Do you want to work together with inspired colleagues to create a world in which nature and people thrive? And help build a ‘nature positive’ impact in biodiverse priority landscapes around the world by mobilising people to act? That is what you will do when you work at WWF Netherlands (Wereld Natuur Fonds).
WWF-NL is a professional and dynamic organization with an informal working culture based in Zeist, the Netherlands. The working language is English.
The organization consists of four departments: Conservation, Engagement, Organization & Talent Development and Finance & Operations.
In this light WWF-NL’s Conservation department is looking for an
International Climate Resilience Advisor (32-40 hours)
This role reports to the Thematic Team Head, Bart Geenen. You will often work with teams in specific programs and from there closely collaborate with other units and the international WWF network.
Climate change is already affecting all places on earth. However, the effects are often felt the hardest at the local level where pressure on natural ecosystems can often exacerbate climate change impacts for people and nature. Climate change will drastically affect local food and water security and more than 50% of species are already on the move due to climate change. While we should continue to push hard for drastic climate mitigation measures, we also need to do much more on climate resilience as this has not yet received the attention that is needed. Globally there is a growing interest in nature and healthy ecosystems providing key adaptation pathways and therefore the need to protect and restore natural habitat and resources. We believe WWF-NL has a key role to play on these topics and that freshwater and marine ecosystems in particular present major opportunities to enhance climate resilience. Climate change is especially felt through major changes in the freshwater resources and there is a very strong link between climate change, the benefits rivers, deltas and oceans provide, and sustainable economic development. There are also opportunities to leverage Dutch expertise and influence on these topics internationally. The classic conservation approaches will not be sufficient. We need to have a convincing societal narrative that connects the climate and biodiversity crisis to promote holistic solutions that solve the larger societal challenges. In short, we need to put nature at the center of local and global decisions about the future. If you are ready for this challenge, please contact us.
Roles and responsibilities
The International Climate Resilience Advisor will:
- Be the go-to person in the WWF-NL office on climate change issues. You should be able to link strong arguments that position our focus on climate resilience within the broader dialogue on climate change (i.e. the need for both climate mitigation and adaptation). You should also have a good understanding of issues related to climate justice and the impacts on the most vulnerable countries and societies in the Global South.
- Assist colleagues working in landscapes to initiate projects protecting, restoring or managing biodiversity, sequestering carbon that can be sold and (partly) finance these projects.
- Work closely in the Netherlands & globally with colleagues on climate resilience solutions, whereby you ensure cross-thematic approaches and promote such approaches on global influential platforms and networks.
- Will develop thought leadership on climate resilience and conservation, in particular in marine and freshwater systems. These could include strategies and initiatives related to free-flowing rivers, water stewardship, system scale hydropower & energy planning, natural coastal buffers like mangroves and coral reefs or sustainable blue economy.
- Will work closely with the WWF-NL Landscape Teams and local WWF offices to integrate climate resilience into strategies and initiatives for the landscapes where we work and to link these to other themes like green finance, oceans, food and forest.
- Will stimulate and manage partnerships with knowledge institutes, private sector actors and platforms, and participate in cross-border alliances and commissions.
- Within WWF-NL, you will ensure alignment and coordination on climate resilience within the Conservation department as well as Engagement department and specific teams that have relevant activities (lobby, fundraising, awareness, etc).
Required skills and competencies
You have a passion for climate & nature conservation. We are looking for someone with great motivation, because sometimes you will have to go against the grain and turn resistance into opportunities in a positive way. We are looking for a strategist who can determine a strategic and tactic route based on objectives and current activities. We expect that you are well acquainted with the substantive challenges in the Netherlands and main global issues, and that you especially want to go out to enhance contacts and get others on a challenging visionary agenda. Being diplomatic, a connector, but also result-oriented, tenacious and adventurous are important qualities.
- You have an educational background in a field relevant to the theme (water resource management, environmental sciences, aquatic ecology, forest and nature management or similar)
- You preferable have experience with framing conservation in a larger economic narrative and are able to connect to private sector and/or financial sector interests
- You have at least 7 years of relevant international work experience, in particular in the Global South
- You have experience in influencing policy
- You have experience with being an external spokesperson and translating points of view into concrete means of communication
- You have experience with project or program management
- You have a relevant network in the Netherlands and abroad
- You have a solution-oriented attitude and you can work well with others
- You have organizational sensitivity and you are able to anticipate internal and external developments
- You are well organized and comfortable working in a matrix and network structured international organization
- You have an excellent command of the English language (oral and written). French and/or Spanish are considered serious assets
Core Values
You recognize yourself in the core values of WWF-NL:
- Courage
- Integrity
- Respect
- Collaboration
Our Offer
- An office surrounded by nature;
- Fun colleagues and the chance to build up an international network;
- An employment contract of 32-40 hours. Initially, a fixed-term employment contract of one year with a one-month probation period will be offered;
- Salaries that are in line with the standard in the Dutch not for profit sector; The minimum gross salary for the International Climate Resilience Advisor role is 3.870,28 EUR per month and the maximum gross salary is 6.226,81 EUR per month, based on relevant experience;
- Staff receive a personal budget that is made up of 8% holiday allowance and 2,08% flexible budget, and receive 6 weeks of holiday per year (based on a 40-hour contract);
- We stimulate flexible working arrangements, the use of public transport and bike for work related travel. Employees receive an NS Business Card for 2nd class travel to and from work.
Information and procedure
If you are interested in this position, please apply using the form below. We will close this vacancy as soon as we have found a suitable candidate.
If you have any questions about the application process, you can contact Babette Vanlancker (Recruiter) at [email protected] Questions about this role can be directed to Bart Geenen via [email protected]. For more information about WWF-NL, you can visit our website: www.wnf.nl
We actively strive for our employees to reflect society and the international character of our organization. We therefore especially encourage candidates with backgrounds that are normally underrepresented to apply.
We consider the safety and protection of our colleagues as important. We therefore ask you to complete an integrity statement and we may ask for references. A Statement of Behavior (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag) is required for all positions.
