WCS recruits 01 Strategic Partnerships Manager

Location: Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Reports to: WCS DRC Country Director 

Start date: ASAP

Contract: Full-time (minimum 2 years)

Travel: Field sites, WCS country office in Kinshasa, and WCS Regional Office in Kigali, Rwanda 

Purpose:

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is seeking candidates for a Strategic Partnerships Manager (SPM) to coordinate and manage a rapidly growing partner portfolio around WCS-supported protected area landscapes in Eastern DRC. The SPM will also strengthen donor relationships, and identify new donor and partnership opportunities. to support our objectives to conserve biodiversity, promote human-rights based approaches to biodiversity conservation, resolve natural resource-based conflict and stimulate green economies . The DRC Program is one of WCS’s single largest field programs in its global portfolio.

Specifically, the Strategic Partnership Manager (SPM) will be the primary focal point and liaison between our protected area management team and implementation partners and donors on a large portfolio of multi-sector bilateral funding awards around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Ituri Province. These awards integrate funding and expertise across biodiversity conservation, peace and security, and economic growth in order to address the multiple challenges to protected areas and local communities and Indigenous Peoples who live in and around them. We anticipate this multi-sector approach to protected area management to be progressively scaled to other protected area landscapes in Eastern DRC in which WCS is actively engaged; namely the Kahuzi Biega National Park in South Kivu Province, and the Kabobo Wildlife Reserve in Tanganyika province, and the SPM is expected to play a major role in enabling that growth.   

Responsibilities

The SPM will work closely with the protected area management teams overseeing implementation, the WCS Eastern DRC operational support office in Goma, the WCS DRC country program senior management team in Kinshasa and the WCS regional technical and management team in Kigali, Rwanda, and will deliver on the following responsibilities:

• Manage a portfolio of donor relationships, including bilaterals (USAID and AFD) and multilaterals (GEF and CAFI) in close coordination with the Country and Regional office
• Identify and coordinate strategic partnerships and new donor relationships to support WCS DRC strategic objectives in our protected area landscapes  
• Support new contract and agreement negotiations
• Represent WCS DRC strategic objectives and protected area landscapes in policy discussions and technical/partner meetings on key issues 
• Stay abreast of conservation and sustainable development sector trends in DRC, regularly briefing the Country Director and senior management, and providing input to  strategic planning
• Coordinate the development and design of program concepts or strategic grant submissions and partnership proposals
• Coordinate and write funding proposals/undertake partnership negotiations.
• Facilitate information sharing across the organisation, between the protected area management teams, Country Office and Regional team. 
• Coordinate quality donor reporting for multi-sectoral and multi-partner grants and partnerships (in collaboration with Protected area management and Country and Regional management team). 
• Identify and support recruitment, new staff onboarding and capacity building and mentoring of implementation team members. 

Requirements

• Significant experience (>8 years) of project management.
  • Experience working in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams and managing several major activities simultaneously.
  • Experience managing multilateral/bilateral donor-funded projects, with multiple project partners and diverse project elements. Experience of managing USAID-funded projects preferred.
  • Proven ability to achieve project targets and objectives, delivering quality work on tight deadlines.
  • Experience of designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
  • Experience in conservation or the field of natural resource management 
  • Experience working in the Central Africa region and specifically DRC would be an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated experience in building and strengthening relationships and partnerships 
  • Demonstrated experience working in a culturally diverse organisation and the ability to communicate ideas and concepts to a broad range of stakeholders
  • Highly developed proposal and report writing skills
  • Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English with professional competency in French
  • Highly computer and internet literate.

Other attributes that will help you stand out

• Excellent organizational, planning and representational skills 
• Ability to present concepts verbally
• Commitment to WCS’s mission and values and the ability to represent these within the organisation and to external stakeholders
• Willingness to commit to the position for at least two years

How to apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, skills and experience, should through this Link by July 29, 2022.

WCS is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value.