Blue Planet Fund Regional Coordinator (14/24 Acc)

Background

The UK Government is focused on tackling “the most profound and universal source of global disorder – the climate and nature emergency”. This role will play a key part in leading the UK Governments efforts on protecting marine environments in West Africa. The UK’s £500m Blue Planet Fund (BPF) supports developing countries to protect and restore the marine environment and reduce poverty. It is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the UK. The BPF is structured around four themes:

• Marine biodiversity
• Climate change
• Marine pollution
• Sustainable seafood
  
  

The BPF’s first programmes were launched in 2021-22, with further programming announced in subsequent years. All BPF activity will support the UK’s international climate finance (ICF) commitments, including the commitment to spend £3 billion of ICF to protect and restore nature for people and climate.

Main Purpose Of Job

You will work as part of the British High Commission (BHC) in Accra to lead the coordination of work across the Blue Planet Fund (BPF) delivery partners and projects in Ghana and the wider region. You will lead the BPF programme portfolio’s coordination in West Africa and its alignment with local priorities and context. The role holder will provide advice and guidance to the BPF programme management teams and programme leadership based in the UK to inform live programming decisions in West Africa and provide regional context, you will support British Embassies and High Commissions staff to engage with the BPF portfolio. This role will also ensure the BPF supports marine nature commitments made by countries in West Africa and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including British Embassies and British High Commissions (BHC), regional and multi-lateral organisations, the UK BPF programme teams, UK government departments, non-government organisations (NGO), and the private sector, to maximise the impact of the BPF programme in the region.

This is a great opportunity for a highly motivated self-starter. You will need to be good at building a network and stakeholder engagement, including with senior government officials and local communities. You must build a deep understanding of the local context using stakeholder engagement and discussions with Government partners. You will use this knowledge and understanding to support the delivery of Blue Planet Fund activity in the region and ensure strong alignment to BHC priorities in Ghana and FCDO priorities in the wider region.

Several different projects funded by the Blue Planet Fund are operating in West Africa. You will facilitate join up and high-level coordination between delivery partners and support knowledge sharing so that Blue Planet Fund programmes in the region provide a coherent offer. You will need to learn and understand the breadth of UK Government projects in the region to identify synergies and avoid overlap between programmes. You will directly support BHC programming, where there are linkages to BPF, and you will help improve these connections in Ghana and across the region.

You will report to the Team Leader of the Green Economic Transformation Team (GET) at the British High Commission in Accra and to the International Sustainable Blue Finance team in London. You will enjoy a good level of autonomy and will be encouraged to decide how you can best deliver your job. You will also be able to access professional development opportunities, including scope to work on the wider BPF programme and other embassy priorities, including UK advocacy work on the marine environment across the region.

You will need to assess and prioritise your workload within given timeframes, to meet project schedules. This role will require you to undertake regional travel, which will be planned well in advance, approximately once every 2-3 months. As with any role, there will be occasions when the work is reactive to instructions and tasking either from teams in the UK or from High Commission Senior Management. All staff are expected to be collaborative team players, willing to turn their hand to any task.

Roles And Responsibilities

BPF Programme Coordination (80%)

• Work with UK-based teams to oversee and provide high-level coordination of BPF programmes in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.
• Collaborate with British Embassies/High Commissions and local stakeholders.
• Advise UK-based teams and posts, ensuring projects align with country plans and complement other donor activities.
• Manage relationships with programme partners and governments.
• Coordinate Defra and FCDO activities for cohesive delivery in the region.
• Support the design and implementation of BPF programmes, sharing lessons to enhance effectiveness.
• Guide Embassy and High Commission staff on BPF activities.
• Support BPF communication activities in the region to promote uptake of lesson learned and ensure full acknowledgment of UK role in conservation and rise of its profile.
• Advise and support BPF UK teams and delivery partners on effective implementation in countries/regions.
• Assure UK presence at sector nationals and regional fora and promote coordination/synergies with donor community.
  
  

BHC Accra Policy Support and Representation (20%)

• Identify clear objective(s) to use your technical expertise to contribute to BHC Accra programming and wider goals such as the country business plan. Specifically work with the GET team to deliver on wider climate objectives including green economic transformation as well as on UK bilateral engagement with Ghana on climate. This could include strategic inputs into country level business plans on climate or wider Government engagement.
• Provide climate advisory support to the GET team across its portfolio where needed and more widely across the mission.
• Work with FCDO programmes such West Africa Research and Innovation Hub, agriculture and the Ghana Jobs and Economic Transformation to identify and lead catalytic research or support that improve interventions linked to BPF and or wider UK Government climate objectives. Support existing West Africa Research and Innovation Hub research and innovation projects linked to marine environment.
• Provide technical leadership to the BHC on themes linked to the BPF and climate, including development of briefings, engaging on high profile visits, reports, and presentations.
• Develop your skills across the UK’s Climate Technical competency framework to be able to continually support more areas across BHC Accra and the Region.
• Where required, reactively responds to most pressing tasks at the British High Commission.