REGIONAL HEAD, SAFEGUARDS AFRICA

AUGUST 2019

ABOUT WWFWWF is an independent conservation organisation, with over 30 million followers and a global network active in nearly 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biodiversity, ensuring the use of natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Our global efforts to start reversing the loss of nature by 2030 are driven by nine WWF practices: Wildlife, Oceans, Forests, Freshwater, Climate & Energy, Food, Finance, Governance and Markets.

From communities on the ground to decision-makers in government and business, we work with people around the world to sustain the natural world – the oceans, forests, freshwater and rich diversity of wildlife – that provides the essentials of life for all.

We are challenging the two most urgent threats to nature: climate change and food production. And we are working to address the underlying global drivers for the loss of nature: a financial system that must value nature; a governance system that needs to consider the impact of decisions on people and nature; and markets where sustainable production and consumption become the norm.

© Nick Riley / WWF-Madagascar

THE ROLE

TITLE: Regional Head, Safeguards Africa

REPORTS TO: Director, Environment and Social Safeguards, WWF International

LOCATION: Nairobi

SALARY: Competitive

© Daniël Nelson

PURPOSEWWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

WWF believes that conservation benefits when people benefit from conservation and has had its most important successes from working with people, including local and indigenous communities, finding practical ways for people and nature to thrive together.

To further strengthen our deep commitment to this collaboration with local communities and to respecting human rights, WWF is setting up a central unit to spearhead, manage and support the implementation of a robust global Environmental and Social Safeguard Framework (ESSF) across our entire global network of WWF offices.

The ESSF will represent an overarching policy on environmental and social risk management, providing for: • Integrated environmental and social management to

identify and manage the environmental and social impacts, risks, and opportunities of projects through the programme and project life cycle.

• Effective stakeholder engagement through disclosure of project-related information and consultation with local communities on matters that directly affect them.

© Abhishek Madhavan / WWF

MAJOR FUNCTIONSThe Regional Head Safeguards Africa is part of the global team that will spearhead the development, implementation and update of WWF’s network policies and practices relevant to mainstreaming the ESSF into all WWF’s global operations.

The Regional Head Safeguards Africa will provide guidance and support to project teams in WWF’s implementation of its ESSF. S/he will also support the Director Environment and Social Safeguards in activities related to outreach, policy development and advocacy on these matters.

© Nick Riley / WWF-Madagascar

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESThe role of the Regional Head, Safeguards Africa will include the following activities: • Serve as the focal point for environmental safeguards and/or environmental and social

standards for the region and coordinate all environmental safeguards and/or environmental and social standards and enhancement activities within and between projects.

• Share information with Landscape Leads, project team members, staff/consultants responsible for projects’ environmental safeguards/ESS management, and other relevant regional staff.

• Provide expert guidance and support for the screening of WWF projects for environmental risks (especially for projects with high risk ratings), impacts, and vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities; and the identification of risk management opportunities/strategies. Review the risk classification assigned to the project on a regular basis.

• In accordance with WWF’s ESSF, determine the appropriate environmental and social risk classification of projects, taking into account all relevant information such as the type, location, sensitivity and scale of the project; the nature and magnitude of the potential impacts; and the capacity and commitment of the office and any third parties WWF is funding to manage risks and impacts in a manner consistent with the ESSF.

• In coordination with the Director Safeguards and the training plan developed, provide training on the ESSF provisions, together with the implications for project preparation and implementation, to WWF network staff and potentially third parties.

• Disseminate lessons learned and contributions to best practices from specific projects for research, knowledge and learning purposes.

• Monitor the environmental performance of the project in accordance with the ESSF. • Resolve project related questions from clients related to the interpretation of the ESSF,

under guidance from the Director Safeguards. • Oversee the development of ESSF related guidance and technical support materials, such

as guidelines, knowledge materials, as applicable. • Identify, collate, generate, and disseminate current knowledge, lessons, trends and

development pertaining to ESSF into the conservation and development agenda at regional levels.

© Martin Harvey 2004

PROFILEREQUIRED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES• Experience of working in multi-laterals or other bilateral development agencies

that have similar systems.• High degree of cultural sensitivity and ability to navigate complexity.• Clear understanding of risk-based approaches to managing projects and

programmes.• Strong knowledge and experience of programming in the region.• Strong organizational skills, results-driven.• Creativity, dynamism and diplomacy.• Sound judgement and decision-making skills.• Excellent interpersonal, communication and language skills, English essential and

other languages – especially French – desirable. • Works to the highest level of integrity and confidentiality.• Clearly demonstrates behaviours aligned to the culture of WWF: Strive for Impact, • Listen Deeply, Collaborate Openly and Innovate Fearlessly. • Adheres to WWF’s values, which are: Knowledgeable, Optimistic, Determined and

Engaging.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS• Master’s degree in social sciences and management, law, environmental

management, economics and policies, social development, sociology, social development, anthropology, indigenous peoples’ studies, or other relevant fields.

• Minimum of seven years of relevant international experience in the areas of environmental safeguard systems.

• Demonstrates knowledge of indigenous peoples’ policy development and implementation; social safeguards; development of guidance, references and tools related to indigenous peoples and social safeguards; design and monitoring of climate change and development programmes, projects and activities; and advocacy and capacity development.

© Nick Riley / WWF-Madagascar

WORKING RELATIONSHIPSINTERNAL – Interacts regularly with Director Environment and Social Safeguards, other Regional Heads, Country Directors, key network stakeholders, Head of Compliance, Risk Management and Operations.

EXTERNAL – External partners and other international NGOs, civil society organisations. This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the tasks that are anticipated. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organizational needs.

© James Morgan / WWF-US

HOW TO APPLY All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR.

To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button in the job advert page and complete our online application form. Please provide a CV and Cover Letter – preferably in ONE single document -– which should be prepared before applying as they will be requested in the application process.

The statement should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. For advice on how to write a successful statement, please see here.

The document should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (yymm) e.g: Pat-Jones- CVandStatement-1908

TIMELINEClosing of applications September 22nd 2019 23h59 (CEST) Screening interviews: Week commencing 30 September 2019 Final interviews : Week commencing 14 October (tbc)

QUERIESIf you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email essrhafrica@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.

© Green Renaissance / WWF-US

ABOUT OXFORD HROxford HR operates globally – mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy. Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our clients.

Oxford HR’s team members have significant personal experience of working in international development and the social sector as well as the corporate and governmental sectors. We are in a unique position to find and assess talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds .

© Green Renaissance / WWF-US

Striving for impact is our response to a planet that needs bold leadership and inspiring solutions now more than ever It describes our collective desire for positive change and our relentless pursuit of results in the effort to meet our global goals. Striving for impact means working in a conscious, focused and agile manner, with a clear eye on what our objective is, what outcome we wish to achieve and in what timeframe.

What it isn’t As we seek to make an impact as an organization, we have to be on the lookout for the obsessive analyst, who often delays taking action for the sake of making sure that what they do is precisely measured and reported, while the scattered over-achiever spreads themselves too thin in their efforts to save the world single-handedly.

No one has all the answers. We need to remain humble and learn to “think from the whole” if we want to address systemic challenges In a practical sense, listening deeply looks like having a conversation that moves from debating facts or convincing others towards a dialogue where we seek to truly understand someone else for the purpose of connecting with them or serving their best interests. In some instances, listening deeply may lead you to identify insights that inspire solutions or provide helpful feedback that helps someone else move forward. In other cases, listening deeply might lead you to change your perspective or clarify your understanding after considering the unique perspective of others.

What it isn’t The toxic talkaholic shows up to the meeting ready to be the smartest person in the room, spends their time in a conversation listening their own thoughts as they decide which points to share next, and identifies every point to disagree with in order to confirm their own opinions.

Collaborating openly is the ability to work with others across boundaries to learn new things, extend your capacity and get things done together in pursuit of impact As a global network, WWF has an organizational structure that fosters open collaboration by design through communities of practice. At a practical level, this looks like building a team culture that is based on trust, inclusivity and transparency, where each of us is responsible for building authentic relationships, practicing leadership with humility, and being open to changing our minds based on how other people see an issue.

What it isn’t The stubborn isolationist is the opposite of a team player. They hoard information as if it’s a precious commodity, fight for their personal interests, and criticize collaboration as a waste of time or a distraction from more important work that they could do alone. On the other hand, the hyper-collaborator attends every meeting to “stay in the loop” and builds a committee to avoid making decisions themselves.

Business as usual will not save the planet. We need to take risks, try new things, and scale what works This requires a culture of fearless innovation where it’s okay to make mistakes – as long as we learn from them. Innovation is the practical execution of a new idea to make something better. It is about bringing ideas to life and iterating them until they solve a problem in a sustainable way. Whether you are working at systems scale or simply changing the way that you hold a meeting, innovation is about quickly testing solutions by making small bets, surfacing insights about their viability and moving forward with refined solutions.

What it isn’t We should be conscious of innovation’s foes: the pessimistic skeptic opposes every new idea for the purpose of maintaining the status quo, while the wishful thinker pursues fanciful efforts that aren’t grounded in reality.

The pursuit of impact is behind everything we do. We

accelerate the delivery of results and position ourselves to make an impact at scale by being intentional about listening deeply to those we work with, collaborating

across silos and boundaries and taking risks to innovate.

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Cover Photo Credit

© James Suter / Black Bean Productions / WWF-US

© Ronda Simms

© James Morgan / WWF-US© Green Renaissance / WWF-US

© WWF-US / Betty McLaughlin Meyer

© Daniël Nelson

© Nick Riley / WWF-Madagascar