Expert, Global Biodiversity Framework Policy

Want to make a positive difference to the future of people and our one shared home, the Earth? Working at WWF could be your opportunity of a lifetime.

All around the world, people are waking up to the deepening crisis of nature loss. A growing realisation that nature is our life-support system. And that nobody will be spared from the impacts of its loss. Here at WWF, we are helping to tackle this enormous global challenge.

Our people come from hugely diverse backgrounds and with a variety of expertise, ranging from HR and finance to advocacy and conservation science. We welcome applications from anyone who believes they can help us create a better future for people and wildlife.

What we do

We are an independent conservation organisation, striving to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife. From individuals and communities to business and government, we are part of a growing coalition calling on world leaders to set nature on the path to recovery by 2030. Together, we seek to protect and restore natural habitats, stop the mass extinction of wildlife, and make the way we produce and consume sustainable.

Contract term: Fixed term maximum until 30 June 2027

1 MISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT

The year 2030 marks a milestone on many fronts. WWF’s global goals, the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals all have a 2030 horizon. WWF views the next six years as critical in delivering impact to meet these targets and driving systemic change through policy action is one of the key vehicles to deliver this impact. The next six years are crucial as WWF will scale up its efforts to strengthen inclusive GBF implementation at the national level and leverage these experiences to influence and ensure progress on its global ambitions. This includes ensuring there are sufficient, timely and accessible financial resources flowing to where they are needed, as well as ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are involved and engaged at the local, regional and global level. Engaging everyone means addressing the barriers to participation faced by some groups in society, including local communities, and ensuring the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs), as custodians and stewards of nature is at the center of implementation of the GBF.

To this end, WWF recently commenced implementation of a three-year project focused on Accelerating Implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) through Community-Led Conservation. The project aims to put Community-Led Conservation at the heart of GBF Implementation in Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea by ensuring full and effective participation of indigenous people and local communicates (IP&LCs) in the development/revision of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and in the implementation and monitoring of conservation activities at site and landscape level. The project will also advocate for new and additional funding for biodiversity through National Biodiversity Finance Plans (NBFPs) that facilitate greater access to finance for IP&LCs. Experiences and lessons learned in the five countries will be leveraged and amplified to galvanize action and advocacy for ambitious and inclusive NBSAPs and NBFPs in the Congo Basin, Pacific, North Africa/Mediterranean, Mekong/ASEAN, East and Southern Africa sub regions and globally working closely with WWFs Regional and Global Policy and Advocacy Teams(GPAT) and the Public Sector Partnerships(PSP) teams.

2 MAJOR FUNCTIONS

The Expert, GBF Policy, Africa will be a member of the regional Africa Conservation Team and will work very closely with the Senior Project Manager, GBP-CBC, Head of Policy and Partnerships Africa, the country, regional and global project teams to ensure policy influence and advocacy for ambitious and inclusive NBSAPs and NBFPs (National Biodiversity Funding Plans) at national level in the five project countries, generating and amplifying lessons learned in the wider sub regions and globally. The job holder will be responsible for amplifying lessons learned from the GBF-CLC country projects to the wider sub regions and globally through policy influence and engagement and strengthening policy capacity, while ensuring close synergies with the country office, regional, and global conservation and policy goals including WWF offices’ five-year strategic plans (2025-2030), WWF’s Roadmap 2030 objectives, The NBSAPs We Need; WWFs Criteria for Ambitious NBSAPs); the Africa Conservation Framework; the Africa Policy and Partnership Strategy; and many others as deemed relevant. They will work closely with GPAT, PSP, the Practices and other global teams.

3 MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Facilitating the documentation of lessons learned from the project countries that can be used for cross learning, leverage and influencing targeted local, national and regional policy stakeholders. Providing Technical Assistance to project countries to mobilize governments and key stakeholders, and boost in-country policy influencing. This includes:
  1. Developing policy toolkits/guidelines for coordinating coherent, ambitious and inclusive NBSAPs and NBFPs;
  2. Developing simplified understanding/articulation of GBF 23 targets adapted to regional and National stakeholders in coordination with the selected WWF country offices;
  3. Identifying conditions and opportunities for achieving ambitious, inclusive and equitable NBSAPs and linkages with other policy processes (e.g. NDCs, SDGs) in the region and sub regions;
  4. Provide help desk and expert input to strengthen national platforms and joint lobby and advocacy of WWF and partners in several selected countries in the region and sub regions;
  5. Promote and strengthen partnerships with other organizations to promote inclusive, equitable and effective participation of all stakeholders, especially the rights holders and marginalized groups.

• Stimulate the replication, scaling and adoption of successful field tested CLC approaches to other landscapes and regions through technical assistance, policy influence and cross learning;
• Facilitate the mainstreaming of community led conservation approaches and results in WWF offices, including building capacity and contextualizing regional policy positions and opportunities to the national level;
• Acting as a ‘radar function’ for policy influence in the region and guiding on how the GBF can be effectively positioned to achieve impact. This includes:
  1. Staying up to date with intelligence on geo-political trends, challenges, experiences, opportunities, tactics regarding GBF implementation in the region that provide or hinder momentum and share with senior leadership and relevant colleagues;
  2. Aggregating and sharing resources, priorities, successes and challenges, across the network, region and sub regions in ways that attract required attention from targeted stakeholders and policy makers;
  3. Share experiences and successes of WWFs work on NBSAPs with key regional stakeholders (including CSOs, donors, IFIs and governmental bodies);
  4. Work closely with the National Offices to provide evidence base for their influencing with the National Donor Governments;
  5. Support, contribute to the organization of, and participate in COPs, lobby events, regional exchanges, workshops and consultations to gather diverse perspectives and foster collaboration.
• Supporting partnerships and key alliances with key regional institutions and platforms to support or leverage WWFs ambitions and approaches on GBF implementation and work towards (financial) commitments that will allow the replication and sustainability of this approach in the region and sub regions.

4 PROFILE

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in conservation policy, natural resource management, or a related field;
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience with a track record of advancing a complex policy agenda to national and local stakeholders;
• A good understanding of regional and global intergovernmental conventions, institutions relevant for GBF implementation and other related conventions;
• Extensive experience in policy influence and advocacy, development of partnerships and approaches that enable inclusion of local communities, particularly women and youth in policy development.

Required Skills and Competencies:

• Analytical skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information and produce high-quality guidance documents and reports;
• A good grasp of geopolitical issues and strategic relationships between governments in the region;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders from different cultural settings;
• Diplomatic skills, internal and external networking expertise;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken is required;
• Working knowledge of French would be an asset;
• Embraces the WWF mission and values of the organisation: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration.

5 WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

Country, Regional and Global Project teams, Conservation Teams; Policy and Advocacy teams, Public Sector Partnerships Team, Impact Measurement Teams; Philanthropy and Fundraising Communications; and others.

External:

Government officials, regional and national organizations, financial institutions, donor agencies and businesses, within collaborative and divergent external context; to collaborate.

How to apply

Only one single document can be uploaded through our platform. Upload your covering letter and CV as one file. We will not accept applications without CV and Covering Letter.

Deadline for applications: by 4 December 2024

Work permit restrictions may apply.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

WWF is an equal opportunity employer and committed to having a diverse workforce.