Climate Resilience Lead – USAID/East Africa Transboundary Ecosystem Restoration Activity at Palladium International

The Climate Resilience Lead will lead a team of technical experts tasked with ensuring that landscape restoration efforts in the regional landscapes integrate best-practice nature based solutions that are commercially viable and bring economic benefits to local communities, particularly women and youth. This individual will design and implement the program’s strategy for achieving key climate resilience targets, and have an in-depth understanding of climate risks and vulnerabilities in East Africa, familiarity with market-driven approaches to improving community-level resilience, and a network of partners in the public and/or private sector to advance resilience-building activities alongside local actors. The Climate Resilience Lead’s responsibilities include oversight and coordination of a lean team along with field operations, budgeting management, human resources, and local recruitment. This position will be based in either Nairobi, Kenya or Arusha, Tanzania.

*This is an anticipated project, and all positions are contingent upon award from USAID. * 

Primary responsibilities:

The Climate Resilience Lead will:

• Serve as a member of the senior leadership team of the program and support the COP in leadership and oversight of project staff and activities. As such, provide senior leadership, management oversight, and coordination on all matters project wide.
• Inform selection of restoration sites, project partners, and NbS used to generate conservation, climate, and community benefits in the focus landscapes.
• Oversee integration of livelihood and resilience considerations into landscape restoration and transboundary landscape management efforts.
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders from national and regional institutions, local communities, and the private sector to foster country-driven, inclusive, locally relevant strategies to improve and assure climate resilience and sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices.
• Lead development of resilience-related inputs for work plans, budgets, and quarterly/annual reports.
• Ensure effective implementation of program strategy as articulated in the work plan.
• Inform the setting of annual and 5-year program targets against relevant indicators, and maintain responsibility for achieving or exceeding those targets on time and in budget.
• Work with the COP and other project staff to continuously refine implementation processes by integrating lessons learned and best practices.
• In collaboration with the M&E team, ensure relevant staff use, maintain and regularly upload data to the project M&E system.
• Participate in and/or prepare necessary project-related reports, including presentations and white papers.
• Provide analytical and evaluative techniques to identify, consider, and resolve issues or problems.
• Participate, and represent the organization as needed, in outside associations, conferences, and symposia.
• Undertake other duties as assigned by the COP. 

Required qualifications

• A degree in environmental science, ecosystem management, climate change, sustainable development, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement sustainable and scalable strategies for improving climate resilience, preferably in East Africa.
• Experience with activity implementation and monitoring, preferably in USAID-funded projects. 
• Experience with a donor, contractor or international NGO in a relevant sector such as natural resources management, climate change, climate finance, and/or resilient livelihoods. 
• Proven ability to leverage and manage partnerships with government, private sector, and/or civil society partners in implementing donor-funded projects preferred.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including presentation experience to high-level audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and management skills.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically, ability to manage a culturally and linguistically diverse set of staff, consultants, and counterparts.
• Attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities, often within a required timeframe.
• Professional and diplomatic demeanor and conduct, especially during interactions with the client and government stakeholders.
• East African nationals with relevant experience are encouraged to apply.