involvement and coordination with IUCN regional offices for the execution of the capacity building program - to deliver targeted support for scaling up investment in climate and NBS.
o Capture feedback, satisfaction, and lessons learned from capacity building.
• As part of the technical assistance facility, define priorities for the SCF knowledge agenda, learning, and dissemination of program results and outcomes.
• Closely coordinate SCF efforts on the knowledge and learning from piloting NbS certification in accordance with the NbS Global Standard, in collaboration and with inputs from the Science and Data Centre (notably in relation to other biodiversity knowledge products based on IUCN standards) within IUCN and across all global Centers. Support overall streamlining of training, learning (e.g., IUCN Academy), and the use of IUCN knowledge products.
• Contribute to the investment pipeline development on NBS through hands-on and capacity building efforts by and developing content to new knowledge products on best practices and growing experience from climate and NbS investments.

2. Project portfolio management and delivery
• Ensure effective, efficient, and adaptive management of IUCN project resources (financial, human, and intellectual) to deliver on the goals of NbS finance initiatives on capacity building.
• Manage contractual relationships with the internal and external partners, consultants, and stakeholders pertinent to delivering the capacity-building program for SCF, including providing technical oversight with clarity in roles and responsibilities and accountability for outcomes.
• Support overall MEL, project management, and reporting for the SCF, including through the project PMU unit, hosted by R20, based on adaptive and results-oriented management of the SCF project.
• Provide meaningful contribution and lead the development of new thematically aligned projects, initiatives, and components on climate and NbS finance and learning concerning technical assistance and capacity building.

3. Building partnerships, representation, and resource mobilization
• Ensure close collaboration on the SCF capacity building program with the IUCN Academy on providing training, and the NbS facility on the use of the NBS Global Standard.
• Participate in meetings, conferences, and platforms relevant to the work program described above, to advance and showcase IUCN technical and thought leadership to influence and mobilize new networks, partners, and stakeholders.

Section B – Competences
1. Enthusiastic commitment and vision, characterized by:
• A commitment to nature conservation and sustainable development.
2. Integrity, maturity and trust, as characterized by:
• Unimpeachable integrity as evidenced by behavior.
• Proven ability to effectively collaborate with colleagues and clients.
• Clear commitment to embracing and contributing to a culture of high performance and accountability.
• Demonstrated commitment to working within teams diverse in gender, nationality and background to achieve business results.
3. Professional competencies, characterized by:
• A track record of developing and implementing innovative finance projects around NbS, or equivalent record of relevant finance expertise
• Ability and commitment to act in accordance with IUCN’s core values including, integrity, respect for diversity, safety and dignity at work and professionalism as described in IUCN’s Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics, IUCN’s Policy on Protection from Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Harassment, and IUCN’s Policy on Safety and Security.
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills.
4. Commitment to accountable and high-quality delivery
• A clear and unambiguous work ethic that understands the necessity of, and demonstrates willingness to adhere to, institutional procedures and standards.
• An enthusiasm for and commitment to understanding and contributing to tangible, equitable and durable change processes in the field of conservation and sustainable development.
5. Sound judgment and decision making, characterized by:
• Well-organized and logical in thought and action.
• Ability to listen and receive feedback, take into consideration alternative points of view and retain some flexibility.
• Ability to anticipate, assess and account for political and reputational risk associated with contested or divergent issues.