Wetlands International is the only NGO dedicated to the safeguarding and restoration of wetlands. At the heart of our vision is a plan to demonstrate whole landscape recovery in large wetland landscapes across mangroves, peatlands and freshwater wetlands across the world.
Senior Programme Developer – Building with Nature Asia
Reporting to: Resource Development Manager; accountable for results to Programme Head, Coasts and Deltas with supervision by the Head of Office in the country where the position is based.
Full-time/Part-time: Full-time
Location: One of the Wetlands International offices in Asia (Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, or Jakarta); other locations can be considered for exceptional candidates.
Salary: Competitive, depending on expertise/experience.
Joining forces with Boskalis towards sustainable engineering
Wetlands International and Boskalis are joining hands towards enhancing sustainability in coastal and water infrastructure development. As a part of this institutional partnership, Wetlands International is looking for a Senior Programme Developer to join its Coasts and Deltas team and the Building with Nature Initiative.
Wetlands International and Boskalis are both active in a network of international public and private partners in the framework of the global Building with Nature innovation programme. Wetlands International are currently developing the Building with Nature Asia Initiative. This is a groundbreaking 10-year initiative that promotes large-scale adoption of nature-based solutions in water engineering across Asia, focusing on both rural and urban environments. With political partners from 5 target countries, we are developing dedicated national programmes as well as regional thematic work packages on science, policy, communications, and capacity building. The initiative addresses barriers to adoption of nature-based solutions and stimulates multi-billion Euro investment in tangible landscape-scale propositions for Building with Nature.
This position is established in tandem with a Programme Coordinator that will be hired by our corporate partner Boskalis. This set up offers a unique opportunity to build out a public-private initiative, by connecting NGO and corporate environments and strengthening the institutional partnership that was established between Boskalis and Wetlands International in 2020.
About Building with Nature
Building with Nature is an engineering approach that applies traditional civil engineering measures alongside ecosystem restoration and conservation measures in support of sustainable and climate-resilient coastal development. Instead of ‘fighting’ nature with dams and dykes, Building with Nature solutions work with and along the dynamics of nature. For example, by allowing river flows and sea currents to reinforce the coast-line with sediment. Or by restoring ecosystems so that they once more provide protection against extreme events and offer valuable ‘natural capital’ in the form of shell-fish, timber and recreational opportunities. Building with Nature solutions are adaptive, and typically cheaper to construct and maintain, compared to static infrastructure solutions (Rijkswaterstaat 2014). The environmental co-benefits enable more productive and multi-functional land-use. Local stakeholders are involved in design, construction and maintenance of measures. Building with Nature solutions come in many different shapes and forms. Coastal solutions may consist of levees, lined with wetland foreshores and oyster reefs further down the coast. Delta solutions may involve restored floodplains that capture flood waters alongside embanked urban centers. Various groups have been demonstrating these approaches including the Ecoshape consortium, PIANC and the US Army corps of engineers. Building with Nature fits within the broader definition of nature-based solutions, more specifically representing interventions that are related to hydraulic and water engineering practice.
Purpose of the role
The Senior Programme Developer will drive programme development together with the multi-party teams that are operating in each country, adding energy, expertise and ideas to ensure that fundable propositions are generated and discussed with donors in the coming 2 years. The Programme Developer will also facilitate resource mobilization for the Building with Nature Asia programme, working with Resource Development staff and Heads of Office towards a fundraising target of 30-50 million euros for a five-year programme phase. The Programme Developer is expected to develop a fundraising strategy, set-up and maintain a network of bilateral and multilateral funding agencies, organize donor dialogues and ensure engagement and buy-in from Building with Nature Asia partners, coordinating closely with the Communications and Advocacy team across the network organisation.
Responsibilities and tasks
- Develops a business development plan and fundraising strategy for the mobilization of Building with Nature Asia, including for individual geographic and thematic programme components
- Oversees and drives proposal development processes and ensures coordination and buy-in among core partners
- Performs donor scoping and establishes strategies for donor engagement
- Materializes a network with bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, financial and investment institutions (Asia and global) with an interest in green infrastructure
- Organises dialogues with donors and investors from public and private sector to pitch the Building with Nature Asia programme, nurturing invitations for proposals on specific components of the Building with Nature Asia programme (e.g. knowledge development, demonstration projects, training programmes)
- Tracks and identifies relevant open calls for proposals and invitations to tender and ensures follow up as appropriate
Working relations
INSIDE WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL
Reporting to Resource Development Manager; Accountable for results to the Programme Head Coasts and Deltas at the Global Office, with secondary accountability to the Heads of Office engaged in the Building with Nature Asia initiative (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and South Asia). Daily supervision and support will be provided by the Head of Office of the country where the Programme Developer is based and employed.
WITHIN BwN Asia core partnership:
Accountable to the BwN Asia Management Team, working in close collaboration with leaders of the partner organisations, and their staff responsible for strategy, technical issues, and communications.
OUTSIDE BwN Asia core partnership:
Partner organisations from the Ecoshape network, regional implementation partners to the initiative and political partners in the target countries; global stakeholders involved in the promotion of nature-based solutions including corporates, NGOs and multilateral and government agencies; donor community.
Profile
The Programme Developer is an entrepreneurial matchmaker, with extensive working experience in Asia, excellent networking, donor, and partner stewardship and representational skills, and a demonstrated track record for securing multimillion Euro budgets for innovative projects in environment, development and engineering domains. S/he has an established, active network among donor agencies and investors and brings in expertise in the development of business cases, fundraising strategies, and subsequent acquisition amongst public and private donors and investors. The Developer is an excellent relationship manager and team player, with experience in the coordination of processes in complex partnerships that span across cultures and disciplines.
Education and experience
- MSc qualification in a relevant discipline (economics, environmental science, engineering)
- At least 10 years of experience and positive track record in business development, program development and fundraising
- An extensive, active network of bi- and multilateral donor agencies (national foreign aid departments, climate funds, private foundations) and investors (development banks, private finance) and a proven track record of successful acquisitions
- Up to date knowledge and insights on key developments in the fields of development and climate finance and investment in the infrastructure sector
- Experienced communicator and advocate who can confidently pitch the Building with Nature vision and programme to different target audiences
- Extensive working experience in Asia and knowledge of the socio-economic, political and cultural context of the region
- Excellent interpersonal skills and experience with working in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments
- Basic working knowledge of Building with Nature/ Nature-based solutions, including on implementation models, barriers and enablers to mainstreaming and upscaling of the approach
- Language: excellent communications skills in English essential: written, oral and presentation;
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly;
- Commitment to the overall ambitions of the Building with Nature programme
Preferred:
- Active network among public and private institutions involved in the domain of nature-based solutions;
- Written and oral command in one or more of the languages in the target countries (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines);
Core competencies:
- Analytical Thinking – Adopts a systems perspective, assessing and balancing vast amounts of diverse information on the varied systems and subsystems that comprise and affect the working environment.
- Entrepreneurship – Transforms innovative ideas into actions that achieve business or people results.
- Accuracy – Consistently delivers work of a high standard of quality, precision and according to standards, procedures, rules, regulations and expectations.
- Planning and Organizing – Adapts to large, complex and/or frequent changes. Ability to get things done under pressure (result oriented), while maintaining oversight and planning.
- Organizational and Environmental Awareness – Demonstrates broad understanding of social and economic context within which the organization operates.
- Teamwork – Facilitates collaboration across the organization and with other organizations to achieve a common goal.
How to apply
To apply for this vacancy, please send us a resume and an application letter indicating your motivation to Jozefa van der Veen, HR Officer [email protected]. Please mark in the subject: “Application – Programme Developer BwN Asia”. Questions about the vacancy and/or procedure can also be sent to this email address.
Deadline for the application is Sunday 12 September 2021. Interviews will take place in the week commencing 27 September 2021.
Due to the high amount of applications, we can only contact short listed candidates.
Senior Programme Developer – Building with Nature Asia
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