View Vacancy - Blue Planet Fund Regional Programme Officer

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
Climate change, Environment & Sustainability

Main purpose of job:

Background
The UK’s £500m Blue Planet Fund (BPF) supports developing countries to protect the marine environment and reduce poverty. It is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the UK. The BPF is structured around four themes: 

1.    marine biodiversity
2.    climate change
3.    marine pollution
4.    sustainable seafood

The BPF’s first programmes were launched in 2021-22, with further programming announcements made at the UN Ocean Conference 2022 in Lisbon. Further BPF programmes will be launched in subsequent years. All programmes will deliver against the BPF’s core objectives of protecting and restoring the marine environment and reducing poverty. All BPF programmes will support the UK’s international climate finance (ICF) commitments, including the commitment to spend £3 billion of ICF to protect and restore nature for people and climate. 

This role is to lead the day-to-day oversight, engagement, delivery, and coordination of programmes and projects under the BPF programme across the Eastern Tropical Pacific and contribute to the design of other BPF programmes that will be delivered in the region. The successful applicant will ensure that the BPF supports marine nature commitments made by Eastern Pacific countries, and provide support to Defra’s programmes and projects, such as the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) fund, the Ocean Country Partnerships Programme (OCPP), and the UK’s efforts on marine protected areas such as host government commitments to the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR initiative). This role will require close collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including British Embassies and British High Commissions (BHC), regional and multi-lateral organisations, the Defra and FCDO BPF programme teams in the UK, UK government departments, non-government organisations (NGO), and the private sector, to maximise the impact of the BPF programme in the region. 

This is a great opportunity for a highly motivated self-starter with strong project management skills, international development and/or marine programming experience, and stakeholder management skills. We are looking for a someone with a ‘can do’ approach to help to design, oversee and implement projects under the BPF delivering in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

Reporting to the Deputy Head of Mission in Quito and to the International Sustainable Blue Finance team in London, you will enjoy a good level of autonomy and decision-making. You will also be able to access professional development opportunities, including scope to work on the wider BPF programme and other embassy priorities, including UK advocacy work on the marine environment across the region. The role will also support Defra and FCDO BPF teams to ensure the delivery of all BPF programmes in the region. You will need excellent communication and presentation skills (both written and verbal), and the ability to deliver high quality work. You will need to assess and prioritise your own workload within given timeframes, to meet project schedules. This role will also require good international development, political and policy skills to ensure successful HMG BPF delivery, cooperation and collaboration between delivery partners, and results for recipients.  This role will also require you to undertake a certain amount of regional travel, which will be planned well in advance approximately once every 2-3 months.  As with any role, there will be occasions when the work is reactive to instructions and tasking either from teams in the UK or from embassy senior management. All staff are expected to be collaborative team players, willing to turn their hand to any task.  .  

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:
1. Programme Coordination and Delivery – 80%  

•    Ensuring BPF programming is complementary with other in-country and regional donors and their activities, including liaising with other donors, multilaterals, and diplomatic missions to ensure programme activity does not duplicate other work
•    Managing the day-to-day relationships with BPF programme delivery partners and country governments receiving support through the BPF, ensuring join up across the programmes and other donor programmes  
•    Managing Defra and FCDO BPF programme activities in the region (eg. providing support to Defra’s competitive fund, supporting the Ocean Country Partnerships Programme, and supporting UK efforts on marine protected areas such as commitments to the CMAR initiative), to ensure complimentary and joined up delivery
•    Providing advice and support to UK BPF teams on the delivery and design of BPF programmes in the Eastern Pacific
•    Regular reporting to UK-based teams and regional boards, including consulting and aligning on UK government priorities and liaising with UK government departments to identify and follow-up on opportunities arising from programme activities  
•    Leading communication activities in the region to ensure uptake of key lessons from BPF projects and to promote and raise the profile of the UK and the BPF across the Eastern Pacific
•    Providing advice and guidance to British Embassy and BHC staff in the region on all aspects of BPF programme activity
•    Representing the UK at meetings across the Eastern Pacific countries to influence and communicate UK marine priorities  
  
2. Blue Planet Fund policy and wider HMG Support on the marine environment – 20% 
 
•    Deliver wider mission critical work as required as part of the team at the British Embassy
•    Drafting briefings, reports and presentations on the marine environment as required  
•    Participate in self-development to continually improve performance/systems and undertake development activities that are identified 

The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the Defra and FCDO programming teams. These responsibilities may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the BPF and the organization.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure): 

Personal travel budget (amount tbc)

Essential on arrival:  

- Degree qualification or equivalent experience
- Training and/or experience in project management (min. three years experience)
- Previous experience in similar role in project/programme management in public sector or with bilateral/multilateral organizations.
- Experience of building a network and managing effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including government officials, delivery partners and local and community groups.
- Understanding of marine environment, biodiversity conservation, fisheries management, and marine pollution
- Fluent written and oral English
- Excellent written and oral communication skills on complex matters, often requiring persuasion and influence.
- Ability to identify strategic opportunities and risks, underlying drivers and connections.
- Ability to effectively as part of a team which is dispersed across the region and in the UK
- Effective organization, prioritization and planning skills.
- Ability to work on own initiative and organize own workload without supervision working to tight and often changing timescales.
- Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
- Ability to handle strictly confidential information from internal and external sources whilst always adhering to best practices of confidentiality.
- Computer literate and proficient user of Microsoft programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel and SharePoint.  
- An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems

Must have the legal status to work and live in Ecuador.

Desirable:

Experience/knowledge of the region (politics, socio-economic situation)
Experience drafting briefing papers, reports and presentations.
Experience of organizing events/conferences/ workshops
Ability to analyze and interpret complex information and recommend appropriate actions.

Seeing the Big Picture, Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
11 December 2022
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
35
Latin America and Spanish speaking Caribbean
Ecuador
Quito
British Embassy
1
USD
$2600
16 January 2023
16 January 2024

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
•    Undertake all mandatory training as required
•    Identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with the country lead through the appraisals process and/or attending internal / external training events
•    The successful candidate will be able to access a wide range of L&D opportunities offered by the British Embassy Quito and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
•    Some regional travel is likely to be required

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount. 

Working patterns:
Core Hours
08.00 – 16.30 Monday to Thursday (1 hour lunch break)
08.00 – 13.00 Friday

The jobholder will be required to work extra hours occasionally (eg for evening events or travel). Time Off In Lieu will be provided in these cases.

This is a one-year contract with possibility for renewal, subject to funding approval, with a three-month probation period. 

As a regional position, the Job Holder should expect to have to undertake a certain amount of regional travel. This will be planned in advance and is unlikely to be at the last minute or unexpected. Applicants must have the right to live and work in Ecuador and hold the correct visa. The British Embassy cannot sponsor visa applications.  Applicants from outside Ecuador or outside Quito will be required to meet their own travel and residency arrangements as well as relocation expenses. No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Ecuador employment law. 

Holiday Entitlement: 16 days

Starting salary of: US$2600 pcm  

Employment is subject to a 3-month trial period. Access to medical scheme and other benefits is subject to completion of probation.

The British Embassy Quito is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from applicants of all backgrounds.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.