Chief of Party, TREPA At International Union for Conservation of Nature

THIS POSITION IS OPEN TO RWANDA NATIONALS OR PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF RWANDA ONLY ON LOCAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.

BACKGROUND:

IUCN is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and works closely with the GCF Secretariat, Governments, Civil Society, Private Sector and partner Organizations to identify, design and implement projects that meet the GCF’s ambitious standards. After three years of detailed design and development, the GCF board formally approved IUCN’s “Transforming Eastern Province Through Adaptation” project (TREPA) during its Board meeting of 2nd July 2021.

The Project intends to restore 60,000 ha of drought-degraded landscapes into climate resilient ecosystems through re-forestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasturelands, and soil erosion control measures in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Irrigation infrastructures in the targeted landscapes of the eastern province will be climate-proofed by the project. These projects under MINAGRI could include Export Targeted Modern Irrigation (ETI) in Mpanga (600 ha) and Mahama (1200 ha), Kayonza Irrigation and Integrated Watershed management Project in Kayonza (2000 ha), Warufu- Mugesera in Gatsibo and Ngoma as well as Rurambi dyke in Bugesera.

In addition, the project will promote improved clean and efficient cooking energy technologies to more than 100,000 households in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The project will also develop climate resilient markets and supply chains to incentivize public and private investments in forests, rangelands and agroforestry. The agriculture value chains that face key constraints at different stages will be supported. For instance, the project on sustainable agricultural intensification and food security project implemented by MINAGRI could be supported to increase agricultural productivity, market access, and food security of the targeted beneficiaries in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Some of the agricultural value chains to be supported could include banana, beans, maize, and dairy commodities.

The project will finally support the national and local institutions to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels. The project duration is 6 years under implementation of IUCN (accredited entity) together with Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA) and Enabel as executing entities in partnership with ICRAF, World Vision, and CordAid.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direct supervision of the Country Representative – IUCN Rwanda and the IUCN Regional Head, Land Systems for GCF related matters, and in close consultation with the Global Programme Manager of the GCF Programme in IUCN, the Chief of Party (CoP) is responsible for the overall management of the TREPA project on behalf of the Accredited Entity and within the strategic guidance by the Project Steering Committee (PSC) chaired by Ministry of Environment of the Government of Rwanda.

The CoP will provide technical leadership and support to the implementation of the different project activities, and in doing so will work to ensure coherence with the TREPA project framework developed at the national Project Management Unit (PMU) and district levels (coordination/implementation) hubs with relevant parties. The CoP will oversee the overall monitoring of the use of funds and the procurement plan. S/he will be Head of the Project Management Unit (PMU) and will be supported by Programme Managers of different components, Senior Finance Officer and a Project Administrator. In addition, s/he will provide guidance on the strategic direction of the project to other project management unit staff (i.e. Coordinators, Administration and finance) and technical experts recruited to deliver project activities. S/he will ensure proper monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities. The CoP will also serve as the Secretary of the Project Steering Committee, which is comprised of key stakeholders and project partners.

The position requires significant coordination skills, broad general and technical knowledge, experience in the region, and skills to ensure coherence and consistency in spite of urgent deadlines.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

I)Manage the overall implementation of the TREPA Project activities:

• Support the project start-up process, including: the hiring of key staff, the establishment of the governance structure of the project at the national and county levels, schedule kick-off meetings, and guidance on GCF policies and monitoring requirements;
• Develop annual activity and procurement work plans, as well as budgets based on expected year-end outputs, and ensure close monitoring of activities and delivery;
• Work closely with the finance team on matters including financial planning, expenditure tracking, sub-contracting to Executing Entities to ensure IUCN policies are applied and GCF requirements are followed;
• Follow up on: 1) the compliance of project implementation with GCF policies, IUCN policies and safeguards 2) the performance of the projects with the target indicators, logical framework, workplan and budget through regular reporting and on-site supervision missions;
• Work with project staff to receive, review and synthesize monitoring information to support adaptive management and ensure timely compliance with internal and GCF monitoring and reporting requirements, especially to produce the GCF annual performance reports (APRs);
• Prepare any required updates / summaries on the projects and participate in project-related meetings with the GCF, government, executing entity partners etc.
• Supervise personnel engaged in delivering aspects of the project

II)Coordinate partnership with key stakeholders

• Develop and coordinate the Project Management Unit (PMU);
• Build, maintain and manage effective working relationships with consortium members. Ensure that each consortium partner is performing to the highest standards, support project objectives and targets, and comply with GCF rules and regulations;
• Serve as the single point of contact and project representative with partners and external stakeholders;
• Ensure continuous liaison with the relevant Government agencies, NGOs, Civil Society and IUCN.

III)Provide technical advice and support to the implementation of the Project activities

• Provide technical inputs to the implementation of the different project activities and outputs – by providing technical inputs to workshop presentations, to studies, to advisory services and to other activities and outputs of the project;
• Provide technical support and back-up services to project managers;
• Prepare, in consultation with the partners, TORs for consultants and comment on their reports;
• Oversee all cross-cutting activities and ensure their strong support of and synergy with technical implementation objectives and vision, including, but not limited to: communications and outreach; Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL), knowledge management; and, gender and social inclusion;
• Monitor and report the implementation of environmental and social risk management measures through the programme cycle.

IV)Monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the overall Project deliverables

• Carry out regular follow-up and monitoring of implementation activities;
• Carry out regular monitoring and reporting on risks and mitigation measures;
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of required reports, including bi-annual progress and expenditure reports, per the requirements of GCF;
• Provide regular updates on the project’s progress where possible for all parties and reporting requirements;
• Facilitate independent evaluations.

V)Other responsibilities:

• Fundraising and programme development support;
• Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Education;

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resources Management, Policy, Agriculture, Finance, Economics, Project Management, or other relevant subject.

Work Experience;

• Ten (10) years or more of progressively responsible national/region work experience implementing large multi-partner programs with demonstrated strong management and coordinating skills;
• At least five (5) years of management experience, including direct supervision of professional and support staff and assembling teams working on multi-faceted programs;
• Expertise and experience in climate change and relevant sectors such as energy, agriculture, water and cross-cutting issues such as gender, environmental and social impact assessments;
• Experience leading teams in the country/region and proven ability to establish productive working relationships with multi-sectoral partners/counterparts/stakeholders;
• Experience in gender mainstreaming in programmes;
• Experience in programme design, monitoring and evaluation.

Language Proficiency;

• Fluency in both written and spoken English and Kinyarwanda.

Core Competencies;

• Transparency: Able to build trust and contribute to informed and responsible decision making by carrying out the work of IUCN in a transparent manner; provides clear guidance to ensure that objectives and desired measurable results are understood by members of the team.
• Inclusiveness: Understands and accepts cultural diversity, and provide a tolerant, positive and supportive working environment that fosters respect for diversity, demonstrates ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
• Professionalism: Promote the organization’s interests, objectives and values in a diligent and professional manner.
• Accountability: Takes responsibility of individual and collective actions, promotes the IUCN One Programme approach.

Functional competencies;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills including ability to summarize complex donor programs;
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact effectively with all levels of staff and partners from diverse cultural backgrounds;
• Capability to develop and implement effective strategies and tactics for accomplishing assigned duties.
• Demonstrated ability to think critically and synthetically across fields and topics;
• Strong ability to work independently and/or remotely, while maintaining productivity;
• Demonstrated ability to work in team environments and cultivate productive partnerships across a diversity of stakeholders;
• Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches which expand the range of projects;
• Proven networking, team building, organizational and communication skills.
• Clear commitment to fostering a culture of high performance and accountability, demonstrated in the ability to manage by results,
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills:
• Committed to continuous learning and proactive and mature attitude towards self-development;
• Willingness to travel.