BACKGROUND
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 people’s 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.

The IUCN Ocean Team is comprised of staff committed to effectively addressing key global challenges in the marine and polar environment. The Ocean Team cooperates with other IUCN thematic and regional Teams programmes and with the IUCN Commissions to ensure that marine and polar ecosystems are maintained and restored in their biodiversity and productivity, and that any use of the resources is sustainable and equitable.

This position will provide project management and technical support to the Ocean Team’s programme of work on climate change, blue carbon and blue natural capital financing. The Programme Officer will report to the Manager, Oceans & Climate Change, Ocean Team, and work with other associated project staff and consultants as needed.

This position will primarily focus on supporting the screening and development of a project pipeline of investable NbS projects in coastal and marine environments to serve the on-granting schemes of the IUCN Ocean Unit. Furthermore, the Programme Officer will support efforts to mobilize knowledge, data, resources, partners, and networks to broaden the scope and impact of the finance portfolio regarding the priorities mentioned above. The position will work closely with colleagues in the Enterprise and Investment Team to ensure consistency with IUCN’s private finance work, with the Climate Change Team to align on IUCN’s field experience as well as with the Science and Data Centre, especially on the application of the IUCN Global Standard for NbS TM. The Programme Officer will report to the Manager, Oceans & Climate Change, IUCN Ocean Unit.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will provide project management and technical support to GMPP’s programme of work on climate change, blue carbon and blue natural capital financing. The work will be centred on three main components. However these could evolve or change according to needs and preferences. The three main components are as follows:


1. Blue Natural Capital (approx. 65%)

Contribute towards the development and management of the Ocean Team’s on-granting mechanism, including:
• Assist in managing the technical assistance facilities, with the aim to develop a pipeline of bankable projects centred on coastal ecosystem conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Support the project selection process, including initial screen of projects proposed
• Identify internal processes and controls required to build and develop the internal structure of these facilities and draft related documents, including the development of BNC standards, positive impact framework and risk assessment criteria for environmental, social and gender related topics
• Develop Terms of Reference for the relevant experts and related committees
• Aid the marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement activities of the new facility, including the production of necessary documents and workshop organisation
• Identify suitable partners for the facilities

2. Support IUCN’s work to develop a coherent approach to financing NbS with the help of the financial services sector (approx. 20%)

• Engage with the IUCN Enterprise and Investment Team, as well as the Climate and the IUCN Multilateral Finance teams on work aimed at the development and prioritization of IUCN’s innovative financing approach to NbS.
• Research, write and publish reports on the conservation of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, their role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and policies and issues relating to their long-term sustainable financing (e.g. conservation finance, impact investment)

3. Other responsibilities (approx. 15%)

• Support resource mobilization activities / funding for/with innovative financing approaches for coastal and marine NbS
• Initiate and lead small project development proposals (250-500k)
• Support the development of a larger proposal (above 500k CHF)
• Act as review focal point for all IUCN GCF/GEF proposals with a private finance and ocean component.


The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, in a small organization 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 an employee's responsibilities, the job description will be changed in consultation with the employee and the Human Resources Management Group.