Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Project Description 

The Heart of Conservation Initiative (HCI) is a 5-year global project designed to address systemic barriers that limit Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ ability to steward their lands, territories, waters, and biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Despite strong evidence that Indigenous Peoples and local communities manage or influence at least 37% of remaining natural lands globally, they receive less than 1% of international climate and biodiversity finance, face complex donor procedures, limited direct access to funding, and insufficient recognition in decision-making arenas.  

Building on the achievements of the GEF-7 Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI), HCI’s objective is to increase Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ organizational capacities and ability to access sustainable finance at scale   for territorial stewardship to deliver social, economic, cultural, and Global Environmental Benefits. The project is transformative in that it targets structural change in biodiversity finance systems—shifting from centralized, intermediary-driven models toward more inclusive, Indigenous Peoples and local community-led financing and governance mechanisms. 

This will be achieved through four integrated components: (i) organizational and technical self-strengthening of Indigenous Peoples and local community funds and organizations and  implementation of self-determined Indigenous Peoples- and local community-led sub-projects across Latin America, Africa, and Asia; (ii) collective self-strengthening of Indigenous Peoples and local community-led funds and organizations’ institutional, fiduciary, and technical capacities; (iii) enhancing Indigenous Peoples' and local communities’ representation and influence in global biodiversity and biodiversity finance processes; and (iv) advancing knowledge, learning, and evidence on rights-based, inclusive conservation.

Major Function

Under the guidance and supervision of the Project Manager, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer will be responsible for monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities including tracking and reporting project implementation, performance and results achieved – both for C1 partners and the Heart of Conservation Initiative (HCI) as a whole. This is a unique, cross-cutting role (with a focus on components 1 and 5) supporting monitoring of a global, Indigenous-led project that should respond both to Indigenous and local community partners’ priorities as well as GEF core indicator requirements. 

The MEL Officer will be responsible for the collection and analysis of data in relation to the project activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts; reflecting on and improving the results framework to align with the project theory of change, co-developing a learning agenda and approach, and respond to emerging learning needs and supporting adaptive management; assisting the Project Manager in preparing semiannual, and annual technical reports on project progress; and collaborating with the  Communications and Knowledge Management Officer to support identification of impacts and lessons for public-facing communications.  

The MEL Officer will work in close collaboration with the Project Manager of the Global Coordination Unit (GCU), C1 and other implementing partners, as well as relevant organizations for data-sharing and data management. 

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Project Manager and C1 partners, as relevant, to design methodology for the collection of relevant indicators in close collaboration with all technical specialists. 
• Monitor application of project M&E plans, gather and analyze data for reliability, precision, and feasibility, advising on solutions as needed; and guide usage of monitoring data for project adaptive management, learning needs and decision-making. 
• Deliver a Results Framework and Work Plan Tracking Report for the global HCI at the end of each project year, including, as applicable; measurements against required Core indicators. 
• Co-develop a learning agenda with C1 partners (Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ organizations) – with due focus on Indigenous Peoples and local community-led territorial stewardship and tenure security, Indigenous Peoples and local community-led financing models, women’s and youth leadership in Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ governance, and advocacy in biodiversity finance decision-making fora.  Co-develop culturally appropriate learning methods to support the learning agenda and collaborate with project partners to capture lessons learned.
• Assist the Manager to write the 6-month and 12-month Project Progress Reports/Annual Project Implementation Report for the WWF-GEF Project, including progress, learning and reflections, adaptive management, outcomes, and project ratings.
• Proactively investigate and reflect on emerging data with C1 partners and GCU staff for adaptive management proposals. 
• Lead planning and organization of the annual reflection workshop to reflect on monitoring data and experience, identify lessons related to the learning agenda and beyond, and inform adaptive management of the project and summarize them in workshop reports.
• Collaborate with the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and the Communications & Knowledge Management (CKM) Officers to organize and support learning exchanges and knowledge fairs that incorporate and respect traditional approaches to knowledge-sharing among project partners and other relevant parties with emphasis on engaging women and youth. Based on the results frameworks described above, work with the CKM Officer to design a transparent, live database that maintains project monitoring, evaluation and learning knowledge and data collected over the course of project implementation. Support management of said database to ensure data is accurate and updated, with guidance to ensure consistency of measurement methodologies over time.
• Collaborate with C1 partners and the CKM Officer to respect data sovereignty and address data safety risks through systems, protocols and agreements. Collect and analyze additional data relevant to project from external sources.
• Troubleshoot challenges with C1 and other partners, including to find culturally appropriate data collection solutions and Indigenous Peoples and local community-accessible reporting and documentation approaches.
• Contribute to external evaluation planning and execution, including co-design of terms of reference with the Project Manager, C1 partners and WWF GEF Agency, participation in data gathering, review of deliverables, and providing logistical and coordination support to evaluators.
• Support the Project Manager and CKM Officer to present the project's progress and lessons learned at appropriate regional and international forums.  
• Week-long, international travel may be expected on an approximately quarterly basis. 
• Any other tasks that are relevant to the assignment. 

Key Competencies

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects and competing priorities.
• Analytical
• Attention to detail
• Collaborative
• Intercultural and adaptive management skills 
• Reliability/follow-through
• Cross-cultural communication

Skills and Abilities

• A Bachelor’s degree is required in natural or social science, environmental management, program evaluation, international development, adult/organizational learning, or a related field; an advanced degree preferred. 
• At least 7 years of relevant work experience; a Master’s degree in the aforementioned fields will substitute for 2 years of experience. At least 3 of those years of experience must be in the design and implementation of M&E systems for development or conservation projects implemented by national/international NGOs/agencies/government or large, Indigenous associations.
• Experience supporting Indigenous peoples  and local communities organizations with a demonstrated track record of culturally sensitive and respectful, community-centered collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and local communities required.
• Strong analytical skills/expertise in analyzing data, including expertise using database software, such as Excel or Smartsheet. 
• Experience in research methods, designing and implementing tools and strategies for quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis and production of reports. 
• Experience using statistical software, such as R or Stata, is desired.
• Familiarity with the Open Standards for Conservation Management (or WWF Program and Project Management Standards) and results-based management principles, tools, and techniques is preferred.
• Familiarity with traditional ecological knowledge and biocultural indicators an asset.
• Experience organizing learning and/or capacity-strengthening events or exchanges, with prior experience supporting learning in international development or conservation an advantage.   
• Strong writing skills and fluency in English required, with Spanish, French, and/or Portuguese fluency or working knowledge strongly preferred.
• Experience working in distributed teams, ideally across multiple time zones required. 
• International, developing country field experience is preferred, especially in a monitoring and evaluation role in a development or conservation context. 

Location:

The position will be based in Brazil, Cambodia or Kenya.

If applying to work in Brazil or Kenya, applicants must be nationals currently based and legally authorized to work in Brazil or Kenya. Employment visa sponsorship and relocation are not provided for Brazil or Kenya.

If applying to work in Cambodia, nationals from South and Southeast Asian countries who are willing to relocate to Cambodia may also apply, and WWF-Cambodia may be able to support visa sponsorship and relocation costs based on available budget.

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the job's location. Position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.