Leader, Asian Flyways Initiative

Job Highlights:

• International cooperation on the conservation of Asian migratory waterbirds and their habitats
• International NGO

Principal Functions:

Every year, as autumn falls in the northern hemisphere, tens of millions of migratory waterbirds from hundreds of species migrate from breeding grounds as far north as the Arctic Circle to overwintering grounds as far south as Australia and New Zealand, and then return the next year. Those birds use an international network of wetlands for breeding, wintering, and staging during the seasonal migrations but we have already lost 70% of the world’s wetlands since 1900.

To conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats, Asian Flyways Initiative (AFI) was launched with an aim of coordinating among various organisations and stakeholders along the Central Asian Flyway and the East-Asian Australasian Flyway to ensure the avian migratory flyways are conserved as landscapes, with ecologically connected stepping-stones, and the wetlands are managed for nature and people.

Vision:

Ecologically connected networks of wetlands contributing to functional flyways by supporting stable migratory bird populations, conserve representative wetland biodiversity and ecological communities, support the well-being of half the world’s population by providing ecosystem services, and building climate resilience for ecological and socio-economic sustainability of communities and countries.

Goal:

By 2030, ecologically functional networks of wetlands are protected, restored as necessary, and effectively managed with community stewardship to stabilise or reverse the decline of migratory bird populations that use the flyways, and conserve wetland health for ecological and human well-being.

The Initiative and the 19 WWF country offices will work together to achieve the following outcomes:

Outcome 1. By 2030, ecologically connected networks of wetlands efficaciously managed to ensure functionality of the Asian flyways.

Outcome 2. By 2030, migratory bird populations are stable or increasing in both flyways.

Outcome 3. By 2030, public awareness on the importance of protecting flyway wetlands significantly raised at local, national and international levels.]]

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Ensure the delivery of the Initiative;
• Lead, plan and coordinate partners and country offices of AFI to take part in the Initiative;
• Build and maintain regional and global partnerships (incl. Asia Development Bank, BirdLife International, East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, Green Climate Fund, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, IUCN);
• Promote the initiative links to international and regional policy opportunities around UN conventions and related agreements and how they are implemented in-country (CBD, Ramsar, NDCs, NAPA’s, VNR’s, NBSAPs etc.);
• Be aware of external opportunities where WWF needs to act and influence key decision makers and governments;
• Take part and represent the Initiative at various relevant regional and technical platforms such as the World Wetlands Day, World Migratory Bird Day, ADB Water Week, Singapore Water Week, Delta Coalition meetings etc.

Management and Coordination

• Actively support 19 country offices to deliver the Initiative including coordinating them with regional funding and implementation opportunities developed by partners;
• Work closely with the Freshwater Practice coordination team and Greater Mekong Programme Office;
• Collaborate with other relevant WWF Freshwater initiatives;
• Coordinate with other relevant WWF practices including Finance, Oceans and Climate and Energy;
• Track the resource allocation to each of the offices implementing the Initiative with the support of the Practice fundraising manager, ensure they have what they need and that they are seizing the opportunities they have;
• Ensure country office teams get support required to scale up efforts around systemic threats and policy;
• Encourage innovation and sharing of best practice between the offices;
• Ensure that internal reporting from offices captures progress towards initiative goals and outcomes, and consolidate reporting for any AFI multi-country projects;
• Ensure the country office teams engaging and securing the support needed from relevant technical communities of practice.

Communication

• Raise visibility and recognition of the Initiative internally and externally;
• Work with Practice Communications Lead and ensure the communications manager develops a global communications strategy and develops the necessary content to support communications and fundraising.

Fundraising

• Actively explore opportunities to access Nature Based Solution, Disaster Risk Reduction, Insurance and other climate adaptation funding vehicles and develop projects to secure those funds in collaboration with relevant regional/globalWWF experts;
• Utilise existing and new networks of potential donors and funders to generate significant new funds and enable the scaling up of the Initiative in collaboration with relevant regional/globalWWF experts;
• Coordinate and encourage country teams to seize funding opportunities, in collaboration with relevant regional/global WWF experts and partners;
• Work closely with the Proposal Development Manager, the Regional Representatives and regional Conservation Directors for opportunities and network coordination.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Degree level qualification, with a minimum of 10 years relevant work experience in the environment or closely associated sector;
• Proven experience in leading and coordinating policy, advocacy and lobbying work in high level national and international fora;
• Successful track record in fundraising;
• Proven track record of effectively leading, managing and coordinating teams across multiple time zones;
• Good understanding on the subject of climate adaptation, Nature Based Solutions, and sustainable finance.

Required Behavioural Skills:

• Be a strong partnership builder, with existing networks of contacts both internally and externally, including governments, multilateral development banks, business, and NGOs
• Being the internal and external “face” of the Initiative, the Leader needs to have strong communication, advocacy, fundraising and partnership building skills;
• A regional language would be helpful.

Interested candidates, please apply with a full resume through https://wwfhk.bamboohr.com/careers/188

This is a local position to be based in Hong Kong.

WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, a non-profit organisation, headquartered in Switzerland, is one of the world’s most recognisable and respected independent conservation organisations.

To find out more about us, please visit our website at wwf.org.hk now.