Job Title: Project Manager- Conservation International

December 17, 2022

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

POSITION SUMMARY – This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya

The Project Manager/Lead will primarily be responsible for the overall management of the Accelerating REDD+ in Kenya for equitable climate mitigation and benefits (ClimateARK) project funded by the UK Government.

The Project manager will provide technical and programmatic support and oversight for several projects and grants. The manager will manage all aspects of the project’s life cycle including project planning, work plans, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on deliverables and project status. They will ensure compliance with project standards, donor requirements, and project alignment with institutional priorities. They will also advise on adaptive management strategies and capacity-building needs to ensure project success. They will represent CI as a key technical resource and build alliances/engage key external stakeholders including government and NGO officials, donors, partners, and others critical to project success. They will be the key contact point and relationship manager for ClimateARK consortium partners, and work hand in hand with the Grant Manager on donor relations.

The Project Manager will manage and monitor project budgets in cooperation with the Finance and Grants manager and write donor reports as required. They will collaborate on and lead efforts to secure project funding, expand the project pipeline and manage funding relationships with key partners.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead Project Management and oversight for the ClimateARK project, including ensuring timely delivery of activities, deliverables, and reporting thereof.
Delivery of a number of deliverables for the ClimateARK project.
Act as the contact point on REDD+ and related areas for Government engagement, including managing close coordination with different Government entities
Provides expert technical guidance and input on REDD+, REDD+ nesting, Article 6, and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the successful delivery of programs.
Oversee partner management, both operationally as well as technically, including Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning elements
Ensure proactive and positive donor relations and respond quickly to donor needs.
Work closely with colleagues to integrate project successes into national policies and reporting (e.g. in NDCs).
Lead capacity building and dissemination of lessons learned where and when relevant, both internally within CI as well as externally.
Fulfill other climate and carbon-related requirements as relevant.

PEOPLE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervise employees or a program.
Manage project budget and ensure approvals for key decisions as required.
Ensure compliance with donor requirements as stipulated in the agreement.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Frequent travel to project activities in Kenya and other areas as may be expected.
Ability to work extended work hours to meet project deadlines.
Guidance on flexible work arrangements will be shared during the interview process.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

Bachelor’s degree in Climate science or other relevant fields.
4 to 6 years or more related work experience.
Direct project management experience, preferably in the conservation, advocacy, or related arena.
Excellent technical and analytical skills.
Excellent organization and time management skills.
Up to 2 years of experience supervising and motivating multi-disciplinary teams.
Team player and able to work effectively with diverse works groups in a multicultural environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
A record of success in influencing and partnering with key stakeholders.
Ability to work well under pressure, set priorities, and deliver quality results.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and under minimal supervision.
In-depth expertise in jurisdictional and nested REDD+, Article 6, and NDCs, and how these relate and influence each other, preferably on a policy and technical level.
Experience in managing complex and multi-partner donor-funded projects.
Experience in capacity building of various stakeholder groups.