Deputy Directors

Job Description

Deputy Directors

Natural Infrastructure for Water Security Project

Forest Trends (Peru)

Forest Trends seeks two experienced leaders to join our Peru team as Deputy Directors of the Natural Infrastructure for Water Security project (NIWS). Each Deputy Director will oversee the strategy and delivery of their respective overall Objectives for this project in its second phase.

These individuals will report to the Project Director and will be part of a Project Executive Management Team that also includes the Project Director and the Director of Operations and Finance. Led by the Project Director, the Project Executive Management Team is responsible for overall project management (e.g., planning, reporting, communications, governance, administration), delivery of project results, compliance, and strategic engagement.

These are salaried positions budgeted to begin immediately extending through the programmed close of NIWS’ second phase, in September 2027. The positions are based in Lima, Peru.

The Deputy Directors—Natural Infrastructure Governance and Investments will serve on the Project Executive Management Team and will respectively oversee the overall strategy and execution of NIWS’ Objectives 1 and 2 as illustrated above.

Specific responsibilities are detailed in this section.

The Deputy Directors are accountable for all programmatic results under Objectives 1 and 2 of NIWS and play a central role on the Project Executive Management Team in the project’s overall work planning and adaptive management. Specific responsibilities include:

Annual work planning:

• Co-lead the annual NIWS work planning process with full NIWS coalition, ensuring a clear, efficient process that results in a high-quality work plan that satisfies donor expectations and contributes to achieving overall programmatic results under NIWS
• Prepare the final work plan narrative for the Objective under his/her responsibility, with inputs from the NIWS team; coordinate internal and donor reviews and incorporate changes; secure and document all relevant approvals
• Prepare work plan summaries for Forest Trends internal use and board presentations

Work plan implementation and adaptive management:

• Supervise overall effective and timely implementation of the annual work plan, with a focus on achieving priority programmatic results for the Objective under his/her responsibility,
• Develop and supervise subawards, especially with a focus on the delivery of the Objective under his/her responsibility and capacity-building for local subpartners
• Support NIWS staff and technical leadership team to focus on, track, and adjust strategy as necessary to achieve priority annual programmatic results, especially with a focus on the Objective under his/her responsibility,
• Receive, review, provide feedback, and with Project Director provide approval for significant adjustments to work plan through the year as relates to the Objective under his/her responsibility. Coordinate, secure, and document donor or home office approvals to any such changes as necessary

Reporting:

• Ensure quarterly and annual technical reports are complete, clear, and submitted in a timely fashion to USAID/all relevant donors.
• With Project Executive Management Team members, ensure all monitoring & evaluation requirements are met to donor and institutional standards.
• Ensure team is prepared for project evaluations (technical and financial); accompanies and provides timely input and feedback on all evaluations.

The Deputy Directors —Natural Infrastructure Governance & Investments directly manage approximately 5 technical leads from Forest Trends and partner organizations, as well as an assistant. The Deputy Directors may also supervise select consultants. Specific responsibilities include:

• Oversee the workflow and ensure the technical quality of the work performed by team members and consultants;
• Support team members to define and adjust strategies to achieve priority programmatic results;
• Evaluate the performance of team members;
• Coach team members to overcome challenges, and develop professional development plans with team members to support their growth and wellbeing; and
• In coordination with Project Director, make and communicate final decisions about staff hiring and termination.

Additionally, as part of the Project Executive Management Team, the Deputy Directors coordinate and facilitate the NIWS technical leadership team and support facilitation of the broader NIWS staff across subpartners. These responsibilities include:

• Proactively support a positive team environment by managing and resolving issues, or seeking assistance to do so, as they arise within the team;
• Identify staffing needs and lead the recruitment and selection of any new team members;
• Plan and facilitate regular meetings of the NIWS leadership team as well as the full NIWS staff; and
• Ensure appropriate communications channels, information technology, and coordination/exchange/celebration spaces are in place to support effective teamwork across the NIWS team.

With the Project Director, the Deputy Directors are responsible for accurate and high-quality budget planning and execution for the full NIWS project.

• Coordinates annual budget planning and management for the Objective under his/her responsibility,
• Oversees the quality of budget execution to ensure expenditures are reasonable, allowable, allocable, and aligned with technical progress
• Approves and signs off on contracts and payments within approved thresholds
• Works with Project Executive Management Team to improve policies, procedures, and team capacities for efficient, effective financial and operational management

• Serve as thought leaders within area of technical expertise (e.g., through strategic briefs, media presence, engagement of media and partners)
• Identifies and communicates lessons learned from NIWS experience
• Represents Forest Trends and the NIWS Coalition in areas of his/her technical expertise, at public events or settings, including international events, conferences, and other fora, as well as in media engagements
• In coordination with Project Director, Water Initiative Director, and CEO, contribute to the cultivation and origination of institutional relationships with partners (subawardees, clients, public and private counterparts)
• In coordination with NIWS leadership team, manages institutional relationships with partners through direct coordination on work plan, technical content, and adaptive management
• In coordination with Project Director and CEO, contribute to relationship management with donors by directly communicating advances and addressing questions—including through sharing periodic (e.g., biweekly) bullets on key advances, weekly meetings, and periodic presentations to executive-level donor representatives.

In areas of technical expertise and programmatic leadership:

• Lead or review the definition of new studies and publications, including product objective, scope, audience, and key messages
• Lead or review the definition of methodologies and technical preparation of reports, studies, briefs or communications products
• Review or supervise select research and analysis
• Review or supervise the production and strategic dissemination of select reports and communications products

Minimum qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in international development, natural/water resources management, public policy, business, economics, or related field of study
• Experience working with nature-based solutions, climate change adaptation, or related projects, programs, or policies
• Excellent management skills, demonstrated through at least 5 years of direct supervision of staff and consultants, planning, budgeting, and reporting
• Demonstrated ability to lead interdisciplinary teams, including the ability to align team members toward a shared vision and execute to achieve complex results
• Demonstrated excellent communications and writing abilities and superior interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills
• Fluency in Spanish and English
• A familiarity with and commitment to advancing gender equality and social inclusion.
• Commitment to the mission of Forest Trends and enthusiasm to join a talented and committed team

Desired qualifications

• Experience assembling and managing a diverse coalition of partners (subawardees, contractors, and collaborators from the public and private sectors)
• Regionally or globally recognized expertise on nature-based solutions for water and climate adaptation (policy, finance, and science), as well as experience developing NBS focused on other values (including carbon and biodiversity).
• Extensive network and experience in Peru relevant to NIWS II objectives (e.g., Peruvian authorities, private sector, civil society, academia, cooperation)
• Experience implementing conservation and/or development efforts with local communities, preferably in the Andes
• Extensive knowledge of USAID rules and regulations, including for monitoring, reporting, and compliance
• Human resource management experience, including navigating Peruvian human resource and labor regulations, development and implementation of HR strategies including for performance management and recruitment and hiring.

Qualified candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter explaining their experience relevant to the responsibilities of the position and noting their salary expectations, to infraestructuraverdeinfo@forest-trends.org, no later than Tuesday, June 20^th, 2023. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to apply early.

About the Organization

Forest Trends drives innovation in environmental finance to sustain resilient ecosystems and communities. Since its founding in 1998, Forest Trends has been a global leader in conserving forests and other ecosystems through the creation and wide adoption of a broad range of environmental finance, markets, and payment and incentive mechanisms.

Forest Trends is the prime Implementing Partner of the Natural Infrastructure for Water Security project (NIWS), which works to scale-up gender-sensitive investments in NI that will strengthen the water security and climate resilience of prioritized populations in Peru. NIWS is financed and supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Canada. NIWS began in December 2017; its second phase is programmed to begin in May 2023 and to conclude in September 2027.

NIWS’ second phase is oriented around two technical objectives:

• Objective 1: Multisectoral and multilevel governance of NI is strengthened (Deputy Director Governance).
• Objective 2: A portfolio of public and private NI investments is designed, financed, and implemented with the effective participation of women and clear benefits for populations in vulnerable watersheds (Deputy Director Investments).

Under Objective 1, NIWS II will improve the governance of natural water infrastructure to ensure the sustainability of NIWS’ results through strengthened Peruvian institutions. Objective 1 will be delivered through the following Intermediate Results:

• Strengthened coordination across sectors and scales to improve governance of NI for water security.
• Improved financing strategies and mechanisms for NI in prioritized watersheds.
• Increased participation of local populations, particularly women, in NI investments.
• Enhanced performance of public and private institutions for designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and managing high-quality investments in NI.
• Strengthened capacity across the system for generating and managing knowledge, information, and tools on NI.
• NIWS’ local partners strengthened to receive and manage direct awards from USAID and other donors.

Under Objective 2, NIWS II will mobilize and continue to grow the robust portfolio of natural infrastructure investments initiated in NIWS’ first phase (valued at >$300 million). We expect to bring a large portion of existing projects through mobilization stages to implementation, while documenting the multiple benefits these projects generate and improving practice on NI investment design and management. Objective 2 will be delivered through the following Intermediate Results:

• NIWS’ current portfolio of public and private NI projects is mobilized and implemented at scale.
• Strengthened gender-sensitive management of NI projects, including management of environmental, social and governance risks to implementation and sustainability.
• Public and private NI investments designed with a gender-sensitive approach.
• Multiple benefits (hydrological, social, economic, biodiversity, and climate) generated by NI portfolio and quantified.

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