KfW Program Coordinator

Location: Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Reports to: WCS DRC Deputy Country Director for Programs

Start Date: As soon as possible

Position Type: Full-time

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) seeks a dynamic, adaptable, and experienced candidate to serve as the Program Coordinator who will lead the implementation of its KfW contracts in eastern DRC.

WCS has public-private partnership agreements with the protected areas agency of the DRC Government – the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) – to manage the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) and Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) in the eastern part of the country. Newly signed KfW contracts form a critical part of the funding of these protected areas. These KfW programs focus on delivering enhanced law enforcement to protect biodiversity of the protected areas, implementing science-based conservation measures such as biodiversity inventories, creating environmental and social commitment plans that prioritize the human rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples through conflict resolution strategies and grievance redress mechanism, and developing the tourism potential of the protected areas through with strategic partnerships and improved infrastructure.

From the WCS offices in Goma, the KfW Program Coordinator will oversee the implementation of these KfW contracts in both protected area sites. The Program Coordinator will be required to work closely with OWR’s and KBNP’s senior management team including the Park/Reserve Directors, Site Managers, and Program Managers, as well as the WCS DRC country program team and the WCS Central Africa regional team to ensure that program activities are delivered and contracting requirements are fulfilled. The KfW Program Coordinator will be based full time in Goma, DRC, with frequent field visits to OWR, KBNP, and potentially other locations in DRC.

Candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the necessary experience and skills to work within a dynamic and complex program, in a challenging working environment. They will need to demonstrate that they are able to grasp the complexities of situations as they arise and adapt accordingly, and that they are able to work within a culturally diverse work environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Provide overall leadership, management, and oversight of WCS KfW contracts in eastern DRC.
• Coordinate with the protected area management teams to implement KfW-funded activities, working to achieve program objectives to a high standard and on schedule.
• Deliver high-quality, results-oriented technical assistance and programming to the protected area management teams through hands-on guidance and support, grounded in the KfW programs’ strategic objectives and approved annual workplans.
• In coordination with the protected area management teams, determine annual priorities and develop work plans, ensuring that activities respond to changing conditions.
• Oversee the KfW budget and work in close coordination with the finance and grants teams to meet expected results, ensuring cost-effective use of donor resources.
• Ensure compliance of program activities with KfW and WCS policies.
• Provide technical support, capacity building, and mentoring to protected area staff during the course of program implementation, especially in the areas of results-based management, work planning and budgeting, report writing, learning and adaptation, and communications.
• Provide oversight to consultants (and their outputs and outcomes) who are contracted to carry out work within the context of WCS’s work in the protected area sites.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Work closely with the site-based teams to monitor and evaluate the performance of KfW-funded activities.
• Co-facilitate regular Pause & Reflect sessions to capture learning, introduce improvements and adaptations, and achieve meaningful results.
• Lead the preparation of technical performance reports, working to ensure that all relevant reporting requirements are fulfilled, and documents are submitted to KfW on time and with sufficient review.
• Ensure appropriate knowledge management processes are in place to identify and archive relevant program documentation, donor communications, and evidence of program implementation.
• In collaboration with the protected area management teams, identify and produce communications content for distribution to stakeholders and the media.

Stakeholder Relations

• Serve as the primary liaison between KfW and WCS on all management and technical matters pertaining to the WCS KfW contracts in eastern DRC.
• Represent WCS at conferences, working groups, and other external stakeholder meetings as necessary.
• Keep internal WCS stakeholders regularly up to date on program activities, deliverables, and events.

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree or other relevant experience in wildlife conservation and program management. Candidates will be expected to have at least ten years’ experience in a relevant professional position.
• Experience managing international donor-funded projects, with multiple project partners and diverse project elements preferred.
• Prior experience of managing KfW-funded projects required.
• Proven ability to achieve project targets and objectives, delivering quality work on tight deadlines. High-level competency in writing and editing of professional technical reports and other written products.
• Experience working, coordinating, and collaborating with diverse sets of stakeholders, such as local NGOs, government officials, and donor representatives.
• Experience working in inter-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams and managing several major activities simultaneously.
• Openness and sensitivity to the socio-cultural environment of eastern DRC.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in French, working capabilities in English, knowledge of Swahili an advantage.
• Ability to live and work in challenging conditions.