高级水政策咨询师 Senior water policy advisor （英国）

Job purpose:

To drive forward WWF-UK’s work encouraging large businesses to address the most harmful impacts of their water footprints and to support public policy that promotes better water management across the world.

As well as being an integral part of WWF-UK’s Freshwater Team, the post-holder will be expected to work closely with other colleagues including the Water Footprint Metrics Officer and those dealing with Business and Industry issues in the Communications and Fundraising Divisions. He/she will also work in close partnership with colleagues across the WWF Network, especially the Manager of the Water Stewardship programme in WWF International (based in Switzerland).

Context:

According to WWF’s Living Planet Report the Freshwater Species Population Index (a measure of global freshwater biodiversity) is declining rapidly. In response, the global WWF network has put in place a concerted strategy which emphasises improved private sector water stewardship, stronger public policy for water management, and enhanced protection and management of the world’s most important freshwater habitats. The challenges of climate adaptation, livelihoods and development and global water governance cut across these themes.

WWF-UK has one of the largest freshwater portfolios in the WWF network. The Senior Water Policy Advisor is one of fourteen WWF-UK staff who focus largely or entirely on freshwater conservation. Approximately half of these people, including this post-holder, contribute to the delivery of a substantial programme, supported by HSBC, addressing inter-related issues of river management and climate change.

The overall budget of the WWF-UK Freshwater Team is currently £6 million per annum, of which approximately £4m is derived from the HSBC Climate Partnership. Additional funding is derived from DFID, the European Commission, other corporate partnerships and public donations to WWF. Most of these funds are dedicated to supporting priority freshwater programmes and projects in China, Latin America, South Asia, East Africa and the UK. The Freshwater Team also influences companies and governments to improve water management policy and practice across the world.

This post is central to those efforts and involves a significant degree of external engagement, often at senior levels. Focal business sectors for this work include food, fibre, fuel, mining and finance. The post currently has no staff management responsibilities but the post-holder may need to commission and manage consultants and supervise interns.

The core budget to be managed by the post-holder is currently £10,000 per annum. This is substantially enhanced by, a) WWF’s Water Futures partnership with SABMiller and GTZ which requires direct management of a £250K p.a. programme budget spread across four countries; and b) the water workstream within WWF’s partnership with Marks & Spencer for which the current budget is £50K p.a..

These partnerships are each at different stages of delivery and WWF-UK is in discussion with several potential donors and partners about new programmes of work. Depending on the outcome of these discussions, the specific responsibilities of the post-holder may change in future.

Note that, although WWF-UK is trying to minimise carbon emissions from flying and seeks to use telephone and video-conferencing wherever possible, this role involves occasional overseas travel. Visits are typically of a 1-3 week duration but applicants should be aware that the post-holder may need to spend a longer period overseas at some point in his/her tenure.

Principal responsibilities:

Strategy
• Play a core role alongside WWF International, WWF US and WWF Germany in shaping the strategy of WWF’s global Water Stewardship Initiative
• Ensure a clear strategy for WWF-UK’s work on private sector water stewardship supports WWF Global Freshwater Programme goals, the WWF Market Transformation Initiative and WWF-UK’s wider Business and Industry agenda, Technical leadership and programme delivery
• Build relationships with targeted UK and EU-based companies and interest groups and, through these relationships, influence policy and practice on private sector water use, supply chain management, corporate risk and water management
• Provide technical leadership for, and project manage elements of, the €2m, 3 year SABMiller-GTZ Water Futures partnership and the water project within WWF-UK’s wider partnership with Marks & Spencer
• Support the development and implementation of new partnership programmes focusing on private sector water stewardship
• Provide technical support to related programmatic work such as our Water Security programme and our emerging One Planet Food programme
• Undertake standard project management tasks as appropriate including drafting project concepts, preparation of budgets and workplans, managing contracts with consultants
and partners, and completing timely reports to donors and WWF senior management Other responsibilities
• Help develop an effective approach to communications that supports programmatic objectives and promotes WWF as a leader in the field
• Represent WWF in a variety of policy fora including conferences, meetings and media interviews
• Ensure lessons, stories and experiences are documented and shared with colleagues
• Support fundraising efforts for WWF’s wider programmatic work.
• Support the Head of Freshwater Programmes and the Director of Programmes in progressing WWF’s wider work

Person specification:

All staff in the organisation are expected to demonstrate that they fulfil or can develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours that comprise WWF-UK’s Success Factors. In summary, these include:
• Getting the big picture: doing what is best for the organisation as a whole by thinking and acting in line with WWF-UK and WWF Network strategies.
• Achieving results: knowing what must be done and successfully delivering, helping others along the way.
• Working together: collaborating across teams, divisions, the WWF Network and with partners for greatest impact.
• Managing myself: managing thinking, emotions and communication for personal effectiveness.

The specific competencies required for this post are set out in the table below.

Competencies:
Essential:

• A proven commitment to WWF’s mission
• A track record of constructive advocacy with senior decision-makers and of influencing the final outcomes of policy debates
• Technical skills and knowledge on water resource management with particular expertise in environmental flows, sustainable water infrastructure, climate change adaptation or conservation of freshwater ecosystems
• The commitment and drive to be accountable for, and to ensure delivery of, challenging goals even when others have direct responsibility for taking the necessary action
• Experience of working in an international context, preferably outside the UK, and the ability to respect and work well with people from different cultures and backgrounds
• Excellent communication skills in English – including writing, speaking and listening
  

Highly Desirable:

• Proven experience of working effectively within networked teams
• Experience and understanding of private sector approaches to sourcing and managing natural resources

Desirable:

• Other relevant language skills (e.g. Spanish, Swahili, French, Mandarin)
  A first and/or higher degree in a relevant subject – this might include an environmental subject, political science or economics (with an environmental component), or any water-related discipline such as hydrology, civil engineering, etc