Wetlands International - Partnerships Manager Africa

Partnerships Manager, Africa March 2021

1 | Wetlands International - Partnerships Manager Africa

About Wetlands Wetlands are a foundation of life. But impacts on wetlands have been severe over the last decades, putting livelihoods and whole economies at risk and causing human health hazards to rise. This has contributed to the breakdown in the relationship between people and nature that gives rise to novel infectious diseases, like COVID-19.

But wetlands can be powerful solutions. By stepping up actions to safeguard and restore wetlands across whole landscapes, it is possible to regenerate local economies, improve human health, help to slow climate change, make clean water accessible, enhance biodiversity, and protect and cool our cities. ‘Wetland nature-based solutions’ help boost resilience in the face of increasing social and environmental fragility; are necessary for society to adapt to the climate emergency and are the basis for green recovery.

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About Wetlands International Wetlands International is the global authority and actor for wetlands, with a broad constituency and presence in all regions of the world. We are a global network of 20 independent offices that work together to safeguard and restore wetlands in more than 100 countries worldwide. The global office, based in the Netherlands, serves the network in representation, communications, technical support and fundraising, and by keeping the daily work of the network aligned.

We recently re-set our ambition and approach in our Strategic Intent 2020-2030. Our mission is to inspire and mobilise society to safeguard and restore wetlands for people and nature.

Over the period 2020-2030 we aim to long-term, high impact solutions applied to whole ecosystems and landscapes.

We plan to enable multiple returns for people and nature in ten large wetland landscapes, with a focus on mangroves, peatlands and freshwater wetlands. These are among the top global biodiversity treasures, sources of much of the world’s land-based climate emissions and where a large proportion of the worlds’ poor and vulnerable live. Through safeguarding and restoring these wetland landscapes at scale, we can fix these problems and make a big contribution to the Global Goals, 2030.

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STEP CHANGE Over 2021-2023 we are investing intensively in developing our organisation, so we have the full capabilities to deliver on our global ambition. By investing in our staff and facilitating collaboration across our network, we will increase our organisational effectiveness. By enhancing our fundraising and communications capacity we will be able to bring our evidence, stories and experience to the fore and develop opportunities for multiplying our successes in wetland landscape recovery. By working more intensively in global strategic alliances we will leverage more impact and benefit from shared learning platforms. Further, by capitalising on global policy incentives, we aim to elevate wetland solutions in public and private sector agendas and gain the political attention and traction needed to bring wetland solutions into economic recovery, climate action and development programmes. We will build in measures for institutional and financial resilience within these strategies.

Read our Annual Review 2019.

The Role TITLE:

Partnerships Manager, Africa

REPORTS TO:

Employment via Africa office with day-to-day support from the Heads of Office; strategic supervision from the Global Office

CONTRACT:

Full time

LOCATION:

Flexible in Africa (likely Dakar, Senegal or Nairobi, Kenya)

START DATE:

As soon as possible

TRAVEL:

Regular extensive travel within Africa, supporting all sub-regional offices

The Partnerships Manager for Africa will support stepping up Wetlands work to inspire and mobilise society, working within and across strategic partnerships globally to secure and enhance wetland landscapes as a basis for green recovery and a prosperous, healthy society.

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Purpose of the role The Partnerships Manager will be responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with partners and donors to enable the financing of Wetlands International’s leading continental initiatives. The post holder will be responsible for supporting the execution of key elements of Africa Strategy, and a step change in the organisation’s fundraising efforts in Africa.

The post-holder will bring strong fundraising acumen and programming experience, being able to identify donor opportunities, facilitate donor engagement, assist in the development of fundraising strategies, and coordinate proposal development for large and strategic funding opportunities. They will nurture the interest of international donors and coordinate and motivate collaboration amongst offices and partners on fundraising in Africa and Europe.

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Central to the role will be building an effective and innovative pipeline of proposals focused on Wetlands International’s priority initiatives and programmes Initially the focus will be to mobilise the partnership and finance for the “Blue Lifelines for a Secure Sahel” (BLiSS) initiative, enabling finance for wetland conservation and restoration propositions in key river catchments and wetland areas from Senegal to Ethiopia. Additionally, he/she will coordinate and enable upscaling of the Mangrove Capital Africa initiative.

Jane Madgwick Chief Executive Officer

Responsibilities and tasks • Contribute to the shaping and communication of strategies for mobilising and upscaling continental initiatives in the Africa Strategy, with an initial focus on “Blue Lifelines for a Secure Sahel” and Mangrove Capital Africa.

• Work with staff and ambassadors to establish a broad envelope of political and operational partners and alliances across the region, identifying and opening up opportunities for resourcing Africa-wide initiatives.

• In coordination with the wider fundraising and technical team and partners, identify and engage with donors to enable finance of a portfolio of programme concepts, driving forward our donor and partnership relationships and converting opportunities available into concrete action to enable Wetlands to drive the change we want to see.

• Engage with partners in Europe and Africa to help create an enabling policy and investment environment in countries, companies, regional conventions and donor institutions.

Profile The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience and networks in mobilising partnerships and finance for complex, large-scale programmes that connect science, policy and practice in the field of natural resource management in Africa. S/he will have active, current networks in Europe and internationally, will be highly organized and used to working within and across different cultures, with excellent communication skills.

To be considered for this role you will ideally come to us with experience working in a fundraising setting and have a good understanding of the important elements of managing corporate relationships and strategic partnerships. You will ideally have experience adopting a systematic approach to generating and managing leads, and a passion for the conservation issues at the heart of Wetlands International.

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Education and Experience • Relevant education to a minimum of Masters level in relevant field • At least 10 years of relevant experience in an internationally operating organisation in Africa.

• Demonstrated successful experience in acquiring sizeable funds from different donor communities, such as trusts, foundations, governmental agencies, corporate companies, and relevant EU institutions.

• Management experience; demonstrated management capability (with experience in field and management roles).

• Experience of working in a project based/funded organization, and/or • Experience of working in a technical or science-based organization, and/or • Experience of working in an international (environmental) NGO. • Working knowledge of relevant IT systems.

• Fluent language skills (written and oral) in French and English.

• Existing donor and partner networks relevant to Wetlands International’s field of work in Africa.

• Effective interpersonal skills with a facilitative and service-oriented style.

• Ability to write clearly and persuasively to a wide range of different target donors and supporters.

• Ability to work across cultures.

Other Aspects The Partnerships Manager will have an external orientation, and operate within the context of a global team of fundraisers while being an integral staff member of the African network of offices. S/he will work closely with each of the three subregional Directors (West Coast, Sahel and Eastern Africa) as well as with the global Resource Development Manager and European Fundraising Coordinator. Regarding the BLiSS initiative, there will be close engagement with the Director of the Sahel Office (based in Bamako) and the Senior Advocacy Officer there. Engaging in strategic regional and sub-regional meetings and helping to shape programme development, s/he will work with programme staff from and Africa team and Global Office, as well as partners, donors and other key stakeholders.

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“

Bringing wetlands back into a healthier condition on a large scale will transform lives and livelihoods. With water sources and stores intact, we can recover freshwater supplies and withstand unpredictable rains. Cities will become cooler and wild fires less likely. Crop production and fisheries can recover and diversify as biodiversity and water flows will be restored.

Coastal settlements and cities can be safe from the impacts of storms and sea-level rise. Climate change will slow down as carbon is locked up in wetlands. People’s spirit will be enriched and refreshed by nature that is flourishing once again.

Jane Madgwick Chief Executive Officer

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How to apply Before applying, please check that you can answer yes to all the following questions: • Do you have demonstrated experience and networks in raising sizeable funds for complex, large-scale programmes?

• Are you fluent in English and French?

• Do you have a passion for the people and nature issues at the heart of Wetlands International’s mission?

If you cannot answer yes to these questions, please do not apply, as we will be unable to progress your application.

If you can answer yes to all the above questions, then please click here to apply.

There you will need to complete a short application form and submit an up-to-date curriculum vitae (of no more than 2-3 pages), and a cover letter. Please prepare your CV and cover letter before applying as they will be requested at the end of the application form. The documents should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last NameDocument Name-Date (mmyyyy) e.g., Malika Cook-CV-032021ActionAgainstHunger.

The cover letter should be no more than 2 pages long – bullet points are acceptable. It should explain: • why you are interested in this particular role.

• why you are interested in Wetlands International • specifically how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

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Timeline

Closing date: Preliminary interviews: Final panel interviews:

23rd May 2021 Last week of May 2021 First week of June 2021

Equality statement

Equality and diversity are at the core of Wetlands International’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

Selection process

All candidates will be notified about the status of their applications. We advise applicants to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder. Shortlisted candidates may be required to undertake an additional assessment prior to the final interview.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email wetlands.internationalapm@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.

About Oxford HR Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors.

We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy.

Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our clients.

Oxford HR’s team members have significant personal experience of working in international development and the social sector as well as the corporate and governmental sectors. We are in a unique position to find and assess talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds.

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OXFORD

LONDON

AMSTERDAM

NAIROBI

46 Woodstock Road

Three Tuns House,

Korte Schimmelstraat 12

Watermark Business Park

Oxford

109 Borough High Street,

1053 SZ

Cove Court,

OX2 6HT

London

Amsterdam

1st Floor

SE1 1NL

Ndege Road off Langata Road

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The Netherlands

Kenya

+44 (0) 1865 985 457

+44 (0)20 7939 7451

+31 (0) 683 334 473

+254 (0) 797 233 217

www.oxfordhr.co.uk | Company No. 6456325

11 | Wetlands International - Partnerships Manager Africa