OFFICE LOCATION

Arusha, Tanzania

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable.  One of our core values is our commitment to diversity. Therefore, we strive for a globally diverse and culturally competent workforce. Working in 72 countries, including all 50 United States, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.

Since establishing the Africa Program in 2007, The Nature Conservancy’s vision in Africa is to work towards fostering a sustainable future for people and nature, partnering with indigenous communities across 55 million acres on the continent. Our efforts are firmly rooted in people, leveraging scientific and technical expertise as we collaborate with governments and organizations to conserve and enhance Africa’s shared resources in the 9 countries where we operate.

TNC’s work in Africa transcends three key pillars: securing ownership rights to lands and resources for indigenous people, strengthening leadership and resource management and helping communities value nature through a holistic appreciation of its benefits while increasing revenue streams for conservation efforts and socio-economic development. Together with our partners, we are witnessing critical milestones in integrated land and fisheries management, ocean and source water protection, energy development and sustainable food production, working together and strengthening our resolve in tackling global challenges such as climate change, habitat and biodiversity loss that stand to adversely impact the nearly 1.4 billion people that share Africa.

In the northern rangelands of Tanzania, TNC and key partners are working to save one of the world’s largest wildlife migrations by keeping habitat and movement corridors open and improving the lives of pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities that rely on these lands. In collaboration with local communities, government, and the private sector, we will: (1) improve habitat through land use planning, invasive plants removal, and native plants revegetation; (2) create sustainable revenue flows for conservation and communities including through a prospective soil carbon project; and (3) improve the capacity of communities and government to carry out conservation after the project ends.

YOUR POSITION WITH TNC

TNC seeks a Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem for the Northern Tanzania Rangelands. The project will achieve integrated outcomes for biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction, including through the development of a soil carbon project with pastoralist communities. The Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem will oversee project implementation, supervise the project staff, and lead coordination and joint planning with partners and funding subrecipients. As a member of the Project Management Unit, the Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem will facilitate communication and coordination of efforts among the partners and with stakeholders such as communities and government actors and will be responsible to report project progress and outputs to Funder. The Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem will play a key role in coordinating the development of the carbon project ensure all the relevant project activities feed into the carbon certification process. The Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem will be responsible for engaging TNC global and regional teams to ensure the project benefits form TNC’s leading science, policy and sustainable financing work. This position is a 4-year term-limited position contingent on TNC receiving the public award. Reporting to the Northern Tanzania Program Director, the position will be based in Arusha, Tanzania. No employment visas or assistance is being offered with this position except for the local labor employment requirements.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem oversees and provides technical and program leadership to the project and advance and scale up past experiences of the Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative. They serve as the principal contact for the project to funder, subrecipients, other stakeholder organizations, and local public, community, and private sector institutions. Under leadership of the Northern Tanzania Program Director, they represent the project to external audiences and guide communications activities. They oversee development of mechanisms for effective project coordination, planning, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), as well as sharing and dissemination of data and learnings. They lead execution of the project’s conservation activities, supervise and collaborate with team members, and provide robust technical support to project activities and partners across all outputs and cross-cutting themes in the field. The Project Manager -Resilient Ecosystem develops key partnerships with public and private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions and best practices. They develop innovative scientific methods, analyses, tools, and frameworks to address the natural system needs, and engage local community support for local conservation efforts. They ensure quality control of all major deliverables to the funder within budget specifications, and help resolve challenges that affect project performance and develop solutions to reduce likelihood of future occurrence.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE

• Provides overall technical leadership and management of a complex landscape-scale public award project.
• Serves as the primary project liaison with funder, communicates regularly with funder and partners implementing the funded activities and attend all funder partner meetings.
• Supervises the monitoring of key deliverables, outputs and outcomes as per work plans and sub awardee/contractor agreements.
• Provides robust technical input and support to all components of the project and the staff and partners responsible for them, ensuring the project achieves lasting and meaningful outcomes and results.
• Provides project compliance, financial oversight and quality assurance for all activities including budgeting, financial reporting, training, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Prepares and submits annual work plans and quarterly and annual performance reports, and ensures progress towards project objectives, including through field visits.
• Ensures project activities and deliverables are coordinated and meet necessary requirements (specifically voluntary carbon standards ensuring) in line with the carbon project development process and cycle.
• Working with and coordinating partners and other project contributors on a diversity of specialized topics; including carbon, community engagement, livelihood support programming, legal and policy frameworks for community land and carbon rights.
• Represents the project to external audiences and guides communications activities.
• Oversees preparation and implementation of sub-award agreements and approves and oversees contracts within delegation of authority.
• Communicates regularly with the funder and attends funder-specific meetings.
• Oversees technical performance delivery of outputs and activities, including provision of hands-on strategic guidance of activities.
• Ensures coordination among numerous stakeholders, partners, and participants for the project.
• Obtains funder approval as required for communications materials, travel, equipment purchase and other items.
• Helps resolve challenges that affect project performance and develop solutions to reduce likelihood of future occurrence.
• Establishes and maintains optimal performance standards within budget.
• Disseminates best practices; provides training and analysis to best implement organizational measures of success; and develops key partnerships with public and private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions, innovative scientific methods and tools to address the natural system and human wellbeing needs of the project area.
• Frequently makes independently strategic decision based on analysis, ambiguous information, and context.
• Negotiates complex agreements, in a political environment.
• Frequent travel, evening and weekend hours.
• May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS degree and 7 years’ experience in sustainable financing practice for conservation or related field (e.g., carbon financing, conservation, business administration, conservation biology, natural resources management, economic development) or equivalent combination of education and experience. This includes experience in progressively increasing management responsibility in international development projects on biodiversity conservation, conservation-oriented market and investment development and small and medium-sized agribusiness and/or carbon finance programs.
• Leadership skills managing similar sized public-funded projects, including subrecipient management and programmatic and financial reporting for public awards.
• Ability to build, maintain relationships with governments, stakeholders, and the private sector.
• Demonstrated experience in building and managing consortia of partners across institutions (e.g., communities, NGOs, private and government) and varying sectors.
• Demonstrated experience rapidly assembling and managing teams that have the appropriate skills and experience to effectively implement activities.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience, including motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance.
• Experience negotiating complex agreements.
• DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated – proficiency in Swahili is an added advantage.
• 7-10 years’ experience in conservation practice, developing and implementing carbon finance or equivalent combination of education (e.g., Master’s degree in relevant field) and experience.
• Demonstrated experience influencing, developing and implementing sustainable financing mechanisms for conservation, policy and plans.
• Experience developing and implementing carbon finance projects is an added advantage.
• Effective communicator in written and spoken English and Kiswahili.
• Strong understanding of the ecological, social, and economic background of Tanzania and/or East Africa, including of rural or pastoralist communities.
• Knowledge of Tanzania’s environment sector and wildlife management policies, laws, and development issues.
• Knowledge of current trends and practices in relevant disciplines in Tanzania and/or Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Ability to develop practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
• Knowledge of methods and standards of carbon financing, biodiversity information systems and initiatives or related field.
• Politically savvy.