Director

Director, RECOFTC Nepal Office

Kathmandu, Bagmati Province
Work Type: Full Time
Deadline: 2 September 2023

At RECOFTC, we believe in a future where people live equitably and sustainably in and beside healthy, resilient forests. We take a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach to supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equity. We are the only nonprofit organization of our kind in Asia and the Pacific. We have more than 36 years of experience working with people and forests, and have built trusting relationships with partners at all levels. Our influence and partnerships extend from multilateral institutions to governments, private sector and local communities. Our innovations, knowledge and initiatives enable countries to foster good forest governance, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

RECOFTC invites applications for the position of Director, RECOFTC Nepal Office. The successful candidate will be based at the RECOFTC Nepal office in Kathmandu, Nepal. The contract duration is for 24 months with a possibility of extension subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance.

Specific tasks and duties

The Director, RECOFTC Nepal Office leads the execution of RECOFTC Strategic Plan (2023-2028) in Nepal. This includes efficiently managing operation and administration of RECOFTC Nepal office and RECOFTC local entity in Nepal known as the Center for People and Forests (Center), and nurture effective communication between the Nepal office team and the main office team, as well as with other key stakeholders at the national level. The Director is also responsible for managing information, providing direction and supervision to Nepal Office staff to effectively implement the strategic plan, supervising the monitoring, evaluation and learning, and reporting the progress of program and project activities of Nepal Office. The Director reports to the Deputy Executive Director based at the main office in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Director will also serve as Managing Director of RECOFTC the Center, and report to the Board of Trustees of the Center.

Specific tasks and duties include:

Program management and delivery

• Effectively manage the country program portfolio, including the program portfolio of the Center in order to achieve goals and strategic outcomes of RECOFTC’s strategic plan, 2023-2028.
• Lead the implementation of RECOFTC’s strategic plan, including development of annual work plan for Nepal office, timely submission of program activity planning and progress reporting
• Provide technical, methodological and analytical inputs to research and analysis on the key topics related to strategic plan implementation and to support innovation and knowledge management for country program design and implementation
• Monitor the project portfolio of both Nepal Office and the Center, and ensure the timely delivery of high quality project outcomes
• Work with project managers and coordinators of multi-country projects being implemented by the Main Office that have components in Nepal to ensure effective implementation and integration of projects into programmatic strategy to help achieve strategic outcomes of RECOFTC’s strategic plan
• Oversee technical content of communication tools and products produced by Nepal office, including report writing, and translation of communication products in the national language to English and vice-versa
• Support the development of training modules and delivery of training programs

Resource mobilization and business development

• Develop Nepal Office business and fundraising strategy with support from Business Development team and other technical staff based at the main office
• Explore and provide business intelligence to generate financial resources for Nepal Office and develop and diversify project portfolio in order to ensure financial sustainability of country office
• Represent RECOFTC and the Center at the highest levels with donors, partners and relevant stakeholders at multilateral and bilateral meetings, conferences and donor events within and outside the country
• Work with knowledge management and strategic communication team at the main office to develop corporate communication and advocacy strategy for profiling Nepal Office and business development
• Identify strategic opportunities for Nepal office engagement, and promote an organization-wide culture of fundraising and business awareness to support country program implementation in focal landscapes of Nepal Office and beyond

Stakeholder networking and relationship building

• Establish, develop and cultivate the partnerships with strategic partners and collaborators, including relevant ministries and departments within Nepal Government, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, international non-governmental organizations and the private sector to explore area for collaboration and expanding the program activities and impacts in the country
• Actively engage and collaborate with community forestry networks, relevant organizations and policy makers to help identify and share insights among communities and implementation partners, promote best practices for community forestry, make practical evidence based recommendations for improvements to regulatory frameworks and keep a track of overall progress in the community forestry sector
• Represent RECOFTC in events/meetings/conferences at various levels from national to international

Monitoring and evaluation

• Supervise data inputs from various program and project activities in the country and evidence for reporting on strategic and intermediate outcomes
• Responsible for progress reports to be submitted to program and project donors
• Supervise analysis of M&E data to generate communication products to enhance country office’s outreach

Governance of country office

• Make effective use of the Country Office Operations Manual to ensure smooth delivery of program activities
• Ensure that the rules, regulations and practices in the Nepal office comply with the country laws and regulations
• Ensure compliance with RECOFTC’s policies and procedures for program and project operations and implementation
• Ensure transparency in all financial transactions related with project and program activities
• Ensure timely update of financial expenditure records into RECOFTC’s systems from country program and project activities
• Regularly conduct the Board of Directors meeting of the Center and ensure the recommendations from the board are implemented for the growth of the Center

Human resource development and management

• Manage program and project staff, including oversight of finance, administration and human resources
• Develop job description for and facilitate recruitment of program and project staff and interns, as per the need as well as undertaking regular performance appraisal according to RECOFTC’s policy
• Foster an atmosphere conducive to organizational learning, provide coaching and leadership to the country program staff and interns
• Stimulate individual staff performance and lead overall team development
• Source and manage appropriate experienced consultants when required
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Deputy Executive Director or Executive Director

Qualifications and Experience

The Director, Nepal Office must have the following qualifications and experience:

Essential

• At least 15 years of experience in community forestry related field project Implementation in Nepal
• MSc in forestry, natural resource management or related field (PhD degree desirable)
• Strong experience in program and project management, and community forestry policy analysis and development
• Understanding of community forestry initiatives in Nepal
• Experience in natural resources capacity building / participatory training and curriculum development
• Ability to operate alone on multiple tasks and levels, with strong leadership and networking qualities
• Fluent written and spoken English and Nepali
• Willingness to travel frequently to field sites, and occasionally to Thailand and elsewhere in the region
• Nepalese national only

RECOFTC’s core values

At RECOFTC, our core values are the foundation of our culture and guide all our work. In addition to job specific skills and experience, the applicant should possess the following characteristics, attitudes and skills:

• Embrace innovation
• Adapt to, and learn from, challenges
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders
• Nurture commitment, responsibility and ownership
• Prioritize sustainability
• Cultivate participation, social inclusion and gender equity

How to apply

Interested candidates are requested to submit a CV and a cover letter indicating why they are suitable for this position along with salary requirements and current contact details of three referees, including recent supervisors by clicking ‘Apply Now‘. Only short-listed candidates will be notified. RECOFTC has a competitive compensation package. Offers are based on salary history, relevant experience and qualifications of the selected candidate.

To learn more about RECOFTC, please visit our website www.recoftc.org

Applicants shall not be discriminated against based on ethnicity, religion, age, nationality, physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, medical condition, or any other classification protected by RECOFTC’s values and code of conduct. Reasonable accommodation may be made so that qualified disabled applicants can partake in the application process. Please inform RECOFTC’s Human Resources in writing of any special needs at the time of application. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

RECOFTC is an equal opportunity employer and the successful candidate will be selected based on merit.

RECOFTC retains the right to offer this position at a job grade relevant to the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate.

Tagged as: Director, Kathmandu, NGO INGO