Project Lead, Nature-Based Infrastructure Global Resource Centre, South Africa

About IISD

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning independent think tank working to accelerate solutions for a stable climate, sustainable resource management, and fair economies. Our work inspires better decisions and sparks meaningful action to help people and the planet thrive. We shine a light on what can be achieved when governments, businesses, non-profits, and communities come together. IISD’s staff of more than 200 experts come from across the globe and from many disciplines. With offices in Winnipeg, Geneva, Ottawa, and Toronto, our work affects lives in nearly 100 countries.

IISD’s Economic Law & Policy (ELP) Program is devoted to supporting the elaboration and improvement of economic governance frameworks and tools that support the achievement of sustainable development objectives. The ELP Program does so by developing research outputs, providing training and capacity support to the relevant stakeholder groups, organizing conferences and dialogues, and various other approaches. Increasingly, our work involves a dedicated virtual component, both in terms of the events we deliver and the communications and outreach efforts we undertake. Our team includes lawyers, economists, policy analysts, and journalists, among others, who are located across various countries and world regions. The program encompasses several workstreams, including investment law and policy; international trade; agriculture & mining; sustainability standards; sustainable finance and infrastructure.

The Position

The ELP Program is currently seeking a Project Lead to support the Scaling Urban Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) project. The SUNCASA project is focused on engaging local partners and communities to design and implement NbS to support climate adaptation and biodiversity in urban communities and watersheds in sub-Saharan Africa. The project also aims to enhance gender-responsive and inclusive governance of NbS in these urban communities.

The successful candidate will operate with minimal supervision and provide general project implementation, knowledge management, and communications support to the SUNCASA project. This includes coordinating day-to-day activities of the project, ensuring timely delivery of activities and milestones, as well as leading work planning and progress reporting exercises. In this role, the Project Lead will work closely with IISD staff and the SUNCASA project’s technical delivery, communication, and operations teams ensuring collaboration and optimizing potential for project success. Additionally, the Project Lead is expected to build and facilitate ongoing relationships with the local partners implementing the project in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Africa.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate’s key areas of responsibility will include but not be limited to:

Project Coordination and Implementation

• Oversee the execution of key activities and the day-to-day operation of the project.

• Lead the development of annual work plans in collaboration with the project management team and diligently track their progress.

• Organize and facilitate the project governance bodies, including partner, steering committee, and technical advisory committee meetings.

• Oversee the preparation and review of narrative reports for the project funder.

• Develop and closely monitor the implementation of the work program.

• Work closely with project partners to ensure their full integration into the work program.

• Collaborate with the project’s technical delivery team to measure performance throughout the project life cycle, identify areas for improvement, and document lessons that can be shared.

• Provide updates on the project progress across all sites, identify potential barriers, and propose solutions.

• Oversee the coordination and assignment of responsibilities on project activities.

• Collaborate with the technical and communications teams to maintain an active publications pipeline.

• Coordinate internal project team meetings.

Communications

• Document and provide inputs, such as case studies, statistics, and relevant updates, for the development of communications activities, knowledge products, and narrative reports.
• Collaborate closely with the project communications team to ensure the project’s web presence and relevant social media accounts are consistently updated with content.
• Actively engage in data collection efforts to gather pertinent project information necessary for reporting purposes.
• Participate in the planning, organization, and documentation of peer learning events, presentations, briefings, seminars, workshops, and other initiatives hosted or facilitated by the project, including identifying and inviting participants, developing agendas, and producing meeting reports.
• Work with the communications team to identify and capture stories, articles, blogs, op-eds, and other outreach materials to enhance project visibility and provide comprehensive reports to various stakeholders and media outlets highlighting the impact and progress of the project.
• Design and facilitate regular internal knowledge-sharing events.

Outreach and Partnership Building

• Provide support to the IISD Director of Sustainable Infrastructure in maintaining relationships with government institutions and local partners, occasionally engaging directly in identifying and addressing their support needs.

• Serve as the SUNCASA project focal point in selected partnerships or initiatives, representing the project in coordination meetings.

• Serve as the first point of contact for SUNCASA and other relevant Nature-Based Infrastructure Centre projects.

• Represent IISD and the Nature-Based Infrastructure Centre at international and national forums.

Research and Capacity Building

• Support the delivery of primary and secondary research required for the successful completion of the project, collaborating with contractors as required.
• Collaborate with project partners and stakeholders to identify capacity-building needs within the project’s scope.
• Design capacity-building initiatives aimed at enhancing the skills and knowledge of individuals and organizations involved in project delivery.

Stakeholder Relationships

• Establish and maintain close working relationships with project partners and beneficiaries.
• Maintain a comprehensive roster of partner and stakeholder contacts, regularly updating the list for effective communication and engagement.
• Identify opportunities for building new partnerships and strengthening existing ones to develop activities aligned with the project goals.

Qualifications

The Project Lead should possess the following qualifications:

Qualifications (Essential)

• A master’s degree or higher in a relevant field of economics, law, infrastructure, or development.
• Availability to travel internationally.

Knowledge and Experience (Essential)

• A minimum of 10+ years of experience in program coordination or management.
• Relevant work experience in the field of sustainable infrastructure, NbS, and/or climate change adaptation.
• Experience in coordinating cross-disciplinary teams working across multiple time zones and countries.
• Experience developing and managing work plans, budgets, and milestones.
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft Office applications, and experience handling web-based communications and management systems.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, multi-project environment.
• Experience in international development and working in developing countries.
• Experience managing implementation projects in a sub-Saharan context.

Skills (Essential)

• Demonstrated organizational and planning skills, including an ability to coordinate meetings and events.
• Good communication skills and ability to work interactively with stakeholders.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• Analytical capacity and ability to become familiar with new topics quickly.

Behavioural Competencies (Essential)

• Results-focused, able to work quickly and accurately to meet tight deadlines without compromising the quality of the results.
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to work comfortably across different cultures, be inclusive, positive, and communicate effectively.
• A motivated self-starter with an ability to work independently and manage and prioritize multiple tasks.

Reporting Relationship

The Project Lead reports to IISD’s Director for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Please note that the ELP team works across multiple time zones. We are looking for someone with a “can-do” work attitude and the ability to work autonomously while proactively engaging with other team members, particularly those working in a remote and/or hybrid work environment.

Location: South Africa

Duration: Indefinite

Salary: Salary commensurate with experience and location

Start date: As soon as possible

Closing date: Recruitment will be on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Application Procedure

Internal applicants: Please contact IISD’s HR team by the internal closing date listed above.

All submissions must be in English. Accommodations for job applicants with disabilities are available on request.

Candidates must hold appropriate work authorization for South Africa.

Please apply to only one posting, as this role is posted to multiple cities.

Applications will only be accepted through Bamboo HR.

• A CV (no longer than two pages)
• A one-page letter of motivation
• IISD Voluntary Self-Identification Questionnaire (optional)

Only those candidates we wish to interview will be contacted. Resumes will be kept on file for 1 year.

IISD has implemented a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy that requires employees who are required or choose to be at an office or participate in in-person team events or in-person meetings/events to be fully vaccinated. Anyone unable to be fully vaccinated, either because of a sincerely held religious belief or a medical condition or disability that prevents them from being fully vaccinated, can request a reasonable accommodation.

IISD is committed to fostering a more equitable and sustainable world and welcomes candidates who uphold our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, to correct the conditions of social injustice and disadvantage in employment around the world, we encourage candidates from historically marginalized groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify themselves as 2SLGBTQIA+, to apply for this position. Preference will be given to the equity-deserving groups during the hiring process. We offer reasonable accommodations in our recruitment process and seek applicants' advice on how best to accommodate their needs. Please self-identify and answer our employment equity questionnaire on our applicant tracking system when you apply.

IISD does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, colour, disability, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

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Keywords

Project LeadNature-Based InfrastructureGlobal Resource CentreSouth AfricaIISDSustainable DevelopmentClimate AdaptationSub-Saharan AfricaNbSGender-ResponsiveGovernanceProject CoordinationImplementationCommunicationsOutreachPartnership BuildingResearchCapacity BuildingStakeholder Relationships