NSR Program Manager

Description

• The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US tax-free non-governmental organization founded in 1895 that protects wildlife and wilderness by understanding critical issues, creating science-based solutions and promoting conservation actions that benefit nature and the humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 countries and experience in helping to establish more than 150 protected areas worldwide, WCS has accumulated biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant places, with flora and fauna, thrive together with local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, this knowledge is applied to address issues of management of species, habitats and critical ecosystems to improve the quality of life of rural poor people, whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources
• WCS created a national program in Mozambique in 2012, with two main objectives:
• Increase the protection of the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), a vast landscape in the north of Mozambique and improve the conservation status of its elephants through co-management of the Reserve
• Strengthen the management of protected areas at the national level, contributing to improving policies and strengthening the government's capacity to implement legislation on crimes against wildlife through the strategic involvement of government agencies in Maputo; and
• Strengthen the marine species management through the establishment and consolidation of the MPAs, marine species monitoring toward to science-based decision making and improving the Mozambique marine biodiversity legal framework WCS Mozambique continues to work towards these objectives but has also commenced projects related to sustainable financing of conservation through the development of mechanisms for biodiversity offsets, the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and marine/coastal conservation. Resolution 01/2020 of the Council of Ministers of 9 June approved a 20-year co-management agreement between the National Conservation Area Administration (ANAC) and WCS for NSR. Under this arrangement, programs exist for conservation comprising law enforcement, community development, conservation management and tourism development. These efforts are supported by a variety of donors, including the European Union (EU), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Environment Fund (GEF) and the French Development agency (AFD)
• Reporting to: Field Operations Manager
• Coordinating with: NSR Managers, NSR Finance Manager, and HR Manager
• Supervising: M&E and data monitoring team, consultants as needed
• Executive Role: Member of the NSR Management Team
• Type of Contract: Permanent (and fixed term if expatriate)
• Expected travel: Regular travel to the Reserve (approx. 2 weeks/quarter), some national and international travel as required
• Objective: This position provides overall assistance to the Niassa Special Reserve, including through the management of donor-funded projects and WCS assets, for achieving biodiversity conservation through the following specific objectives:
• Support sustainable financing of NSR through fundraising, budgeting, and promoting the efficient stewardship of resources
• Improve project planning, implementation performance and reporting
• Support strategic planning and governance to increasing wildlife populations, reduce threats to wildlife and other natural resources
• Support the Niassa Special Reserve co-management by building a common vision and integrated funding and assets management
• Position Profile: This position requires a charismatic and self-driven individual, with the ability to develop strong relationships with colleagues and other stakeholders, and commitment to ensuring the cohesion and success of the WCS Mozambique Niassa project team. With solid understanding of fund raising, donor procedures, financial management, performance-based reports, project management, and institutional policy, the individual has the ability to lead on the development of funding proposals and donor stewardship to achieve the common vision for Niassa Special Reserve

Duties

• This position is ultimately responsible for the following:

Coordinate Effective Project Implementation

• Work closely with NSR leadership to develop project and annual workplans and budgets and to identify funding gaps
• Assist NSR project leaders to monitor progress toward and achieve quarterly, annual, and strategic goals
• Oversee a team of M&E staff, data managers, subgrantees, and project consultants responsible for donor and partner reporting
• Develop an extensive understanding of NSR operations, personnel, partners, and strategy in order to support all aspects of program growth

Manage grant portfolio and support business development

• Lead or coordinate the development of all funding proposals, including to bilateral, multi-lateral, foundation, and private funders
• Ensure Country Program and site teams understand and comply with donor, WCS, and ANAC policies and procedures for the management, expenditure, and reporting of grant funds; act as knowledge base for all NSR funding streams
• Support the site team to monitor performance (including oversight of M&E) and adapt plans, including developing realignment and extension requests as needed
• Coordinate donor relationships to support WCS Mozambique strategic objectives in NSR, including managing communications with funders and attending reviews, meetings, and discussions as needed
• Maintain online filing system of all grant documents and manage projects, deadlines, and deliverables through online collaborative software (such as Asana)
• Work closely with the finance team to ensure grant expenditure is accurate and in compliance with donor and WCS policies and that financial reports are harmonized with technical reports
• Manage the writing and consolidation of high quality technical and financial reports for donors, ensuring compliance with all donor and WCS policies

Capacity Building

• Support NSR Administration and HR to identify capacity gaps and training needs assessments, develop TORs, and recruit candidates
• Work with NSR Administration to implement mentorship and on-the-job training as it relates to project development, management, and reporting
• Other Duties: Carry out any other duties as may be assigned from time to time. If an expatriate, provide guidance and training to a Mozambican national to allow for adequate skills transfer

Requisites

• More than five years of experience involved in conservation programs/large-scale project management
• Strong collaborative and team coordination skills, including ability to motivate, lead, set objectives, and follow-up and follow through on deliverables and deadlines
• Skilled at building consensus with conservation partners, donors and other stakeholders
• Demonstrated mastery of fund raising proposal development, financial management, multi-donor budget implementation and performance report writing
• Experience in project remediation, government and non-government contracting and grant making, government and legislative relations, grant management
• Excellent presentation and written/oral communication skills in English; working knowledge of Portuguese preferred
• Knowledge or demonstrated interest in current trends in conservation and natural resource conservation in Africa and Mozambique
• Advanced university degree in an appropriate field is preferred
• Demonstrated experience in MS Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint; experience with project management tools such as Asana, and experience working collaboratively online
• Strong ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and exceptional attention to detail
• Flexibility, optimism, good humor, passion for excellence, self-motivation in reaching a collective end
• Proven ability to work well within multi-cultural environments and sensitivity in dealing with both colleagues and local communities from different backgrounds
• Project Management certification (PMP) or similar is preferred

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted