Programme Associate

Vacancy #: 7613 Unit: Climate Change and Energy Transition Organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Location: North America Regional Office, Washington D.C., United States of America Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer visa sponsorship now or in the future Reporting to: Senior Programme Officer: Scaling EbA and Partnerships Work percentage: 100% Grade: A3 Expected start date: 01 July 2026 Type of contract: Fixed-term (up to 36 months with possibility of renewal) Background IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, founded in 1948 - bring States, government agencies, NGOs and affiliates together in one mission: to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. IUCN’s Climate Change and Energy Transition Team (CCETT) is part of the IUCN Secretariat. The Climate Change and Energy Transition Team leads IUCN’s global thematic work on climate change, providing strategic direction focused on harnessing nature's potential to achieve adaptation, mitigation and just transition objectives while nurturing resilience, safeguarding livelihoods, and empowering communities. One of the key initiatives implemented by the CCETT, is the Global Ecosystem-based Adaptation Fund (Global EbA Fund), implemented by IUCN and UNEP with funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). This is a funding mechanism for supporting innovative approaches to strengthen the enabling environment for the implementation of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). By supporting catalytic initiatives, the Fund seeks to overcome barriers to scaling EbA, address knowledge gaps, pilot innovative EbA approaches, engage in strategic EbA policy mainstreaming, and incentivize innovative finance mechanisms and private sector EbA investment. Working in close collaboration with the Global EbA Fund Secretariat and project partners, the incumbent will directly support the grants management cycle, including calls for proposals, selection, awarding, implementation follow-up, reporting, and closure. The team member will also provide technical support to grantees through capacity building, as well as knowledge generation and evidence extraction from the Fund’s portfolio, while supporting the coordination of networks with which IUCN’s climate change team is engaged. Job Description Support grants management activities for the Global EbA Fund, including planning of calls for proposals, selection, awarding, implementation follow-up, reporting, and closure. Contribute to the dissemination of the Global EbA Fund calls for proposals by developing informational webinars for applicants. Contribute to grant due diligence processes, including assessment of project proposals, compliance checks, and documentation review. Monitor the Global EbA Fund’s projects during their implementation through continuous communication with grantees, to ensure compliance with technical and financial guidelines. Support the collection, quality assurance, and consolidation of grantee reports, and contribute to the Fund’s technical donor reports and internal IUCN programme reporting. Support the development of capacity building workshops and webinars, including logistics planning and coordination with relevant grantees and stakeholders. Provide technical backstopping for diverse processes within the Global EbA Fund and broader IUCN Climate Change work. Collaborate with global colleagues, across IUCN and partner organisations, to evolve and grow IUCN's climate change portfolio and expand its global presence through networks. Support the development and maintenance of the web and social media presence for the Global EbA Fund and broader IUCN Climate Change portfolio. Support knowledge management by extracting best practices and lessons learned from the Global EbA Fund’s portfolio. Coordinate production of bi-annual newsletters featuring projects’ highlights from grantees. Undertake any other tasks as relevant to the work of the Fund. Requirements Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer visa sponsorship now or in the future. At least three years’ work experience at a professional level in fields related to climate change, sustainable development, ecosystem management, environmental science. An undergraduate degree in a subject relevant to ecosystem management, geography, sustainable development, conservation science, environmental policy. Experience in global or regional climate change adaptation and/or ecosystem management initiatives/projects is a plus. Experience in grant management, including project proposal review, due diligence and compliance, and performance monitoring, is desirable. Demonstrated ability to synthesise data and information coming from different sources, write reports and communicate complicated technical issues to a wide range of audiences and cultures. Excellent organizational, administrative and reporting skills. Ability to work independently and on multiple tasks simultaneously, including across projects. Ability to meet tight deadlines without compromising the quality of outputs. Highly motivated to learn and develop new skills, keen to bring in own ideas and perspective. Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to work harmoniously as part of a team in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity. Willingness to collaborate across time zones. Well-developed computer skills and evidence of experience with virtual technologies and applications that can be used in creating and engaging virtual networks of collaborators. Excellent English communication skills, both spoken and written is required. Proficiency in French is an asset. Salary The gross annual salary for this position is between USD 67'727 and USD 84'659. While this is an indicative amount effective as of the current date, changes may occur as per IUCN's compensation practices without prior notice. The same applies to other organisations hosted by IUCN. #J-18808-Ljbffr Iucn