BACKGROUND
The Country Representative is the head of IUCN’s operations in Brazil according to national legislation and under the legal status of the office in Brazil, fulfilling all the institutional IUCN policies, and has the overall responsibility of representing IUCN in Brazill and for the management of IUCN’s Programme in Brazil. S/he will be expected to work closely with the members – both governmental and non-governmental, and commission members to build relationships and collaborative arrangements with all appropriate partners.
The Country Representative will also be responsible to build a stronger organizational IUCN presence in Brazil leading to strengthening of the South America Region’s operations.
SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES:
1. Nurture and maintain an excellent relationship with the Government of Brazil; and ensure that all national legal requirements are valid at any given time;
2. Provide membership support and services including coordination, facilitation and support to the IUCN Brazil National Committee;
3. Actively work towards enhancing IUCN membership in Brazil;
4. Ensure effective relationships are developed, maintained and strengthened between IUCN, governmental, non-governmental, civil society, donors, private sector and other stakeholders, as well as with the international organisations based in Brazil;
5. Promote IUCN as the institution that assists Brazil members and other partners in building bridges with the Government, IUCN members and other institutions elsewhere in the world and of providing a neutral platform for debate;
6. Facilitate IUCN membership and Commissions network meetings that link the IUCN constituency in Brazil to the secretariat programmes and regional and global governance;
7. Ensure that the IUCN programme in the country is in alignment with IUCN’s global and regional priorities as well as to the national priorities;
8. Provide leadership in programme development aligned with the ‘One Programme’ approach and take responsibility for ensuring that funding for the programme is secured, and ensure that associated programme and project documentation is produced for fund-raising purposes. This will include supervision of country-specific project development activities and contribution to the development of integrated inter-country, regional and transboundary projects where and when appropriate;
9. Ensure that the IUCN Brazill Programme achieves scientific and technical integration with the Regional Programme Support Unit and the Natural Resources Group and with other country programmes in support of national and regional programme objectives;
10. Provide overall direction to and ensure efficient and cost effective implementation, coordination, and monitoring of IUCN’s programme in Brazil and the delivery of the expected results which contribute to the achievement of the South America Regional component of the IUCN Intersessional Programme; including the establishment of programme, financial, and administrative reporting schedules as required by relevant agreements and partners, and ensuring that these reporting schedules are adhered to;
11. Ensure that information and learning at the local level is utilized to impact on national policy and is fed into IUCN’s Knowledge Management systems to enable impacts on regional and global policies; and make regional and global knowledge available to support and inform national and local debate and decision making;
12. Maintain regular contacts with Members and other partners, with a view to exploring new areas of interest for the IUCN Programme and ensure effective coordination of all IUCN Secretariat contacts with all partners;
13. Effectively deploy the administrative, financial and technical resources available to the IUCN Secretariat Programme in Brazil, including the administration of the “Associação UICN”, according to its statutes and bylaws and ensure that these are used in conformity with relevant IUCN norms and standards, contributing to and benefiting from the integrated finance and technical resource model of the region, and provide or make available such support in this respect to IUCN units as may be necessary;
14. Ensure that regular support and inputs are provided to IUCN staff in Brazil through regular on-going performance management with a view to building up a diverse and integrated team of IUCN personnel in the country which is viewed and views itself as a component of a wider South America regional team;
15. Establish regular management ,administrative and programme reporting linkages to IUCN South America Regional Office in Ecuador, and with other IUCN programmes and administrative units or offices as required;
16. Lead in change management in the Country Office as and when new regional structures and systems adjustments are put in place to group or re-group Country Offices;
17. Provide support to the Regional Director on developing and implementing regional initiatives, as and when needed; and
18. Carry out any other relevant tasks as required by, and mutually agreed with, the line manager.
Please Note: The above Terms of Reference contain the main responsibilities and duties of this position. However in an ever evolving organization such as IUCN staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them but which are not part of their regular TORs.
REQUIREMENTS
SELECTION CRITERIA:
• A Master’s Degree in natural resources management, sustainable development or a similar field. Doctorate degree is highly desirable.
• At least 10 years of progressive experience in senior management roles within similar organisations in the geographical area of the office and experience working with international and multilateral organizations.
• A proven track record of managing adaptive organisations and handling complex operations and diverse teams with a special focus on strategic programme planning and project development.
• Proven programme and project development and fundraising skills. Extensive knowledge and experience with donor-funded programmes and projects.
• Excellent managerial, analytical, interpersonal, negotiating and team building skills. Demonstrable experience leading teams, providing feedback and guidance, and managing performance against agreed expected, measurable results.
• Knowledge of key conservation & development issues, government and donor networks in Brazil.
• Ability to work under pressure and to deal tactfully with sensitive political issues including experience of handling a cross-cultural work force in a multi cultural, multi disciplinary setting.
• Strong cultural awareness and sensitivity to social equity, such as gender and racial issues.
• Fluency in written and spoken Portuguese, English and Spanish, computer literacy and willingness to travel frequently.
APPLICATIONS
Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the “Apply” button: https://hrms.iucn.org/iresy/index.cfm?event=vac.show&vacId=1201&lang=en
Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST).
Other job opportunities are published in the IUCN website: http://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/