IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network - a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by more than 1,000 professional staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. Its headquarters are based in Gland, Switzerland.
IUCN’s work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
Collaborating with other IUCN thematic and regional teams, the Enterprise and Investment Team is responsible for developing and delivering a coherent and impactful programme of work that generates knowledge, tools and approaches that incorporate private sector engagement and innovative finance mechanisms into IUCN programme delivery and, by extension, proactively drives sectoral transformational processes. IUCN is scaling up its work with respect to innovative finance by providing tailor-made financing, technical assistance, and policy influencing mechanisms for the accelerated deployment and implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and conservation finance.
The Innovation Facility of the Worldwide Alliance for Landscape-based Decarbonisation (WALD IF), led by IUCN’s Enterprise and Investment Team, is a grant-funded assistance initiative newly established to contribute to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, funded by the German Development Cooperation. The IF enables the development and implementation of well-designed, innovative, high impact NbS projects based probably at or near Key Biodiversity Areas – forests (mainly agroforestry), wetlands and Blue Carbon sites - in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The IF aims to leverage significant private sector funding through the voluntary carbon market (VCM) with a focus on carbon removal projects.

The Senior Programme Officer will be responsible for the overall management and coordination of the activities and outputs under the IF and will provide colleagues and the team with profound knowledge in the areas of intervention (biodiversity, carbon markets).
The Senior Programme Officer is responsible for the overall technical, content-related and organizational management of the IF. S/he will manage and coordinate the activities related to the IF and ensure their timely operational and financial planning, control, implementation, and monitoring, as well as compliance with all relevant project policies and commitments. S/he will proactively identify any potential need for adjustments during the planning and implementation stages and closely interact and liaise with the stakeholders of the IF. In addition, s/he will provide expert knowledge in the areas of international carbon methodologies (IFM, ARR, REDD), standards (CCBA. Verra, Gold Standard) and the process for issuance of carbon credits, as well as familiarity with the evolving topic of biodiversity credits, positioning funded projects to create demonstrable carbon and biodiversity benefits.
The Senior Programme Officer will report to the Senior Programme Coordinator, NbS Finance, Enterprise and Investment Team. The role will involve working closely with key IUCN thematic teams and with IUCN’s Regional and Country Offices, to articulate, complement and monitor the project’s implementation. In addition, s/he will coordinate and supervise the inputs of short-term consultants and/or other staff who may also be recruited under the IF. Lastly, the Senior Programme Officer will closely interact with the funding agency of the IF, the German Development Bank (KfW) on behalf of BMZ.
Key Responsibilities include:
1. Management and strategic coordination of the IF
• Assume overall responsibility for the management and strategic orientation of the project, providing expert knowledge in the areas of carbon credits…
• Maintain oversight of the initiative.
• Deliver effective project planning and control of implementation.
• Ensure effective, efficient, and adaptive management of project resources (financial, human, and intellectual).
• Coordinate the organisational development and implementation of all activities funded under the IF in close coordination with KfW.
• Take the lead in ensuring an efficient and successful inception and ensuing implementation of the IF.
• Design and shape the programme and its suite of projects to maximise positive impact.
2. Staff engagement and coordination
• Closely coordinate all IF activities with the donor agency
• Develop relationships and coordinate IF related tasks with other IUCN Teams and Centres, and staff within regions and country offices.
• Supervise staff and external consultants.
• Mobilise the expertise of relevant IUCN commissions, members and the IUCN Secretariat in the implementation of the IF.
3. Communication
• Serve as IUCN Secretariat IF representative at international fora.
• Present the aim and value of the IF at relevant conferences, fora, and events.
• Ensure the IF is promoted through various media channels and networks, ensuring high-quality project submissions and growing recognition of the IF.
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.