The UK  Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is launching a Biodiversity Landscapes Fund and will be contracting an organization/consortium as fund manager. GOPA Worldwide Consultants is participating in this upcoming tender and we are currently identifying potential candidates to be part of the expert team. We will be setting up a team of 5-6 senior experts for landscape management (or related “green” fields) that will be responsible for the fund management in the respective focus regions/countries. 

The focus regions/countries according to early announcements of DEFRA will be:  

Southern Africa/KAZA region: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar

Central Africa/Congo Basin: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon 

Asia/Annamite region: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia 

South America: the Putomayo Corridor with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru 

Central America: Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras 

Thee Biodiversity Landscapes Fund aims to reduce poverty and create sustainable economic development for communities living in, and dependent upon, environmentally precious landscapes. It will restore landscapes and deliver their long-lasting protection through sustainable management practices, improving the quality of ecosystems and safeguarding biodiversity. Protecting landscapes and habitats will also help to tackle climate change with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through the protection of natural carbon sinks. It will address the drivers of environmental degradation and support local governments, and park authorities, and communities to deliver long-term sustainable management and use of natural resources. 

This worldwide multimillion-pound grant fund programme will need experienced professionals across a diversity of disciplines, with strong acumen in fund management best practices, technical assistance facilities, and adaptive monitoring and learning across the programme team. For the management of this fund GOPA Worldwide Consultants is looking for senior experts in landscape restoration, natural resource management, biodiversity protection to fill key management roles at leadership level. 

Required key qualifications/experience:

- Strategic leadership;  

- Programme management; 

- Grant fund design and management; and 

- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

Additional Experience we would value: 

- Strategic or Technical leadership of large-scale development programmes (average annual budgets ≥ EUR 3 million); 

- Technical expertise in Biodiversity, Conservation, Land Use, Rural Economic Development, Livelihoods, Environmental      Governance, Climate Change and/or related fields; 

- At least ten years’ senior experience; 

- Grant Fund management experience; 

- Demonstrated ability to lead the design and management of open tender systems and grant schemes. 

- Managerial experience in the full grant lifecycle DEFRA and/or FCDO/DFID experience would be advantageous

- Fluency in English and/or an additional European languages would be advantageous.

If you are interested in the Senior Expert for Biodiverse Landscapes Fund - Landscape Management position, please send us your CV in the given EU format. Please also sign the privacy declaration for data protection and attach it to your application. We look forward to receiving your application!