View Vacancy – Forest and Climate Assistant

Main purpose of job:

To support the Forest and Land Use team and programmes of the International Climate Fund (ICF) in Colombia, mainly with administrative tasks towards an effective delivery of the forest portfolio. To work under the Forest & Land Use Team in BEIS, and collaborate closely with other relevant ICF and non-ICF teams in the Embassy and in London, to ensure the coherence of the forest and land use investments.

The UK International Climate Fund (ICF) is a £5.8bn portfolio of Official Development Assistance activity (covering the period 2016-21) which includes innovative private sector pilot projects and innovative financial approaches to shift conditions and perceptions of risk in investments in low carbon activities in developing countries, including support to implement National Determined Contributions (NDCs, as agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015) through meaningful policy frameworks and investable plans that provide a credible pipeline of projects for investors.

The UK Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has £2bn of international climate finance to support mitigation activities. The Forest and Land Use Portfolio develops different flagship programmes in Colombia to support its NDC implementation and deforestation reduction, including:

• Amazon Vision: Colombian strategy that seeks to reach zero net deforestation in the Amazon region by 2020. This goal will be reached through five pillars: environmental governance, the sustainability of the sectors of development, agri-environmental activities, indigenous governance and enabling conditions.
• BioCarbon Fund (Biocarbono Orinoquía): it promotes the reduction of greenhouse gases caused by the agricultural and forestry sector in developing countries, and the growth of best land use and sustainable agricultural policies and practices. In Colombia it focuses in the Orinoquía region.
• Sustainable Cattle-Ranching Project: it seeks to reduce effective greenhouse gas emissions, improve the living conditions of small rural producers, protect the local forests and increase biodiversity in cattle-ranching farms, promoting silvopastoral systems.
• Partnerships for Forests – P4F: an initiative that seeks to catalyse investments where the public and private sectors, civil society and local communities can achieve a shared profit of sustainable forest management and its derivative uses.
• Territorios Forestales Sostenibles – TEFOS: it seeks to support the Colombian government in the implementation of the multipurpose cadastre, tackle environmental crime and provide sustainable economic alternatives; aiming to reduce deforestation in conflict-affected areas.
• Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) 2020 – Colombia Chapter: global public-private partnership in which partners take voluntary actions, individually and collectively, to reduce tropical deforestation associated with the productive chains of raw materials like palm oil, soy, beef, and paper pulp. The UK participates in this platform as a founding member of the Colombia chapter.
• Green bucket of the UK-COL Partnership for Sustainable Growth: UK is supporting the Colombian government to halt and reduce deforestation, while enforcing and environmental rule of law.

This position is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of a growing area of UK-Colombia collaboration. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the Forest and Land Use Team in effective delivery of the portfolio, to continue to position the UK as a key partner in Colombia, and the forest agenda as a key political issue. The role will also support the International Climate Fund programming for Colombia to make a successful transition to a low carbon economy in line with its NDC, and engaging external stakeholders including UK and Colombian government agencies, private sector institutions, think-tanks, academics and NGOs, among other relevant stakeholders.

The role will report to the Head of ICF Forest & Land Use Programmes in the British Embassy, working closely with Political, Security, Economic, Prosperity and International Trade colleagues across the Embassy, as well as liaising with other relevant FCDO sections, to ensure successful delivery of the Partnership and whole ICF portfolio.

This position is advertised on a fixed-term basis for one (1) year. Subject to confirmation of future funding, it is expected that the position could be extended.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

Forest & Land Use (95%)

• To manage administrative tasks as required within the Forest and Land Use Team, and actively to participate in meetings and briefings of relevance to the role, presenting the portfolio to potential applicants and partners while managing expectations.
• To ensure best value for money service within the Forest and Land Use Team activities, managing purchasing and budget procedures.
• To manage Ministerial and official visits from the UK related to the Partnership and related climate events in Colombia. To plan and advise on visit agendas, coordinate with media colleagues, and support/lead specific events.
• To manage the Forest and Land Use communications strategy to increase visibility of the portfolio, by leading on our communications both internal and external with our Economic, Climate and Science Team comms champion and press colleagues.
• To support the monitoring of other relevant initiatives and finding links with our programmes.

Management/Corporate (5%)

• To play an active part in the corporate life of the Embassy, including where relevant as a member of Embassy committees (crisis, L&D, Brilliant Bogota) to maximise the overall well-being of staff.
• To carry out other tasks as required by Embassy senior management.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• Responsible for local management of ICF Partnership engagement budget. 

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, for instance, Accounting, Public Administration, Climate and Environment Science etc., or equivalent professional experience.
• A minimum of two years of experience working in a strong, collaborative team environment for an organisation in a relevant field, for example, working for/with national or regional government, international organisations or agencies, preferably in climate change.
• Strong background and track record of success in administrative tasks and strategic communications.
• Experience ideally in climate and environmental issues.
• Experience of managing diverse and senior level relationships.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of people both orally and in writing; good judgement to inform decisions and provide advice.
• Ability to research, organise and analyse facts and data, and the ability to turn them into compelling presentations.
• Sound judgement and ability to determine work priorities, work methods and budget allocations.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Spanish (minimum level required C2 (under the CEFRL or equivalent).