Job Description

Job Advert Summary

(This is a 17-month fixed term contract position based in Pietermaritzburg/ Hilton)





WWF is the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organisation, with over 6 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.





WWF South Africa is a national office that is part of the WWF network. We are a local NGO that has worked for 50 years with the aim of inspiring all South Africans to live in harmony with nature, for the benefit of our country and the wellbeing of all our people. WWFs work is for nature, for you.





Our work is challenging and exciting and we love what we do. To join our team, you need to be brilliant at what you do, passionate, results-orientated and have a positive attitude.

BACKGROUND:

This position aims to lead the WWF- Mondi Partnership on effective water stewardship outcomes in prioritized Strategic Water Source Areas, with specific focus on implementation of stewardship initiatives, convening of muti-stakeholder platforms, strengthening water governance and improving ecological infrastructure for the uMhlathuze catchment supply systems. This position will support the development of 2030 strategic ambitions within the Mpumalanga/ Northern Drakensberg landscape, with specific focus on securing over 1 million hectares of Strategic Water Source Areas for inclusive conservation benefits by scaling stewardship approaches in Forestry production landscapes including implementation of rangeland management, improved biodiversity management practices and OECMS (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures) to deliver benefit for people and nature.

Minimum Requirements

Postgraduate degree in environmental science, biodiversity management/ water resource management /agriculture/environmental learning and social change. 6-8 years of relevant experience of working with different land use sectors and government, on water and biodiversity stewardship issues and water resource management related policies and legislation. Experience in strategy development as well as knowledge of key issues in biodiversity and water stewardship, integrated land management, and sustainability is crucial for productive engagements across different landowners/users. Experience of convening a community or practice, and its relationship to social and impactful change. Proficiency in GIS tools and spatial understanding is necessary Strong stakeholder engagement abilities, and comfortable to start and maintain relationships Experience in strategy development as well as knowledge of key issues in water stewardship, water resource management, and sustainability crucial for productive engagements in the business, agriculture and forestry sectors. Excellent report writing and tracking of project indicators and matrix. Ability to effectively convey vision, ideas, goals and issues as well as produce concise and effective reports and presentations. Ability to understand and articulate the business case of projects. Excellent administration and coordination of groups and individuals by promoting teamwork, delegating tasks, resolving conflict and setting targets and goals. Ability to engage across various levels, as well as the ability to negotiate the use of resources, and budgets. The candidate must be able to translate stewardship approaches into action plans in the conservation, agriculture, forestry and business sectors. Written and oral proficiency in English is required for this role. Proficiency in isiZulu is an advantage. Ability to initiate new working relations and self-manage areas of work critical to achievement of deliverables. Ability to build relationships and trust with key stakeholders, including convening role-players across sectors, organisations, and locations. Ability to work collaboratively and facilitate solutions focused engagements in multidisciplinary and diverse working environments. Ability to organize tasks in the right order, and to hit the right outcome at the right time. Able to drive 4x4 and comfortable driving long hours Must be willing to relocate to KZN (Pietermaritzburg or Hilton) You recognise yourself in the values of WWF: Courage, Integrity, Respect, Collaboration and Inclusion

To apply, please submit a detailed CV and cover letter combined into a single document, fully motivating the relevant skills, experience, and creativity you can bring to the role. Kindly include the names, current email addresses, and telephone numbers of three relevant references.

Duties and Responsibilities

+ Effective water governance decision-making is influenced through the DWS-WWF partnership at regional and national level (i.e. regular meeting engagements and providing strategic inputs on water allocation, monitoring, water demand management, catchment management plans, dam release management, implement water resource objective, etc) + WWF is leading CMF chairing to support catchment stakeholders in water issues; Mandated water management institutions are engaged and supported (WUA, Irrigation boards, DWS, municipalities, Water boards)
+ Water flow monitoring tools are implemented, and information is regularly shared with catchment stakeholders to inform management decisions.
+ Implementation of UWASP partnership strategy to guide development and implementation of water stewardship projects across different sectors + Lead knowledge management of UWASP work, including continuous maintenance of stakeholder database, sharing of learning in workshops and conference for awareness and engagements in ongoing water security challenges in the catchment and beyond.
+ Stakeholders are provided with inputs to inform implementation of water stewardship practices
+ Provide strategic input in plans and technical tools to strengthen effective planning, coordination, implementation, and synergies on implementation of water stewardship initiatives in uMhlathuze catchment system
+ Develop communications material to showcase the catchment water stewardship work.
+ Lead learning exchanges and field trips with funders and partners to showcase the water stewardship and governance in uMhlathuze catchment system.
+ Initiate projects on restoration and biodiversity stewardship for protection of ecological infrastructure to deliver benefits for water, biodiversity, and livelihoods + Provide technical and strategic support, as well as capacity develop for implementation of projects to manage and restore ecological infrastructure in the catchment
+ Continuous implementation of real-time flow monitoring tools and citizen science to strengthen water resource monitoring in dams, rivers and lakes.
+ Initiate collaborative projects and partnerships with credible knowledge institutions to scale the impact of uMhlathuze water stewardship work.
+ Initiate projects towards developing a catchment water balance and to develop dashboards for information sharing on water use and demand management to strengthen preparedness for future disaster risk management at catchment scale.
+ Fulfill organisational requirements of WWF staff and participate in necessary WWF strategic engagements and support relevant landscape projects + Collaborate to engage other forestry companies to support the development and feasibility scaling of stewardship through the OECMs model
+ Support stakeholder engagements and mapping of stewardship opportunities (incl. OECMs) at scale within the forestry sector + Support the policy development of OECMs model through engagements and participation in national platforms.
+ Piloting the implementation of stewardship projects and sustainable forestry management initiatives with Mondi and other forestry companies

Key deliverables:

Below are deliverables of the WWF-Mondi Partnership with specific relevance to the project manager role:

Convening of the uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Partners

to ensuring that the partnership is well managed and demonstrate impact at regional and national level

Influence the effective water governance decision-making

through developing and managing effective collaborations with mandated institutions at regional and national level

Continuous engagements and collaborations with UWASP partners and catchment stakeholders

to ensure the custodianship of the partnerships is sustained and implementation of projects is of shared value to all.

Develop networks and cultivate relationships

to increase engagement/participation by key stakeholders in the partnerships and ensure that they continue to attract a vibrant voluntary community of stakeholders.

Unlock opportunities and catalyse new project develop for scaling stewardship

through partnership with Forestry sector.

Effective and adaptive project management approaches

to effectively manage all projects and reflexive learning to ensure successful delivery of outcomes with value and impact to all stakeholders.

Support and engage with Freshwater finance and admin

on financial management of the programme and project progress status to facilitate adhering to internal WWF policies and procedures including budget planning and approvals of project expenses.

Actively participate in other catchment partnerships

of relevance to uMhlathuze catchment supply system and to engage communities of practice within the water security context.

Support

the related activities within WWF taking place within strategic water source areas of relevance to uMhlathuze catchment supply system and in the

Support collaboration and learning between different partnerships

alongside colleagues in the Mpumalanga & Northern Drakensberg landscape

Support monitoring, evaluation and learning

on all related projects in the Mpumalanga & Northern Drakensberg landscape

Develop communication materials that tell the stories

of the partnership in collaboration with the WWF Communications team.

Lead and coordinate field trips

to showcase the water stewardship work to funders, colleagues, partners and other stakeholders

Develop funding proposals

and engage with BDU on exploring opportunities for projects implementation in uMhlathuze catchment supply systems and Mpumalanga & Northern Drakensberg landscape

Support the strategy delivery

for the Mpumalanga & Northern Drakensberg landscape *

Fulfill organisational requirements of WWF staff

and participate in necessary Mpumalanga & Northern Drakensberg landscape and other integration meetings, meetings pertaining to the WWF strategy, monitoring and evaluation, and performance assessment systems.