The international organization IUCN is recruiting for this position (June 29, 2024)

IUCN is a Membership Union composed of governments and civil society organizations. The international organization IUCN is recruiting a Capacity Building and Marketing Officer. It provides public, private and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure that human progress, economic development and nature conservation are achieved in harmony.

Established in 1948, IUCN has grown over the years to become the largest and most diverse environmental network in the world. It draws on the experience, resources and clout of its more than 1,400 Member organizations and the expertise of its more than 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its size allows it to act as an incubator and trusted repository of good practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space where diverse stakeholders – governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples’ groups, charities and others – can work together to develop and implement solutions to address environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working in concert with numerous partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation-related projects around the world. Combining the most advanced scientific knowledge and the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects aim to put an end to the disappearance of habitats, restore ecosystems and improve the well-being of populations.

CONTEXT

In Burkina Faso, forests cover 8.6 million hectares (ha) of land, or 32% of the country’s surface area, divided into classified forests and protected areas, owned by the State (3.9 million ha), and protected forests, locally managed by villages and communes (4.7 million ha). Added to this is agroforestry, which covers an additional 3.3 million hectares, or 12.2% of the country’s land area. Protecting key resources, namely land (or soil), forests and livestock, as well as prioritizing the management of scarce resources such as water and energy, are key elements needed for the country to find a way out of poverty.

Since 2013, Burkina Faso has adopted the international REDD+ framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and is participating in the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Readiness Program. Selected as a pilot country under the Strategic Climate Fund’s Forest Investment Program (FIP) to develop and concretely test REDD+ policies and investment programs, Burkina Faso has integrated all REDD+-related resources into a single national program, FIP-Burkina Faso (FIP-BF), to maximize synergies. Launched in 2014, FIP-BF included five complementary investment projects from various sources and supervised by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

Among the projects supervised by the World Bank, the Project to Support Forest-Dependent Populations (PAPF, P149434), was implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while the Phase preparation for REDD+, financed by the FCPF grant and the Decentralized Management of Forests and Wooded Areas Project (PGDFEB), financed by the World Bank which piloted the REDD+ strategy in 32 municipalities located in five different regions of the country, have was implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation (MEEA).
Based on these achievements, Burkina Faso, with the support of the World Bank, developed the Sustainable Management of Communal Landscapes for REDD+ Project. The development objective of the project is to strengthen sustainable landscape management and improve income generation in targeted forest areas in Burkina Faso. To achieve this objective, the project was structured into 4 components and 9 sub-components which are:

• Component 1: Decentralized management of natural resources

Sub-component 1.1: Strategic planning and management of the territory;
Subcomponent 1.2: Investments in communal agro-sylvo-pastoral landscapes.

• Component 2: Institutional strengthening

Subcomponent 2.1. Intersectoral harmonization, coordination and capacity building for integrated landscape management
Subcomponent 2.2. Strengthening the national system for managing social and environmental risks
Subcomponent 2.3. Favorable environment for mobilizing climate finance.

Component 3: Entrepreneurship and sustainable development of value chains

Subcomponent 3.1. Sustainable development of shea, moringa and other green economy value chains,
Subcomponent 3.2. Support for cooperatives and SMEs in targeted municipalities.

Component 4: Project coordination and monitoring and evaluation

Sub-component 4.1. Project administration, coordination and management
Subcomponent 4.2. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E), communication and knowledge management.

The World Bank and Burkina Faso have made the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) responsible for the implementation of subcomponent 3.2. This sub-component aims to directly support producer organizations and SMEs in strengthening their capacities to exploit, transform and market their products through shared cost sub-projects to finance the adoption of good practices, the provision of inputs, kits and production, processing and/or marketing equipment. The value chains targeted for these sub-projects are, as a priority, shea, néré, baobab, moringa and bio-compost. To ensure the results of this subcomponent 3.2 and contribute to the project development objective as well as the effective delivery of its results, IUCN-Burkina Faso is recruiting a Capacity Building and Marketing Officer of subcomponent 3.2 of the Communal Landscape Management for REDD+ project, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The capacity building and marketing manager will be responsible for implementing the capacity building plan and will assist small and medium-sized businesses to develop it and implement their marketing plan for their products or services . In addition, he (she) will be in charge of monitoring the marketing and/or webmarketing actions of small and medium-sized businesses supported through subcomponent 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+ project. He (she) will provide support in commercial techniques and business management to small and medium-sized businesses as needed.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Placed under the supervision of the Coordinator of subcomponent 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+ project, the capacity building and marketing manager will work in close collaboration with the DPV and the PNB. He (she) will work in close collaboration with the communications officer of subcomponent 3.2, and the communications officer of the PGPC-REDD+ project. The main responsibilities are:

A. Capacity building of sub-project promoters financed through sub-component 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+
• Finalize the capacity building plan for small and medium-sized enterprises financed through sub-component 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+ project
• Develop a work plan and budget for capacity building of small and medium-sized enterprises financed through subcomponent 3.2 and the PGPC-REDD+ project;
• Coordinate the development and implementation of approaches and tools adapted to the capacity building of small and medium-sized enterprises financed through sub-component 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+ project;
• Monitor and evaluate the acquisition of capabilities acquired by small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Develop capacity building reports for small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Facilitate the exchange of information, lessons learned and good practices in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises for REDD+;
• Document lessons learned from the implementation of the small and medium enterprise capacity building plan.
• Contribute to the production of periodic reports for sub-component 3.2 in particular and for the project in general;
• Perform other tasks that may be assigned from time to time in connection with the PGPC-REDD+ project.

B. Small and Medium Business Marketing

• Coordinate the development and implementation of marketing campaigns with small and medium-sized enterprises financed through sub-component 3.2 of the PGPC-REDD+;
• Research and analyze data to identify and define potential markets and audiences demanding products from small and medium-sized businesses.
• Research and analyze data to identify and define financial markets accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises financed through sub-component 3.2;
• Carry out promotional actions for small and medium-sized enterprises to facilitate their access to financial markets and those of their products;
• Organize and disseminate financial and statistical information on the products of small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Support small and medium-sized businesses to organize and monitor social media campaigns.
• Monitor and evaluate marketing actions and produce related reports.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS REQUIRED

University diplomas (Minimum Bac + 4) in marketing or business development, particularly in relation to the management of natural resources;
Have at least 5 years of experience in capacity building of actors related to business development and/or marketing;
Good knowledge of the environment and development policy for small and medium-sized businesses in Burkina Faso;
Good organizational, writing and communication skills;
Excellent diplomatic and networking skills;
An ability to work and communicate effectively with a wide range of public and private sector actors, as well as donors;
Good knowledge of Web technology;
Excellent interpersonal skills, including a positive “can do” attitude;
Proven ability to adapt and support several projects of different natures but linked to entrepreneurship.
Good knowledge of English and experience in World Bank funded projects would be assets.

APPLICATIONS

Interested persons are requested to apply through the “Human Resources Management System”, by opening the vacancy announcement and clicking on the “Apply” button.

Each candidate must create their own account in the system. No applications will be accepted after the closing date. Applications are accepted until 24:00 in Switzerland (GMT + 1h / GMT + 2h during summer time, DST). Please note that only selected candidates will be personally contacted to participate in interviews.

Other vacancies are advertised on the IUCN website: https://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/.

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