IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private, and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development, and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and some 18,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments, and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools, and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples’ organisations, and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems, and improve people’s well-being.

With support of the US Department of State, to host a new, international public-private partnership, End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC), the IUCN and three partners (The Ocean Foundation, Searious Business, and the Aspen Institute) aim to significantly reduce plastic waste and pollution in Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala), Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa by catalysing global partnerships to work collectively. The EPPIC partnership will aim to work globally and engage with a wide suite of stakeholders from the public and private sector, civil society, and academic organisations and initiatives whose collective support will be required to address plastic pollution.
By strengthening enabling environments, raising public awareness, and promoting multi-stakeholder engagement to enhance circularity across the plastics lifecycle, this program will maximise plastic circularity and prevent the release of plastic into the environment by utilising science-based decision making to catalyse solutions, innovation, and investments that bridge government, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and stakeholder actions.
The three objectives are:
• Increase knowledge on potential upstream and midstream, solutions to enable a just transition to circular approaches for plastic.
• Ensure policy and regulatory frameworks are supportive of science-based solutions to enable a just transition to circular approaches for plastic.
• Support science-based solutions and technologies to enable a just transition to circular approaches for plastic are implemented in target regions.

The Regional Project Coordinator will be supervised and will report to both the Regional Project Portfolio Coordinator (line manager) based in the IUCN Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC) in San José, Costa Rica, and to the Chief of Party for EPPIC (functional manager) based in Washington D.C.
The Regional Project Coordinator, in close collaboration with EPPIC’s Chief of Party and under his/her supervision, will lead the implementation of this initiative in the three countries in the ORMACC region where the initiative is being implemented, namely Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. S/he will be responsible for the timely and proper execution of the Central American component of the U.S. Department of State funded project “End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC)”.

The Regional Project Coordinator will lead the implementation of the initiative in Costa Rica and be responsible for engagement at the national level to deliver the project objectives.

Additionally, s/he will manage two National Officers for EPPIC based in Guatemala and Honduras. Therefore, the person to be hired must have proven experience in the proper management of personnel.

The position will also be responsible to engage with key ministries, regional agencies, stakeholders, and international partners, as well as relevant units at IUCN Headquarters and the IUCN Regional Offices for Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia, and North America.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1.1 Manage the Central American component of the project “End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC)”.
Sample of specific tasks:

a) Ensure the efficient use of resources and be accountable for their technical and financial management.
• In collaboration with and under the supervision of EPPIC’s Chief of Party, develop the preparation of the annual operational plans (POA) and respective budget, both for the donor and for ORMACC’s internal monitoring purposes, using the project management tool Smartsheet.
• Contribute to the preparation and ensure the timely delivery of the project reports (technical and financial) with the support of relevant staff.
• Implement, coordinate, and perform quality control of technical and administrative activities.
• Keep the project’s information updated on the IUCN Portal and provide inputs for the different indicators of the IUCN ScoreCard that are relevant to it.

b) Ensure the effective implementation of the project, in all participating ORMACC countries and in compliance with national laws and administrative-financial procedures of IUCN and the donor.
• Coordinate, promote and follow up with the IUCN ORMACC, the project’s Chief of Party, National Officers, and the assigned national government ministries on the implementation of the planned activities.
• Coordinate periodic meetings with the EPPIC Global Coordination Platform and Consortium Partners, to ensure regional workplans and activity implementation coherence and the adoption of standard operating procedures.
• Coordinate project regional implementing partners activities. This includes effective communication and coordination to ensure that all key stakeholders are adequately briefed on planned results and their roles within the project.
• Identify, guide, and budget any infrastructure or equipment needs for the implementation of the project components together with IUCN Regional Project Portfolio Coordinator and the Regional Manager for Finance and Corporate Services.
• In collaboration with and under the supervision of EPPIC’s Chief of Party, develop terms of reference for project staff, external consultancies, and service contracts, and participate in the corresponding recruitment and selection processes. In collaboration with EPPIC’s Chief of Party, supervise the revision of deliverables to ensure quality control.
• Guarantee the integration, harmony, and teamwork of the IUCN ORMACC, other relevant IUCN offices, and external partners involved in the project.
• Ensure compliance and implementation of IUCN environmental and social standards – ESMS (Environmental and Social Management System https://www.iucn.org/about-iucn/accountability-and-reporting/project-accountability/environmental-and-social-management-systeml) within the project’s implementation framework.

c) Promote the integration of inter-institutional and multisectoral efforts to leverage funds, synergies, and joint activities with other IUCN projects in the project countries involved.
• Represent the project in specific events and activities carried out by the IUCN and the donor.
• Establish, develop, and maintain links and strategic alliances with institutions and local, national, and international cooperation governments related to the project’s areas of work.
• Stay informed on relevant global policy-making processes (such as the Global Plastics Treaty) and ensure their proper application during project implementation, including through the facilitation and organisation of corresponding capacity-building processes.
• Promote and implement work synergies with other IUCN initiatives, IUCN members, members of IUCN commissions and other partners that are executing actions within the countries and subjects of the project.
• Identify cooperation opportunities and promote the leverage of other funds and resources to strengthen the impact of the project.

d) Guarantee compliance with IUCN and donor regulations throughout the implementation of the project.
• Comply with and enforce the provisions set out in the Donor Agreement between the IUCN and the United States Department of State.
• With support of the ORMACC Administrative and Finance Hub, timely plan for the financial audits that are stipulated in the donor contract and others that are required by IUCN.
• Ensure the integration of the gender approach and relative institutional policies.
• Coordinate regional participation in the project’s Mid-Term Review and the Final Evaluation in accordance with the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

Please note: These terms of reference contain the main responsibilities and duties of this position. However, in a constantly evolving organisation like IUCN, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably assigned to them but not part of their normal terms of reference. When a task becomes a regular part of the staff member’s responsibilities, the terms of reference should be changed in consultation with the manager, the staff member, and the Human Resources Unit. Any of the beforementioned can initiate the consultation.