In its work, the Economics Team leverages and helps further develop IUCN’s knowledge, tools, metrics, and approaches. The Team works in partnership with national and international institutions, consortia of actors involving the public and private sectors and through actions at the national, regional, sectoral, supply chain, and regulatory levels. The work of the Team centres around three key business lines: (1) natural capital accounting and valuation; (2) mainstreaming nature into economic and policy decisions; (3) economic analyses to support key IUCN initiatives. A sustainable project portfolio supports all work by the Team.

The Senior Programme Coordinator (SPC) will be responsible for maintaining, delivering, and further developing a programme of work for the mainstreaming nature business line whilst ensuring programmatic alignment and learning across the three business lines. In 2024, 2025 and first quarter of 2026, the portfolio will be mostly focused on coordinating the second phase of the BIODEV2030 project, and could also include activities on natural capital accounting and valuation and providing economic analysis to support key IUCN initiatives (including nature-positive).

The SPC will lead and coordinate phase 2 of the BIODEV2030, which aims to contribute to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in eight countries (Benin, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guinea, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique and Senegal) in three IUCN regions, by promoting the adoption of production practices that reconcile biodiversity and development, with a methodology combining scientific diagnosis and multi-stakeholders dialogue. The project will support national public authorities in their reform of sectoral public policies in priority sectors to encourage change in productive practices. At the level of a specific pilot landscape, the stakeholders will identify the actions to be taken to reconcile development and biodiversity and develop projects for the transition to “nature-positive” practices, or even nature-based solutions, which will be presented to potential donors. The SPC will also represent the project at regular meetings with the project coordinator (Expertise France), the donor (Agence française de Développement) and the partner (WWF-France).

The SPC will be responsible for the following:

BIODEV2030 Phase 2 management, coordination and reporting, including:
• Lead and coordinate the implementation of BIODEV2030 phase 2 in eight countries, in close collaboration with the regional coordination teams and in accordance with the logical framework and the Economics Team programme of work,
• Contribute to the recruitment and management of the IUCN Senior Programme Officers (P2) in countries involved in BIODEV2030 phase 2 project,
• Collaborate with Expertise France and WWF-France on methodological aspects and provide guidance to Regions to ensure consistent project implementation,
• Ensure the overall quality of the deliverables and, in particular, that IUCN tools, standards and knowledge (NbS Global Standard, STAR metric) are tested and used appropriately to support decision-making and to evaluate and measure the impact of the Nature-Positive projects to be developed at landscape level,
• Provide and facilitate technical oversight and lead the project teams for results, with clarity in roles and responsibilities and accountability for outcomes,
• Support capacity building and contribute to the mainstreaming of nature into economic and policy decisions and the promotion of natural capital accounting and valuation in BIODEV2030 countries and beyond, as applicable,
• Nurture contacts with potential donors and financial actors to prepare for a future implementation phase of the projects designed the pilot landscape level,
• Deliver quality technical and financial reporting to Expertise France and Agence française de Développement,
• Ensure effective, efficient, and adaptive management of project resources (financial, human, and intellectual),
• Contribute to the dissemination of the learnings of the project through knowledge management, communication and policy briefs, in collaboration with the relevant teams of IUCN and Expertise France,

In addition, the SPC contributes to the Economics Team and Centre for Economy and Finance as a staff member, as needed, including the following:

• Build further capacity, influence and IUCN’s external facing on the work with economic sectors, sectoral ministries and the private sector (including on climate, biodiversity and economic development).
• Participate in meetings, conferences, and platforms of relevance to the work program described above, to advance and showcase IUCN technical and thought leadership to drive sector-wide transformation, and to influence and mobilize new networks, partners, and stakeholders.
• Collaborate and engage IUCN global programmes, regions, IUCN members, and commissions on IUCN flagship initiatives and crosscutting issues.
• Nurture working relationships with existing partners and establish new partnerships, including resource mobilization.
• Work with colleagues to ensure effective implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks for the business lines and project portfolio.
• Other relevant tasks in support of related IUCN work, as needed.