BLUE ECONOMY COORDINATOR LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) At GOAL

GENERAL DATA

Work HQ: Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

(The postholder must be resident in Honduras, Haiti or Colombia, where GOAL country offices are located).

GOAL HQ is located in Dublin, Ireland.

Starting Date: April 2023

Reports to: Luigi Loddo, Deputy Regional Director LAC,

Department Programmes

ABOUT GOAL

Established in 1977, GOAL is an international humanitarian and development agency committed to working with communities to achieve sustainable and innovative early response in crisis situations and lasting solutions to poverty and vulnerability. GOAL has worked in more than 60 countries and has responded to almost all major humanitarian disasters.

GOAL began operating in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1998, when the organization responded to the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, which left more than 10,000 people dead or missing, displaced hundreds of thousands and set back economic development in the subregion for decades.

In the years that followed, GOAL implemented a major rescue and emergency recovery program focused primarily on Honduras, which was the country hardest hit by the disaster. Following this relief effort, GOAL established a regional base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from where it began developing a broader program in the LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) region to respond to the humanitarian needs of this disaster-prone region and address the root cause of vulnerability and poverty related to high levels of social exclusion and inequality.

RESILIENCE OF THE BLUE ECONOMY PROGRAMME

The LAC region is home to an indigenous and Afro-descendent population of fishing communities who are dependent on marine coastal resources. The future of their food security and livelihoods depends on a resilient Blue Economy. However, industrial fishing and unsustainable practices threaten the marine coastal resources and the livelihoods of local communities.

GOAL’s work in the region consequently focuses on building the capacity of local actors based on their role within local systems that are critical to the resilience of their Blue Economy. Our work with vulnerable indigenous and Afro-descendent communities in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Colombia, Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala, and El Salvador) has over the last decade sought to demonstrate how true sustainability may progress the resilience of the Blue Economy using an innovative Local Systems Approach.

Through this approach GOAL has partnered with a broad range of local actors; community leaders and community-based organizations, fishing associations and cooperatives, larger fishing businesses and logistics / export agencies, government and other regulatory agencies, indigenous authorities, input supplies, environmental agencies, and academic institutions, among others.

With support from partners including Irish Aid, the European Union, the Nordic Development Fund, USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, GOAL supports livelihoods opportunities and improves governance of marine coastal resources for indigenous and afro-descendent communities across almost 1,500km of coastline in the LAC region, supporting more than 5,000 fishers and their families directly to have improved food and economic security as well as increased resilience to climate related hazards.

ROLE SUMMARY AND KEY FUNCTIONS

Main purpose the role:

• To lead and develop GOAL’s Resilient Blue Economy programme and strategy in the LAC region, consistent with an ecosystem approach that is supportive of sustainable livelihoods in fisheries and ecotourism.

The Regional Blue Economy Coordinator (in advance RBEC) will provide leadership, strategic direction and programme coordination support for GOAL’s Resilient Blue Economy programme in the LAC region, serving as a knowledge manager and business development lead among GOAL Country Project Teams in Honduras, Haiti and Colombia. Within the role, the RBEC will facilitate and lead discussion on where the three countries can share best practices from the current blue economy project activities and determine how they can be better coordinated, developed and presented for upscaling, outreach and strategic partnership purposes.

The RBCE will lead on developing a GOAL Blue Economy Strategy for the region and play a key role in advancing effective partnerships in support of the strategy, while providing advice and coordination for GOAL initiatives, and to actors and stakeholders associated with the blue economy in the LAC region

The RBCE is also responsible for coordinating and leading regular discussions and planning meetings between Country Project Teams, GOAL’s Regional Director , Deputy Regional Director and GOAL HQ in order to ensure adherence to GOAL’s ‘Crisis to Resilience’ strategy, governance structure and donor compliances.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITES

• Lead and co-ordinate GOAL’s ‘Resilient Blue Economy’ program in the LAC region.
• Build collaborative and cooperative relationships with relevant government agencies and other key stakeholders (e.g., the regional government, environmental agencies, universities, bilateral and multilateral funding agencies, and other relevant private and public bodies) in support of the programs and to engender a collective and shared approach to fisheries and ecosystem management in the region.
• Co-ordinate existing GOAL blue economy projects in the region to ensure a coherent and integrated regional resilient Blue Economy program.
• Lead on project formulation for new concepts and project initiatives in the Blue Economy in the LAC Region.
• Identify and generate funding opportunities, and lead on developing and writing project proposals for the blue economy program, at both country and regional levels.
• Advise GOAL Country Directors and the Regional Director on the coordination and orientation of the current blue economy country programs, identifying project synergies and how they can be aligned in support of a coherent regional approach to the blue economy.
• Advise country technical teams in the implementation of blue economy projects as may be required.
• Explore new areas of intervention for expansion of the blue economy program in the region, engaging with key multi-lateral, bi-lateral and private sector funding bodies as required.

Coordination and Programme Management:

• • Lead the blue economy program at the regional level in close collaboration with the country directors/coordinators of GOAL LAC. Prepare and revise programme work plans as well as financial plans.
• Organise and motivate the blue economy monthly meetings, including regular calls with the Deputy Regional Director and country directors/coordinators and donors on the implementation of projects.
• Work closely with the regional finance officer on all financial and budgetary issues related to the regional blue economy projects.
• Develop and maintain relevant knowledge management systems and appropriate internal reporting systems.
• Participate in the national blue economy project meetings, technical meetings as well as regional and national workshops.

Knowledge Management, Regional Learning and Monitoring

• Provide opportunities for cross-country learning, sharing of lessons-learned and best practices, drawing from GOAL’s current blue economy projects and in close coordination with the project partners. Potential formats could be online and/or offline formats (such as study tours, exposure visits, conference, workshops, training, publications or videos).
• Ensure that technical aspects, models and methods applied, and results achieved at country level are documented, shared and known across countries to demonstrate the impact of the interventions.
• Support the documentation of lessons learned from the country and regional projects and provide recommendations for replication and up-scaling.
• Follow the project work plan to analyse the socio-environmental risks of the project, as well as risk mitigation plan (Environmental and Social Safeguards).
• Lead and contribute so that project technical activities are being effectively monitored and that their impacts across countries are reflected in annual project evaluations to (i) analyse project progress towards goals and learning objectives, (ii) communicate those findings externally (e.g. to donor, external partners) and internally (e.g. to project staff), (iii) enable adaptive learning and define actions to improve technical project implementation.
• Prepare and lead the preparation of relevant progress reports in compliance with the MEL guidelines.

Visibility and Representation

• Strengthen visibility of the LAC blue economy programme by sharing project results and experiences through participation at national and international events and fora as well as developing jointly with project partners’ all relevant communication materials.
• Liaise with and regularly exchange ideas with GOAL colleagues in the region and at HQ to engage and to represent GOAL’s Blue Economy programme as required.

Mínimum qualifications:

• Masters or advanced degree in agronomy, biology, or in a related scientific field.
• Or: Master or advanced degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on agriculture or in a blue-economy related field.
• Or Masters or advanced degree in marine science, marine resource management, international environmental policy, environmental economics, sustainable development or similar.

Professional experience:

• At least ten years’ experience in the blue economy value chain sector focused on artisanal or small-scale fisheries.
• A minimum of five years’ experience in preparing community and business capacity development plans.
• A minimum of five years’ experience writing and developing proposals and developing strategies for international cooperation programs in the blue economy or sustainable development.
• A strong background in strategic partnership development, business development and fundraising.
• Experience in project coordination and technical coordination in the region.
• Advisory experience in business development and value chains for community businesses.
• Prior knowledge of policies, strategies, institutional relations and the management of program funds in relation to the blue economy and sustainable development.
• Project management experience in the economic development of ethnic communities.
• Coordinator of international cooperation projects and management of strategic alliances for development programs.

Knowledge:

• Blue Economy
• Projects formulation
• Artisanal fisheries
• Territorial and economic governance
• Strategic design and planning
• Business devlopment
• Operational planning
• Fishing management plans
• Artisanal fishing business chains
• Traceability systems for artisanal fishing
• Territorial organization with an economic focus
• Territorial analysis and interpretation

Competencies:

• Fluency in at least two of the required languages (English, Spanish, French) and significant proficiency in the third. Haitian Creole would be a plus.
• Excellent writing skills (in at least two of the three languages).
• Ability to listen, to empathise and to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong business development and fundraising skills.
• Ability to engage with institutional and private sector donors at very senior levels.
• Proven leadership skills.
• Strong initiative and creativity.
• Flexibility and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Ability to work independently as well as within a cross-country team setting

Publish journal articles, develop and edit case studies and evidence-based reports, policy brief papers, etc.

Ability to adapt to working in volatile security contexts

Coordination and Reporting:

The postholder will report to the deputy regional director and co-ordinate with the GOAL Regional Director and other specialists as required.

Resources:

• The specialist will be provided with a physical space available to work at the GOAL office in the country of his/her location (ie, Honduras, Haiti or Colombia)
• GOAL will provide the necessary biosafety equipment to carry out project activites.

SAFEGUARDING

Children and adults in vulnerable situations must be protected to the greatest extent possible from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failures that put them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways GOAL shows this ongoing commitment to protection is by including rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN GOAL

Along with our protection policy, GOAL is an equal opportunity employer and has a set of integrity policies. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL is expected to adhere to the following key areas of responsibility:

• Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures regarding protection, the Code of Conduct, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behavior protocols.
• Report any concern about the well-being of a child or adult in a vulnerable situation, or any irregularity within our programming area.
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behavior by a GOAL staff or partner.

This position description serves only as a guide to the position available. GOAL reserves the right to modify this document. Published closing dates are estimated. Due to the nature of GOAL’s work, we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. This means that we will close the ads as soon as we find the right candidate, and this can be before the published closing date. Therefore, we encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.