Component Manager – Strengthening Sargassum management and recovery sectors (M/F) At Expertise France

Mission Description

The Sargassum Sector Support Manager will report to the Project Manager in Fort-de-France.

Based in Fort-de-France in Martinique, the Sargassum Sector Support Manager ensures, under the supervision of the Project Manager, the detailed planning and operational and budgetary monitoring of the activities of Component 2 of the project, as well as the relationship with the implementation partners of this component. In this context, the main missions entrusted to the Sargassum Sector Support Manager are as follows:

Strengthening public-private governance capacities and mechanisms:

– In conjunction with the technical assistance officer deployed to the OECS,
o assesses the needs for technical capacity building and equipment of public, private and public-private stakeholders in the various thematic areas relevant to Sargassum management;
o supports the OECS, the project implementation partner, in defining its activities to strengthen public policies, the technical and equipment capacities of public stakeholders and governance mechanisms in the 4 target islands;
o ensures consistency between the activities implemented by the OECS and the other activities of component 2.
– In conjunction with the expertise on environmental and social risks, ensures the training of component 2 partners (OECS and project leaders selected under the Call for Proposal) on the reduction and management of environmental and social risks and on the development of sustainable economic models;
– Develops tools to integrate the gender dimension into the planning and implementation of public policies for Sargassum management;
– In conjunction with the grants officer, ensures that project leaders take ownership of the administrative and financial procedures for EF grants;

Granting of subsidies within the framework of a call for projects (CFP):

– Prepares the call for projects concerning the structuring of sargassum management and development sectors: analyzes, on the basis of existing studies, the needs of the sectors in the 4 target countries and the environmental and social risks linked to the management and development of sargassum, drafts the terms of reference of the call for projects including specific provisions to strengthen the inclusion of women and the management of environmental and social risks of subsidized projects, defines the financing schemes and the schedule for implementing the subsidies (with the support of the grant officer), defines the eligibility and selection criteria, formalizes the selection committee;
– Supports the dissemination of the call for projects in conjunction with the grant officer;
– Supervises the evaluation and selection process of project leaders;
– Contributes to monitoring compliance with the procedures in force;
– Selects projects based on eligibility criteria such as the economic, social and environmental viability of the project, the management of environmental and social risks related to the intervention;
– Examines the selected projects and reviews the contracts and internal documentation necessary for the award.

Operational monitoring of the implementation of grant contracts:

– Ensures the operational monitoring of subsidized projects, the support of project leaders and the proper execution of procedures;
– Ensures the implementation of necessary prevention and risk reduction measures, in conjunction with the environmental and social risk management expert;
– Supports the organization of monitoring committees and the organization of field visits;
– Controls and validates the technical reports of project leaders and the receipt of deliverables.

Monitoring of administrative and financial execution:

– In conjunction with the grant officer:
o Monitors the consistency of financial reports;
o Monitors compliance with EF administrative procedures by the partner(s) (purchases and procurement, supporting documents, etc.);
o Supports the preparation of annual grant audits in conjunction with the admin/finance team and partner focal points.
– Consolidates monthly budget monitoring for component 2 of the project (budget allocations, consistency of commitment monitoring, forecast);

Monitoring and evaluation:

– Supports the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation plan;
– Supports evaluation missions in the field;
– Supports the project capitalization process.

Project description or context

CONTEXT

Expertise France is the public agency for the design and implementation of international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four priority areas:

• democratic, economic and financial governance;
• peace, stability and security;
• climate, agriculture and sustainable development;
• health and human development.

In these areas, Expertise France provides engineering and implementation missions for capacity building projects, mobilization of technical expertise as well as a project management function involving public expertise and private know-how.

With a volume of activity of 324 million euros, more than 500 projects in its portfolio in around a hundred countries, Expertise France places its action within the framework of France’s policy of solidarity, influence and economic diplomacy.

In the Caribbean, Expertise France mainly intervenes within the framework of regional projects in order to support States in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity.

Launched in 2023 following the success of EUROCLIMA in Latin America, the “EUROCLIMA Caribbean” program contributes to the green transition of the region through climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts and the protection and conservation of biological diversity in the Caribbean.

Expertise France is also implementing the RESEMBID program in the region in favor of resilience, sustainable energy and marine biodiversity as well as the Green Overseas program which aims to accelerate the energy transition and increase the climate resilience of overseas countries and territories.

Funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Sargassum Regional Management and Coordination Project aims to encourage regional cooperation dynamics in the Caribbean and to support small island developing states in structuring a framework for the management and development of Sargassum.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The aim of the project is to minimise and limit the negative impacts of Sargassum strandings on local economies, communities and coastal ecosystems. To achieve this, the project includes three main components and one cross-cutting component:

1. Strengthen regional cooperation in the Caribbean around Sargassum planning and management approaches, contributing to the emergence of common advocacy. This component aims to engage communities of practice and capitalize on experiences and knowledge developed at all levels of the Sargassum management chain: forecasting and monitoring of Sargassum drift, collection methods, pre-treatment and characterization of Sargassum components, transport, storage, and their valorization into marketable products.

2. Assisting Caribbean small island states (Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) to implement integrated Sargassum management and recovery operations. In partnership with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), this component aims to strengthen the capacities of public and private stakeholders in Sargassum management operations. This component will define and deploy a roadmap for the organization of collection operations through the training and equipment of the personnel involved, the development of early warning mechanisms for coastal communities and coordination with transporters, the development of suitable pre-treatment systems, and the storage of biomass in secure sites. To support private stakeholders in structuring Sargassum recovery sectors, the project will launch a call for projects in the 4 targeted islands.

3. Support regional scientific cooperation to maximize the global understanding of the Sargassum phenomenon and feed the development of public policies validated by research. The project will deploy a network of collective expertise aimed at bringing together a group of scientists and experts from different Caribbean research centers in order to mobilize all the knowledge and establish a scientific consensus on the complex issues raised by Sargassum. In addition, the project will launch a Call for Research Projects in order to strengthen the regional dynamics of scientific cooperation and the implementation of concrete valorization solutions adapted to the Caribbean context.

The project also includes a cross-cutting outcome on gender, aiming to integrate the gender dimension into integrative sargassum management operations.

The main implementing partners of the project will be:

• The OECS: a direct grant will be awarded to the OECS for the implementation of certain activities of component 2 and component 1, focused on strengthening public policies on Sargassum, governance and the technical and equipment capacities of public actors mobilized on Sargassum.
• Private or public-private actors in the Sargassum management/development sectors who will be beneficiaries of grants via a Call for Projects for the development of sustainable and lasting economic models for the management/development of Sargassum in the 4 intervention islands of component 2.
• The Research and Development Institute (IRD), which will ensure a synthesis of current scientific knowledge on Sargassum (Collective Scientific Expertise system) and the production of science-based recommendations for policy makers.
• The laboratories and research centers of the different research centers present in the Caribbean and Central America which will benefit from subsidies within the framework of component 3, involved in the call for research projects of component 3.

THE PROJECT TEAM

Situation/position: Operations Department – ​​Sustainable Development Department – ​​Biodiversity Division

A specific team will be deployed in Fort-de-France and Saint Lucia. This will be composed of:

• In Fort-de-France, Martinique:
o A project manager in charge of technical and operational management
o A Sargassum Sector Support Manager (Component 2)
o A grants officer
o A scientific capitalization and valorization mission officer
o An administrative and financial manager

• In Saint Lucia:
o A Technical Assistance Officer with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

• Specific expertise based in the Caribbean:
o An expert in Environmental and Social Risk Management
o A SERA (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) expert
o A Gender expert

Desired profile

Training

– Master 2 or equivalent in political science, international relations, biology, conservation biology, development economics, agronomy, environment, geography;
– Additional training on the following topics is an asset: valorization of biomass or waste, conservation and management of the marine and coastal environment.

Experiences

– Minimum 7 years of general professional experience in the implementation of international cooperation projects or programs;
– Operational experience and solid knowledge in the sector of preservation and/or restoration of biodiversity and marine and coastal ecosystems, threatened and/or endangered species;
– Experience in setting up and managing calls for projects, managing and awarding grants in the context of international cooperation projects;
– Experience desired in conducting activities and engaging the private sector in the context of cooperation projects.
– Experience on multi-country and multi-actor projects or programs;
– Experience desired on cooperation projects/programs in the Caribbean.

SKILLS

– Very good knowledge of the problem of Sargassum in the Caribbean, of the different approaches to Sargassum management, of the recovery sectors, of the regulatory framework;
– Knowledge of the basic issues of gender equality and/or Human Rights in the sector of biodiversity and ecosystem protection is an asset;
– Excellent interpersonal skills, sense of diplomacy;
– Excellent organizational skills;
– Strong capacity for autonomy, adaptation; responsiveness and flexibility; teamwork;
– Ability to work fluently in English and French (written and oral), mastery of Spanish is an asset;
– Perfect mastery of office software.