Senior Coordination Officer, P5

Role Overview

This senior leadership position sits at the centre of a regional marine environment initiative, overseeing the operational and financial health of the East African Trust Fund while driving outreach, capacity-building, and field-based engagement across contracting parties. Day to day, you will balance high-level policy coordination with hands-on management: guiding external consultants, preparing mission summaries, monitoring budget contributions, and mentoring a multidisciplinary team. Your work directly enables member states to honour their financial commitments and implement shared marine and coastal policies effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and deliver training workshops, seminars, and presentations on priority marine and coastal topics, adapting content for government officials, technical experts, and other stakeholders.
• Lead field missions, providing clear technical direction to external consultants and national authorities, and produce concise mission summaries that inform future programme decisions.
• Oversee the financial administration of the East African Trust Fund, tracking contributions from contracting parties, ensuring payments align with financial rules and Conference of Parties decisions, and advising parties on outstanding obligations.
• Coordinate programme and project budgeting, including the preparation of work programmes, funding proposals, progress reports, and financial statements for governing bodies.
• Act as a senior representative for the organisation, building and sustaining partnerships with key officials across government, regional bodies, and external institutions.
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate staff, fostering professional development and ensuring effective use of team capabilities.
• Spearhead data collection and analysis initiatives, using insights to guide planning, reporting, and evidence-based decision-making, while promoting open access and sharing of relevant datasets across teams and partners.
• Carry out additional duties as assigned to support the broader mandate of the programme.

Requirements & Qualifications

• An advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in environmental management, environmental law, biology, natural sciences, or a closely related discipline is required. A first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in place of the advanced degree.
• Completion of degree or non-degree programmes in data analytics, business analytics, or data science is considered an asset.
• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in planning, implementing, and managing marine and coastal programmes, policies, or initiatives at the national, regional, or international level.
• At least five years of direct experience with intergovernmental processes, including supporting negotiations, governing bodies, or conferences of the parties.
• A minimum of five years managing large marine environment programmes or projects, with demonstrated responsibility for budgets, staffing, and delivery.
• At least three years of hands-on experience in resource mobilisation, including donor engagement, fundraising strategies, or contribution management.
• Familiarity with data analytics and its application to environmental policy or programme management is desirable.