IUCN India Office is seeking to recruit an experienced and motivated candidate (Indian national) to join the IUCN team as Programme Officer, Water and Wetlands who will work closely with Programme Manager and Country Representative, IUCN India and Science and Strategy Group, based in IUCN Asia Regional Office, Bangkok.

The goal of IUCN's Water and Wetlands Programme is healthy landscapes and river basins that provide sustainable ecosystem services to livelihoods and societies. In Asia, the programme is designed to tackle the three pillars of water management, including i) promoting the conservation and restoration of key freshwater ecosystems and species; ii) enabling inclusive and effective water governance frameworks; and iii) mobilise investment in conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems to provide solutions to most pressing societal challenges in the region (e.g., climate change, food security, water security, green economy development).

In India, IUCN has operated continuously since 2007, with Country Office established in New Delhi. IUCN’s work on water governance in India include various initiatives working on cooperative governance of the shared river basins, sustainable agriculture, multi-level cooperation and benefit-sharing to promote integrated water resource management, to site level aquatic species and habitat management through implementation of global conventions, particularly Ramsar and UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC), 1997 and national policy frameworks.

IUCN is also a GEF and GCF agency and is working with the national governments and international development partners to develop new ideas and mobilization of funding to tackle challenges linked to climate change adaptation and mitigation in India.

In the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) river basins, IUCN is implementing global flagship project on transboundary water governance, the BRIDGE GBM which is a multi-donor funded initiative active since 2016.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

The successful candidate will work in close cooperation with the IUCN country offices in south Asia and IUCN Asia Regional Office, and numerous external partners. The position will be responsible for the management of flagship national and regional projects on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), transboundary water governance, river and wetlands conservation and management, and the application of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in water sector.

Overall responsibilities of the position:

1. Support delivery of current project(s)/initiative(s) related to water and wetlands governance, and Nature-based solutions for climate change; ,
2. Contribute to programmatic and portfolio development including supporting multilateral programme design;
3. Engage, build synergies with and provide technical assistance as needed, for successful delivery of work and knowledge;
4. Expand IUCN’s network and engagements on water and wetlands governance and enhanced application of NbS in the water sector;
5. Support the articulation and positioning of the Team and project activities in the context of IUCN’s water and wetlands programme area.

Specific duties:

Project delivery
6. Lead the implementation of the BRIDGE Meghna basin initiative in India , including development of workplans, networking with government officials, facilitation of regional and national stakeholder dialogues, and the development of a business case for the transboundary cooperation in the Meghna river basin.
7. Prepare workplans, budgets, technical reports as per donor requirements
8. Conduct field missions for project implementation, as necessary
9. Technical and project support, though desk research, consultation process capacity building, communication and networking with multiple stakeholders.

Portfolio development:
10. Conduct technical research and lead the development of new project proposals and initiatives for expanding the water and wetlands programme activities in India;
11. Assist with the development of proposals for GCF funding, including the coordination, drafting of proposals, and awareness-raising activities such as meetings with stakeholders from academic, government, CSO, and private sector;

Knowledge learning and communication:
12. Lead and coordinate knowledge development on themes related to water and natural infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions, including training materials, scalable, financing models, etc;
13. Coordinate opportunities for engaging IUCN’s Water and NbS initiatives externally, for example through conferences, guest lectures, and project partnerships;