JOB VACANCY – SWIO Governance and Policy Manager

Reports to: SWIO SBE Programme Regional Coordinator

Supervises: N/A

Location: Tanzania

Type of contract: Fixed term (02 years with possible renewal)

INTRODUCTION

Fisheries in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) Region experiences severe pressure from overfishing, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fisheries and the destruction of habitats critical for fish reproduction and feeding. As a result, fish stocks, particularly tuna and shrimp, are facing a drastic decline in both small-scale and industrial fisheries, posing a significant risk to the food security of coastal communities.

This programme aims to generate a shift among African decision-makers and powerholders to a sustainable blue economy (SBE) by:

Strengthening the voice and influence of civil society in decision-making.
Developing, adopting and implementing SBE policies in 3 of the 5 SWIO countries, and ensure financial commitment of >US$50m to implement these plans
Ensuring major International Financial Institutions adopt the SBE principles and catalyse an increased flow of investments and initiatives.
Ensure that fair and equitable access to sustainable fisheries resources in the SWIO region is facilitated through a collective approach and decision making by the SWIO governments.
Ensure at least 3 out of 5 SWIO countries adopt innovative and robust management measures to combat IUU fishing including implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).
The primary activities delivered to achieve this are:

Supporting SWIO governments with policy recommendations and pilots that demonstrate the advantages of adopting SBE principles and strong anti IUU fishing policies.
Strengthening the capacity of a CSO coalition operating at the SWIO regional level.
Influencing the redirection of public sector finance into SBE-based investments.
Major Functions

The goals of WWF are to ensure the long-term viability of the fisheries resources in the SWIO region and to promote the development of sustainable fisheries on which the economy of the small-scale fisheries largely depends. To unlock sustainable blue economy, focused governance and robust and adequate policy is required, while collaborating closely with WWF and other partners, NGOs/CSOs and industry stakeholders to achieve these goals while maintaining a healthy ecosystem and safeguarding the rich biodiversity of the region.

The key roles and responsibilities of the SWIO Governance and Policy Manager, under the supervision of the Regional Coordinators and as a part of the regional coordination team, the Manager will:

Support the SWIO country focal points to develop and strengthen linkages with key stakeholders (Government, private sectors, Financial institution and CSOs) to roll out engagement on sustainable blue economy
Support the Regional Coordinator and the Indian Ocean Tuna Manager to promote improved governance in SWIO region, SWIOFC and IOTC among other policy fora’s.
Support the implementation and monitoring and evaluation teams of the SBE program in measuring impact of the IOTC/SWIOFC governance reforms
Advocate and capacitate SWIO regional and national CSOs’ platforms engaging them actively with key stakeholders and other policy fora’s, including leveraging for improved governance and policy reforms in SWIOFC and IOTC.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational support to CSOs partners involved in the programme (both at national and regional level) o Ensure close communication and coordination with CSOs partners (as the

CSOs focal person) throughout the programme implementation o Ensure implementation of the annual CSOs capacity evaluation (in partnership with MEL officer)

Support the development and implementation of CSOs partners capacity development plans (at regional and national level)
Support the development and implementation of CSOs partners advocacy plans
(at regional and national level) o Build CSOs capacity (technical and Institutional) in engaging with

Government and other key stakeholders involved in the project

Support regional CSO (SWIOTUNA) in enhancing networking and participation to key policy process at regional and global level, in particular with SWIOFC and IOTC.
Provide technical support to CSOs partners (such as support the development of national and regional policy briefs, support CSOs in submitting policy brief and papers to respective governments)

• Lead the coordination and implementation of WWF’s ESSF guidelines for the programme o Mobilize and reach out country focal points in updating the Safeguard

Screening Tool (SST) o Support the country focal points in the implementation of the Environmental and Social Safeguard measures

o Provide input in the programme’s report with respect to ESSF implementation o Be the focal points of the programme with respect to Governance and policy, and join relevant WWF ACAIs and Practice related to governance and policy matters

• Lead the policy related work in coordination with the regional coordination team

(Fisheries Manager and Coordinator) in the programme implementation o Provide on policy inputs and support to fisheries and SBE work streams o Support WWF advocacy campaign and implementation of communication plan (MTC guidelines, fisheries transparency…) o Support and facilitate advocacy campaign by engaging with SWIO countries for adoption of conservation and management measures in IOTC/SWIOFC

Contribute in the programme management and coordination o Support the coordination team in assessing the implementation of the risk mitigation measures identified in the programme risk matrix
Contribute in the development of the programme technical reports and ensure programme indicators related to policy are fully assessed and reached.
Participate to coordination meetings and represent the programme when relevant and upon the approval of the regional coordinator
Profile Required Qualifications o Advanced degree \social science, public administration, political science or 3a related field as required, preferably related to the impact of fishing on the environment or equivalent fisheries management experience;

At least 3-5 years’ experience in project implementation, policy, governance of natural resources in the Indian Ocean, including a strong international component;
Demonstrable experience in engaging industry and academic sectors related to fisheries;
Experienced project manager in a complex environment, at an international level.

Required skills and competencies

Ability to coordinate diverse and dispersed international teams; o Extensive and demonstrable knowledge of marine capture fisheries and conservation strategies for sustainable fisheries management;
Extensive and demonstrable knowledge of policy/governance, and resource management;
Excellent interpersonal skills including advanced experienced presentation and facilitation. Effective and clear communication skills in writing and verbally in
English at least; o Adheres to WWF’s values, which are: Knowledgeable, Optimistic, Determined and Engaging.

Desired skill and competencies: o An understanding and insight into regional Indian Ocean Fisheries issues and current agenda;

An understanding and insight into regional political and socio/economic Indian
Ocean; o Experience in fisheries economics; o Proven success and experience in fundraising;

Experience in participatory approaches and with experience in working with government, counterpart agencies, NGOs, community-based organizations’ and regional fisheries organizations.

Working Relationships

Internal

Regular communications and coordination with the SWIO Sustainable Fisheries Program Coordinator, WWFs global tuna manager, WWFs Ocean Practice and WWFs European Policy Office and with team members as needed.
Functional technical oversight will be ensured through regular communication with the coordinator.

External o Forging and maintaining relationships with key external partners, including CSOs

This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the sort of tasks that are anticipated proactively from staff. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organizational needs.