Director

Job Purpose:

The Solomon Islands is one of the most biologically rich and intact oceanic archipelagos on earth.  Nonetheless, poorly regulated logging, fishing, and mining threaten the country’s natural resources and the central role they play in the livelihoods of most Solomon Islanders.  The Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership (SICCP) was created to address the challenges this presents through the use of Community Conservation Agreements (CCAs).  CCAs are transparent agreements that provide customary landowners with benefits and capacity-building in exchange for their participation in effective conservation of high priority areas and species. 

 

The Director leads the implementation of SICCP’s mission and activities including managing the operations of the SICCP office and staff, and overseeing the establishment and progression of Community Conservation Agreements (CCAs) in our portfolio of sites.  This position requires the stewardship of an evolving vision for community-driven conservation in an exceptionally challenging context.  A significant portion of responsibilities are Honiara-based desk work, reporting, and administration; the position also requires ongoing in-person interactions with project site co-management teams, local implementers, Solomon Islands Government (SIG) and other local and international organizations in Honiara and throughout the country.  The Director receives technical guidance and is ultimately responsible to SICCP’s board including an Advisory Team (AT) that provides frequent, ongoing consultations and direction throughout the year.

 

Key Responsibilities:

1.      Strengthen and expand SICCP’s vision of a suite of CCA areas that provide conservation and stewardship of areas of high biological and cultural importance.

1. Direct implementation of all SICCP’s CCA activities.
2. Provide leadership, guidance and support to partners and a commitment to developing local capacity to improve implementation of SICCP’s mission and values.
3. Provide regular communication between project sites, the AT, and relevant partner organizations.
4. Conduct site visits to oversee establishment and progression of CCAs, troubleshoot, and build relationships.
5. Foster and develop relationships with the SIG and others to further SICCP and program goals.
6. In tandem with SICCP’s staff, ensure solid, on time reporting to the EU and other donors, local implementers and contracted accounting firm/s.
7. Fundraise for project activities and trust funds.
8. Manage 2 staff: Program Coordinator and Finance Officer/Administrator.

 

Regular Administrative/Operational Activities:

1. Provide oversight and final sign-off on:
   1. Budget compliance for project sites.
   2. Submission of monthly expenses from SICCP and project sites to accountant.
   3. Administration and disbursal of funds to approved project sites based on established rules and procedures.
   4. Quarterly financial and project updates to EU and other donors.
   5. Ensure Honiara office remains operational (phone/internet/computers).
2. Provide the AT with monthly project updates; seek technical guidance more often as needed.
3. Schedule and facilitate regular communication between AT, SICCP, project sites, local implementers and project management teams.
4. Respond to walk-in traffic.
5. Update project development documents as needed.
6. Stay abreast of regulatory/legislative developments impacting the conservation goals of SICCP.

 

Regular Conservation/Project-Based Activities:

1. Direct SICCP team and partners in stewarding and designing CCAs, including:
   1. Technical support
   2. Feasibility assessments
   3. Relationship building
   4. Partnerships 
2. Ensure SICCP’s work remains focused on mission and goals.
3. Execute terms of CCAs in coordination with local implementers and site co-management team.
4. Coordinate CCA benefits delivery with partners (local implementers and other organizations). 
5. Coordinate and ensure implementation of evaluation and monitoring of conservation activities and project goals.
6. Address and rectify non-compliance of agreements in collaboration with co-management team.

 

Required Skills and Competence:

1. Strong interest in engaging with a diversity of people in contexts ranging from Ministry offices, to village meeting halls, churches, schools, muddy banks of a river, or a broken down canoe.
2. Application of organizational values and mission in all interactions and program work.
3. Strong budget management and reporting.
4. Strategic thinker who is comfortable operating independently.
5. Program development, stewardship and monitoring.
6. Strong networking and negotiation skills.
7. Excellent written and oral communication skills, including report writing, formal presentations and informal community discussions.
8. Computer proficiency in MS Office and e-mail services with general IT savvy.
9. Ability to excel and persevere in a developing country environment.
10. Willingness and ability to travel in country ~30% of the time.

 

Other:

1. Strong preference for individuals with experience in Melanesia.
2. Strong preference for individuals with experience managing small NGOs.
3. Scientific/environmental background a plus but not required.

 

About the Organization:

The Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership (SICCP) was founded in 2008 through a partnership between Conservation International (CI) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Its operations are currently funded by the European Union.

 

Both CI and AMNH share the goal of supporting people throughout Melanesia in managing natural resources sustainably as a key contribution to their wellbeing and to conserving globally important biological diversity.  Both organizations also share the belief that achieving this goal requires fair, long-term engagements that offer meaningful economic alternatives to resource destruction while fostering the capacity to ensure effective implementation of resource use decisions.

 

SICCP seeks to implement these goals in the Solomon Islands, through the use of Community Conservation Agreements (CCA).  CCAs are transparent agreements that provide communities and other landowners with benefits and capacity-building in exchange for their participation in effective conservation of high priority areas and species. Worldwide, CCAs have brought benefits to more than 30,000 landowners and protected more than 1 million hectares through clear, voluntary agreements.  SICCP partners with community landowners to create CCA models that can help replicate these successes in the Solomon Islands, to the benefit of community livelihoods and the preservation of our global natural heritage. 

 

Further, SICCP aims to bridge the gap between conservation investment and the grassroots implementation of conservation within customary lands by landholding communities, lineages, and tribes who would otherwise have great difficulty successfully attracting, negotiating, and managing international investment. 

 

Mission and Values

SICCP Mission: Ensure sound governance, financial sustainability, and globally significant conservation through a set of Community Conservation Agreements that support community-driven protection of the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Solomon Islands

 

Pursuit of this mission is guided by the following values and beliefs:

• We value the full breadth and dynamism of Solomon Islands’ cultures and systems of land tenure.  Traditional systems of decision-making and the right of Solomon Islanders to determine their future and relationship with the land and sea are central components of all of our work.
• We value the relationships between biodiversity, culture, and human well-being that tie Solomon Islands societies to their customary lands.  These relationships have the right to persist and compel careful stewardship by Solomon Islanders and all humanity alike.
• We value and respect each other and the partnerships we build in pursuit of our mission.  Honest, transparent, and meaningful partnerships are the best means of confronting the challenges facing the Solomon Islands.
• We value the natural systems of the Solomon Islands.  The health and integrity of Solomon Islands society, and humanity more broadly, is deeply tied to the health of customary lands and vibrant marine ecosystems.

 

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