View Vacancy – Head of Forests and Land Use

Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy is seeking to recruit a new Head of Forests and Land Use to lead a dedicated and enthusiastic team managing the UK’s Forests and Land Use programmes in Colombia. This is a high-profile, senior role within the Embassy.

Under the UK-Colombia Partnership for Sustainable Growth, the successful candidate will be expected to advance the UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF) Forests and Land Use programmes to stop the loss of vital tropical forests in Colombia. This will involve working with the Head of the Economic, Climate and Science team to oversee successful delivery of UK’s investments in the forest agenda, working with the International Forest Unit; the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and collaborating closely with other teams in the Embassy to ensure the coherence of the forest and land use investments in Colombia.

This includes overseeing our flagship  Territorios Forestales Sostenibles (TEFOS) programme as well as  coordinating the current UK Forest and Land Use Portfolio, including:

• REM-Amazon Vision: seeks to reach zero net deforestation in the Amazon. This goal is reached through five pillars: environmental governance, the sustainability of the sectors of development, agri-environmental activities, indigenous governance and enabling conditions.
• Biocarbono Orinoquia (ISFL): promotes the reduction of greenhouse gases caused by the agricultural and forestry sector in developing countries, and the growth of best land use and sustainable agricultural policies and practices.
• Just Rural Transition (JRT): provides strategic technical assistance to reduce GHG emissions while supporting activities that value standing forests (i.e. ecotourism, bioeconomy) and promotes climate smart practices through projects on cattle ranching and agroforestry.
• Other F&LU initiatives supported by UK in Colombia: UK works actively with Colombian stakeholders on initiatives involving NGOs, IPLCs, private sector, and subnational governments. These are aimed to promote better agricultural practices (i.e. Tropical Forest Alliance, FOLU, NISCOPS), high environmental integrity in carbon markets (i.e. VCMIi, LEAF, AIM4Forests) and international pledges on forest conservation (i.e. Glasgow Leader’s Declaration on Forests and Land Use).

Finally, as a senior member of the Embassy, they will work closely with other key donors in Colombia – particularly Germany, Norway and the US – to ensure complementarity between programmes and to coordinate political engagement with the Colombian government.

The successful candidate will have the right set of skills and experience to be able to lead a team that is central to Embassy activity and needs to deliver effectively often under significant pressure from competing and urgent demands. They will also need to be familiar and comfortable with the particular demands and sensitivities of government work.  The work will place an emphasis on developing a network of senior and influential contacts, flexibility, leadership and creativity.

Roles and responsibilities:

The jobholder will oversee the implementation of the UK’s active forest programmes (TEFOS,  BioCF, Amazon Vision, UKPACT/JRT, NISCOPS, AIM4Forests) in Colombia. They will provide strategic advice to the Head of the Economic, Climate, Science (ECS) team, as well as engaging with the implementing partners to ensure they are delivering the agreed strategic objectives and in turn value for money for the UK. 

A significant portion of the role will involve leading the Embassy’s interaction with the UK’s  International Forests Unit. They will guarantee senior level buy-in from the unit in London to the Embassy’s work, reflect UK priorities in the Embassy’s forest programmes and develop the ICF forest and land use portfolio in Colombia. The latter will involve helping shape the UK’s £300m Amazon Pledge announced at COP26 and incorporating a Colombia element into the successor programme to Partnerships for Forests. 

As a senior member of the Economic, Science and Climate (ECS) team in the Embassy the jobholder will also contribute to the team’s external engagement with the Colombian government, private sector and civil society. In addition they will have an important role to play in building and cementing the Embassy’s relationship with key stakeholders across the Government, particularly in the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture. Last but not least, they will be responsible – along with the Head of ECS – for external engagement with other donors in Colombia, coordinating and reflecting UK priorities in political lobbying and ensuring complementarity of UK programmes with those of other donors.

Finally, the jobholder will be responsible for providing leadership for and strategic direction to the Embassy’s high-performing Forest and Land Use team. They will be expected to exhibit the highest standards of leadership encouraging and developing the talent within their team. As well as contributing actively to Embassy Governance and corporate structures, ensuring the Embassy delivers the highest standards of financial, programme and people management. 

Resources managed: 

5 members of staff 
Supervision of team travel and entertainment budget 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience;
• At least 4 years of experience working, lobbying and influencing governments, private sector and non-governmental organisations on climate and forest issues. Strong track record of relevant programme delivery;
• Strong knowledge of Colombian climate, forests and development policies and related institutional frameworks;
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, communication and relationship skills;
• Ability to develop and work through a strong network of national and international stakeholders;
• Sound judgement in taking decisions without direct supervision, and working effectively in a team environment;
• Proven ability to write fluently and persuasively in English about technical and policy issues for a senior UK audience.
• The right to work in Colombia.

Language requirements: 

Language: English and Spanish.

Level of language required: High level of fluency in both.