Environmental Officer / Oficial de Medio Ambiente

Internews is looking for a candidate for the position of the Environmental Officer who will support a regional environmental initiative funded by USAID, implemented by Internews’ Americas and Earth Journalism Network (EJN) teams, in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society and other consortium partners. The Environmental Officer (EO) provides support to the Project Manager to ensure systems and processes are put into place to support the smooth implementation of activities. This is a wide-ranging support role that will provide support to all aspects of the project including support to research activities, project reporting and leading Monitoring & Evaluation activities for the team.

Day-to-day tasks:

• Under the supervision of the Project Manager, help lead and implement the CRCC “Conserving Together” project, funded by USAID and implemented in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society;
• Assist the Project Manager in providing project management and program implementation oversight, strategic planning, analysis, grants, procurement and finance tasks as needed;
• Assist the Project Manager on regional partner communications and problem solving;
• Coordinate with the Amazon Program Officer on media training and capacity building activities of “Conserving Together”, particularly on topics related to environmental and digital security;
• Cultivate and strengthen relationships with international and local partner organizations and ensure that implementation is responsive to the needs of partners and participants; attend South America team and Earth Journalism Network meetings, as needed;
• In coordination with relevant team members, provide training, capacity building and guidance to individuals and organizations on how to protect themselves and their information. Digital security assistance awareness raising, training, auditing, mentoring and rapid response, with an emphasis on sustained interventions that promote long-term adoption of sound security;
• Support the Project Manager in the definition, methodological design and implementation of the Information Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) and Organizational Capacity Assessments (OCAs) outlined in the “Conserving Together” project work plan;
• In all duties, demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values.

Administration & Finance

• Manage the implementation, communication and streamlining of all subgrants (PASS and HQ managed) issued under “Conserving Together”, including pre-approved subawards and potential subawards that may be issued as the project unfolds. This includes reviewing the prospective grantee applications, program and design, budget negotiations, payments and partner reporting;
• Ensure all funder approval request packages are complete and ready to be sent by the Project Manager;
• Oversee all administrative aspects of the “Conserving Together” project, in coordination with the Project Manager and Senior Business Operations Officer;
• In coordination with the Senior Business Operations Officer, ensure program implementation complies with funder requirements and Internews’ policies and procedures;
• Oversee the implementation of personal service contracts, outside service contracts and simple service contracts;
• Support the Project Manager in ensuring that timelines are met, and deliverables and approvals are tracked.

Writing & Research

• Lead the writing and compiling of project reporting, including bi-annual reports and annual workplans, ensuring the final product sent to the Project Manager and other Americas team senior staff review is complete and timely;
• Review and respond to work products from regional partners, as needed;
• Support monitoring and evaluation of project activities, including outcome harvesting and monitoring/publication/broadcasting of impact stories; work with Internews’ South America Monitoring, Evaluation Research and Learning (MERL) team on the deliverables established by the project’s MERL plan;
• Support internal and external communications, including website, 2-pagers, summaries, etc. and in accordance with the “Conserving Together” approved Branding Strategy and Marking Plan (BSMP);
• Represent team and Internews at events, as needed;
• Collaborate and assist with regional fundraising and business development efforts.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or a minimum of five or more years programmatic experience with USG or environmental programs and projects;
• Strong writing skills;
• Experience in managing international programs that promote human and/or environmental rights;
• Proven ability to prioritize and handle multiple on-going assignments;
• Experience with project management, partnership management, and working with indigenous peoples and local communities in the Amazon Basin, as well as at-risk and marginalized populations;
• Ability and willingness to travel, particularly in the Amazon region (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Perú);
• Proven ability to work both independently and as an effective team member;
• Strong English and Spanish language proficiencies;
• Optimism, a sense of humor, team and excitement at supporting and elevating voices of people across the globe.

Preferred

Note: Candidates who do not have these preferred qualifications, but who are interested and willing to learn, are encouraged to apply.

• Experience working and/or living in the Amazon region;
• Proficiency in languages others than English and Spanish; Portuguese strongly preferred;
• Experience using secure channels for communication and security skills;
• Digital security knowledge and experience strongly preferred;
• Working experience in the Amazon Basin and knowledge of conservation issues strongly preferred.

This is a remote-based position, and preference will be given to candidates in one of the project’s focal countries: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador or Perú. All remote candidates will be considered. However, you must have work authorization in your location that does not require sponsorship from Internews. Additionally, there are locations in which Internews is not able to support fully remote work. This is a term position, with an expected term of 12 months. This position may be extended. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply soon.

To apply, please click here.