Senior Programme Officer (AD874)

We are looking for a highly motivated and technically experienced Senior Programme Officer to work in the Species Programme to support the Head of Programme and other Senior Staff to develop, fundraise for and implement innovative projects that drive forwards sustainable management of species in support of global initiatives to conserve biodiversity.

The Senior Programme Officer will be adept at building and maintaining successful working relationships with a variety of stakeholders and will work closely with existing partners in governments, regional biodiversity management units, UNEP, MEA Secretariats, and IUCN.  The postholder will also seek to develop new, effective partnerships with decision-makers, donors, businesses and the scientific community.   Their key responsibility will be to provide a leadership role within the Species Programme by pursuing the development of relevant projects, ensuring that fundraising opportunities are secured effectively and ensuring that projects are delivered to a consistently high quality reflective of UNEP-WCMC’s standard. Projects will be aligned with efforts to ensure that decision-makers have reliable access to biodiversity information and will build upon UNEP-WCMC’s expertise in MEA implementation, scientific analyses, development of technical tools and provision of capacity building support. This will allow the Species Programme to maintain and broaden the current reach and capabilities to support partners in delivering sustainable management of wildlife.

The ideal candidate will have advanced knowledge of international and regional biodiversity policy institutions and experience of working with MEAs such as CITES and CMS and regional bodies such as the EU, an acute understanding of key biodiversity issues and concepts and the proven ability to situate sustainable use and wildlife trade issues in a broad context and proven experience of identifying and securing funding, through high quality and effective proposals.  They will be committed to biodiversity conservation, interested in results, innovative, creative, energetic and flexible; a good communicator and leader; a forward thinker and a team player with an eye for the big picture without overlooking the detail.

In return, we will provide you with the challenge of working on high profile conservation projects, where your work really makes a difference to the field of conservation in an area aligned to our strategic aims and broader global initiatives. In addition to training and development opportunities, we offer a competitive salary and benefits package, including generous pension contributions.

If you are looking for a rewarding and challenging post where you can impress us with your technical expertise, excellent leadership and development skills and teamwork, while contributing to efforts to safeguard global biodiversity, we want to hear from you.  Please complete a WCMC application form and submit it with a CV and short covering letter through the link below by the closing date of Monday 19th January 2015.

Please note that this is not a UN post and we can only accept applications from those eligible to work in the UK.

WCMC is a UK charity, based in Cambridge, which supports the United Nations Environment Programme. We work in collaboration with UNEP, under the banner of UNEP-WCMC. Our mission is to evaluate and highlight the many values of biodiversity and put authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the centre of decision-making. Since our establishment in the 1970s, the Centre has been at the forefront of the compilation, management, analysis and dissemination of global biodiversity information, and has an outstanding record of achievement.

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