The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is currently looking for a Project Manager to support its Resilience Program. The Project Manager will report to the Director of the Resilience Program. The position will be based in Winnipeg or Ottawa, Canada.

IISD’s Resilience Program

IISD’s Resilience Team works on embedding risk management in development planning so that people, economies and ecosystems are able to thrive in a context of growing uncertainty and change. The Program’s current work covers three themes: 1) Climate Adaptation, which focuses on reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change; 2) Environment, Conflict and Peacebuilding, which seeks to promote better ecosystem management and resource governance to move conflict-affected societies from fragility to resilience, and 3) Food Systems, which supports the development of climate resilient and socially inclusive agriculture value chains. The Project Manager will work primarily on the Climate Adaptation thematic area, although work in the other thematic areas is anticipated.

Position description

An outgoing, motivated and highly-organised individual is being sought to manage the new National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network, or NGN, for which IISD is serving as the Secretariat. The Candidate will spend at least 70% of his/her time managing the Network, particularly in its first year of existence, and should therefore be an excellent planner, organizer, communicator and multi-tasker with knowledge of climate change adaptation specifically and sustainable development more broadly. The remainder of the Candidate’s time will be spent on developing and supporting policy research projects and communications activities for the Resilience Program.

Tasks

The Project Manager will be responsible for the following tasks related to managing the NAP Global Network:

Internal Network communications: Developing and running systems and protocols to facilitate communication between the NGN Secretariat, the Steering Committee, Working Groups and other NGN partners. This will include managing a virtual communication platform to organise periodic meetings and providing regular updates to Committee members.
Membership and contact management: Developing a contact database of journalists, policy makers, researchers, and other important audiences, as well as identifying targeted channels to reach these audiences;
External communications and outreach: Developing cutting edge communication strategies for the Network. This includes developing and maintaining the Network’s online presence via its website and social media, as well as producing press releases and other outreach materials.
Research and issue tracking: Conducting and managing targeted policy research related to national adaptation planning processes; following and summarizing news and events pertaining to the NAP process specifically and climate change adaptation generally;
Meeting organisation and facilitation: Assisting with the organization of conferences and workshops, e.g. identifying and inviting participants, developing agendas, facilitating sessions, and producing workshop reports.
Project management: Preparing and presenting project reports, such as regular donor reports and updates, in collaboration with IISD’s corporate service teams (i.e. publishing, accounting.).

The Candidate will also be responsible for the following tasks more broadly, as a member of IISD’s Resilience Team:

Project development and implementation: Design, fundraise for and manage research and capacity building projects in the area of adaptation and risk reduction
Research: Undertake policy research on issues related to risk reduction, resilience and climate adaptation on project led by other IISD personnel or the Candidate
Project management: Manage projects in cooperation with other IISD personnel, including but not limited to controlling budgets, managing donor relationships, supervising IISD personnel and external consultants, and supporting the fundraising efforts of the Resilience Team and IISD more broadly
Partnership building: Develop and maintain a network of partners including individuals from intergovernmental organizations, governments, civil society organizations, the private sector and academia
Team outreach: Support development and distribution of communication products of the Resilience team, undertake country missions and represent IISD at international conferences and events
Undertake other tasks as required

Qualifications

The Project Manager will possess the following qualifications:

A minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent in relevant social or natural sciences
At least three years of relevant work experience in the field of climate change adaptation and/or sustainable development
Fluent written and spoken English and ability to work (read, write, speak) in French or Spanish or both
Work experience in developing countries
Ability to travel overseas on a regular basis
Experience in field research and participatory planning processes, particularly in developing countries, a significant advantage

Skills and Attributes

The Candidate should have the following set of skills:

Knowledge of climate change adaptation / climate risk management
Clear capacity to effectively develop and implement communication strategies and ability to communicate policy issues and research findings to different audiences via different platforms
Solid understanding of development policy processes, particularly in developing countries
Demonstrated organizational planning skills, including ability to coordinate meetings and events
Strong interpersonal and networking skills
Excellent writing skills
Computer literacy – Microsoft Office applications, knowledge of database packages, and experience in handling of web based communications and management systems
Ability to design, fundraise for and implement policy-oriented research projects, from start to finish
Positive work attitude and ability to work in an international research team and independently
Flexibility to take on tasks ranging from highly complex to basic in nature
Results-focused, ability to work under tight deadlines, prioritise tasks, and work quickly and accurately

Starting date: April 1, 2015 (estimate)

Application procedure:

Please send a CV (no longer than two pages) as well as a covering letter (one page) to Human Resources:
employment@iisd.ca
quoting “Project Manager, Resilience” in the subject line. Electronic applications are preferred; there is no need to provide hard copies.