International Officer

• Work strategically and collaboratively to advance nature conservation efforts in Africa and Europe, with an emphasis on conserving migratory birds and their habitats.
• Together with the international team, develop and coordinate projects that strengthen core programs, including:
• Conservation and restoration of selected African wetlands and grassland landscapes.
• Organizational strengthening of partner organizations in West Africa.
• Support global and regional secretariats to influence policy at local, regional, or flyway levels.
• Project development, fundraising, and coordination, with a focus on the African part of the East Atlantic Flyway.
• Provide technical expertise to ensure that projects and programs are ecologically sound and well-founded in conservation science.
• Effortlessly switch between the local scale at which projects are implemented and the higher strategic level required for coordination at a regional or flyway scale.
• Collaborate with the Business Development team to identify European funding opportunities and actively contribute to developing promising and winning proposals.
• Strengthen peer-to-peer (P2P) collaboration in Africa, focusing on capacity building of partner organizations and coordination of capacity development activities.
• Build sustainable, equitable collaborative relationships with African partner organizations, focusing on both nature conservation and organizational development.
• Fulfill a non-hierarchical coaching role, being aware of and respectful of cultural differences.
• Strengthen the organization's position within the international network in the field of international policy around the East Atlantic Flyway.
• Work closely with the policy team of the international network and policy officers of partner organizations.
• Maintain strategic contacts with international institutions such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
• Actively contribute to the lobbying activities, using the organization's expertise to co-shape the regional or global policy positions of the network.

What they ask

• 8+ years of relevant experience, strategic insight, and a hands-on mentality.
• Connecting and a strong team player, independent, and well-versed in international nature conservation.
• Demonstrable knowledge of (bird) ecology (preferably migratory birds), nature conservation, and experience with program and project development in an international context.
• Flexible and easily adapts when circumstances change.
• Can effortlessly switch between local project details and strategy at a flyway scale, maintaining an overview in a complex context with diverse interests.
• Willingness to travel internationally several times a year.
• Strong oral and written skills in English (working language of the international network) and Dutch (minimum B2 – working language of the organization).
• Proficiency in French is an advantage.