Regional NBS Technical Advisor-EAMWIO
Wildlife Conservation Society
IT
Rwanda
Posted on Jul 4, 2025
03-Jul-2025
Regional NBS Technical Advisor-EAMWIO
Rwanda
Global Conservation Full-Time
GLOBAL CONSERVATION
Job Description
Position: Regional Natural-Based Solutions Advisor
Reports to: Regional Technical Director-EAMWIO
Positions Managed: None
Location: Kigali-Africa Regional Hub
Country Program/Sector:
Position type: Full-time
Scope/Capacity: Regional
Coordinate with: WCS Nature-based Solutions Team
Job Purpose
The Regional Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Advisor will oversee the development, implementation, and management of WCS’s NBS programme across Eastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Western Indian Ocean (EAMWIO) region. The Advisor will collaborate closely with WCS country teams and the Global NBS team to:
Advance WCS’s portfolio of voluntary carbon projects and jurisdictional programmes. Act as a bridge between WCS's country-level initiatives and WCS’s global pool of subject matter experts. Engage with investors and partners to secure long-term funding and establish enabling conditions for carbon market participation. Serve as a regional project manager and advisor, offering strategic input to global NBS efforts and guiding regional implementation to align with broader WCS NBS goals.
Major Responsibilities:
Reports to: Regional Technical Director-EAMWIO
Positions Managed: None
Location: Kigali-Africa Regional Hub
Country Program/Sector:
Position type: Full-time
Scope/Capacity: Regional
Coordinate with: WCS Nature-based Solutions Team
Job Purpose
The Regional Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Advisor will oversee the development, implementation, and management of WCS’s NBS programme across Eastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Western Indian Ocean (EAMWIO) region. The Advisor will collaborate closely with WCS country teams and the Global NBS team to:
Advance WCS’s portfolio of voluntary carbon projects and jurisdictional programmes. Act as a bridge between WCS's country-level initiatives and WCS’s global pool of subject matter experts. Engage with investors and partners to secure long-term funding and establish enabling conditions for carbon market participation. Serve as a regional project manager and advisor, offering strategic input to global NBS efforts and guiding regional implementation to align with broader WCS NBS goals.
Major Responsibilities:
- Project Development
- Collaborate with country teams to design and structure identified projects grounded in a clear theory of change, including the development of intervention strategies and approaches for community and government engagement.
- Build and manage existing in-country NBS technical teams and coordinate with external consultants.
- Oversee all technical components of new and existing VCM project development, ensuring alignment with relevant standards and methodologies.
- Advise country teams on monitoring systems, community engagement, and jurisdictional alignment.
- Support the development of benefit-sharing mechanisms.
- Oversee the development of life-of-project financial scenarios
- Feasibility and Design
- Oversee feasibility assessments for early-stage project opportunities, drawing on existing WCS staff expertise, including GHG mitigation potential, governance models, project budgets and financing needs.
- Establish a fact base that will facilitate an investor's decision on the potential for cost-effective credit generation over the long term.
- Validation and Verification
- Be fully accountable for the execution of all validation and verification processes for active carbon projects.
- Prepare and finalise Project Descriptions and Monitoring Reports.
- Coordinate directly with third-party VVBs and manage audit processes.
- Coordinate audit site visits with WCS staff and oversee any required updates to project documents based on VVB findings.
- Investor Engagement
- Liaise with investors, credit buyers, and marketing partners.
- Develop and present investment proposals and support deal structuring.
- Monitoring, Reporting, and Financial Oversight
- Guide the development of monitoring and knowledge management systems for compliance with standard requirements.
- Oversee internal project budgets and financial tracking with WCS finance teams.
- Provide timely reporting to donors, investors, and WCS leadership.
- Support country program and finance teams to track carbon credit sales and revenue flows, including through benefit-sharing mechanisms.
General
Strengthen partnerships and secure resources to expand the WCS NBS portfolio across the region:
- Regional and internal coordination
- Act as a bridge between regional teams, country programs, technical consultants, and the NBS team.
- Serve as an expert advisor to the global WCS NBS team on regional trends, events, and barriers affecting the carbon finance portfolio.
- Collaborate with WCS’s technical and finance teams to align fundraising with strategic priorities.
- Fundraising, donor engagement, and reporting
- Identify funding opportunities aligned with regional carbon and NBS strategies.
- Lead or support the development of high-quality grant and investor proposals for project and program funding.
- Contribute to the cultivation and maintenance of strong relationships with bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic, and private sector partners.
- Contribute to regular engagement with donors to communicate progress, share lessons learned, and discuss funding priorities.
- Ensure timely preparation of donor reports, project updates, and financial reports by grant agreements.
- Track deliverables and milestones to ensure compliance with donor expectations and contractual obligations.
Qualification Requirements
Essential:
- Minimum 7 years of experience in the practical execution of complex landscape-oriented public or private sector initiatives at the nexus of conservation and rural development in a developing economy context
- Strong experience in donor management, including grant writing, workplan development, on-scope and on-budget execution, and impact reporting
- Familiarity with climate finance or NBS, or comparable performance-based nature finance mechanisms (e.g. certification schemes or payments for ecosystem services)
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate multi-stakeholder processes and work in cross-cultural settings.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Strong analytical and writing skills; extreme attention to detail.
- Willingness to travel regularly to field sites and partner meetings.
- Ability and willingness to travel extensively to country programs and field sites.
Preferred:
- University degree in a field relevant to the duties of the position.
- Experience working in East Africa, particularly in the context of conservation landscapes.
- Working proficiency in French.
- Experience in fundraising and investor engagement in climate finance or a related sector.
- Experience in voluntary carbon markets, carbon project development, and/or jurisdictional REDD+ programs.
- Experience working on field-based implementation of landscape-level conservation, avoided deforestation, reforestation, woodlots, or natural regeneration projects.
How to apply
Interested candidates who meet the above qualifications, skills, and experience should apply through the application tab. We review received applications on a rolling basis.
Please send a detailed application letter and CV together with the names and contact information of three referees to the email addresses.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.
WCS is an equal opportunity employer, and the organisation complies with all employment and labour laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring and ensures that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and engaging in a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The organisation provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organisation does not discriminate for employment based on gender, race/ethnicity, religion, colour, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, caste, genetic information or any other covered status or characteristic protected by laws and regulations/and similar categories.
Interested candidates who meet the above qualifications, skills, and experience should apply through the application tab. We review received applications on a rolling basis.
Please send a detailed application letter and CV together with the names and contact information of three referees to the email addresses.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.
WCS is an equal opportunity employer, and the organisation complies with all employment and labour laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring and ensures that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and engaging in a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The organisation provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organisation does not discriminate for employment based on gender, race/ethnicity, religion, colour, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, caste, genetic information or any other covered status or characteristic protected by laws and regulations/and similar categories.
It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon a person’s membership in one of these protected categories in areas such as recruitment, selection, job assignment, supervision, training, promotions, job grading, transfers, termination, compensation, benefits, educational opportunities, WCS sponsored recreational activities and facilities. The organisation complies with the spirit and intent of relevant local laws and WCS’s employment policies.
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Salary Range
Competitive salary commensurate with experience
