Philippines Policy Senior Manager

Conservation International; Quezon City; On-site; PHP 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Conservation International (CI) seeks a Philippines Policy Senior Manager based in Quezon City to lead policy engagement on climate, biodiversity, and oceans. You will collaborate with CI’s global policy team and the country program to draft, advocate, and implement policy frameworks that safeguard nature while supporting sustainable development and poverty reduction.

With at least 5 years of related experience and a degree in a relevant field, you will work in a multi-cultural, fast-paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field with at least 2 years of policy experience in climate, biodiversity or conservation.
• Minimum of 5 years of related work experience.
• Fluency in written and spoken Filipino and English.
• Ability to work independently and in a team setting, including with remote teams.

Responsibilities

• Support CIP country programs to develop policy recommendations and strategies to influence policy frameworks and safeguards for NCS and REDD+ nesting.
• Influence governments’ positions on climate, biodiversity, and oceans policy anchored on rights-based approaches.
• Track the implementation of national priorities for climate, biodiversity, oceans, and country programs.
• Facilitate collaboration among CIP partners and external networks to create shared policy positions for national engagement.
• Co-lead the ARTSI Philippines Pilot implementation.
• Ensure policy recommendations are developed with stakeholder consultation and inclusivity.
• Plan and track activities to meet international donor requirements and reporting.
• Provide updates on national/global developments in climate, biodiversity, and ocean policy.

Skills

Fluency in English

Fluency in Filipino

Policy analysis

Independent worker

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in international relations or related field

Law degree (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe software

Job description

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

Position Summary - This position is based in Quezon City, Philippines

Conservation International (CI) believes that getting the right policy-based framework composed of national and local laws, rules, and regulations under a rights-based framework, is essential to achieving our mission to “empower societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity”. Policies to harness the immediate potential of natural climate solutions (NCS) are essential to addressing global climate change, and this position will have a heavy focus on informing such policies in the region. At the same time, ambitious global policies on how we manage biodiversity, and the high seas will be developed over the next few years, and the countries of the Asia Pacific Region will be an important voice in how they are formulated and implemented. The Philippines Policy Senior Manager will have the opportunity to be a part of a team that leads CI’s engagement in international policy arenas and works directly with the Philippines country program to implement key policies at the national level. The Policy Senior Manager will be based in the Philippines to support the country team in providing technical assistance in drafting and developing NCS, REDD+, climate change, biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples, nature-based solutions, and fisheries and oceans policies, and as well as emerging international policy priorities for the country. The Philippines Policy Senior Manager will also be working closely with several of Conservation International’s projects such as the GIZ-TRANSCEND and Tubbataha Nature Credits project teams. The position will involve co-leading the Philippines Pilot for the ARTSI program under CI’s Center for Policy and Incentives. This position will also build advocacies and partnerships to develop enabling conditions for the adoption of these policy goals.

They are expected to have a minimum of 5 years of related work experience in the policy space, preferably in the conservation or government arena and hold at least a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, politics, social sciences, or related fields.

Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the CI’s global policy team, support CIP country programs to develop policy recommendations and design and implement strategies to influence enabling conditions, policy frameworks, and safeguards to facilitate the development and delivery of high-quality NCS credits and REDD+ nesting for domestic and international markets in the Philippines.
• Support the CIP country program to develop analysis and influence governments’ positions on key elements of the global negotiations on climate, biodiversity, and oceans policies anchored on rights-based approaches.
• Track the implementation of the work plan outlining national priorities for climate, biodiversity, oceans, and country program priorities.
• Facilitate linkages and collaboration amongst relevant CIP country program partners and external networks to create shared policy positions for national government engagement through coalition building, working groups, or other approaches (such as Aksyon Klima, Global Mangrove Alliance, Nature-based Solutions Support Network, etc.) to advance CI’s policy work on climate, biodiversity, and oceans.
• Co-lead the implementation of the ARTSI Philippines Pilot.
• Develop ways and means to ensure that policy recommendations on climate, biodiversity, and oceans are inclusively arrived at/or consulted with relevant stakeholders.
• Plan and track programmatic activities to comply with international donor requirements and reporting.
• Regularly provide updates and analysis to the CIP country program on national and global developments in climate, biodiversity, and ocean, identifying policy opportunities and threats, and collaborate on addressing these issues.
• Support the development of complementary policies on forestry, biodiversity, and fisheries/oceans that may be identified by CIP program leads.
• Support the alignment of CCNCS community outreach activities with consent mechanisms and safeguards processes.

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintain records for project documentation and donor reporting.
• Support fundraising initiatives and handle development opportunities and inquiries as may be directed by the Vice President, Philippines.
• Other complementary duties as assigned by supervisor such as overseeing interns or developing proposals.
• Liaise with public and private sector partners.
• Present and speak publicly at events and conferences in the region.

People and Resource Management Responsibilities

• Manages staff and provides cross-cutting support to peers and may direct the work of interns, volunteers, contractors, and others.
• Has limited authority to allocate appropriate resources or approve appropriate budget expenditures when necessary.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Position requires up to 25% domestic and international travel.
• This is a fast-paced work environment that will require regular early morning or evening work for phone calls with CI programs in other time zones.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in international relations, conservation science, climate, policy, economics, or a development-related field and at least 2 years of specialized professional experience in topics related to climate change, carbon and nature markets mechanisms, biodiversity, and national and international policy processes.
• Minimum of 5 years of related work experience.
• Up to 2 years of supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated capacity for policy analysis and understanding of policy processes and strategy for influencing them.
• Able to work independently and in a team setting, including with remote teams.
• Fluency in written and spoken Filipino and English.
• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills, able to form collaborative working relationships with multiple groups internal and external to the organization.
• Experienced and confident at high-level meetings, panels, conferences, workshops, events and presentations.
• Strong communication and presentation skills that can be adapted to a wide variety of people of different cultures and backgrounds -- CI staff, government officials, indigenous and local community leaders, the press, partners, donors, etc.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage time and diverse activities.
• Comfortable working across cultures.

Preferred

• A law degree and/or member of the Philippine bar preferred but not required.
• Established relationships in the climate change, biodiversity, and/or conservation policy community in the Philippines.
• Working knowledge of international biodiversity, climate change, and ocean (high seas) policy. Prior experience in these arenas are not necessary, but requires an understanding of international policy processes.
• Experience leading and/or participating on an effective team.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to function well in a multicultural, diverse, and fast-paced work team environment.
• Comfortable managing multiple duties and adapting to changing priorities.
• Service focus. Courteous, tactful, and proven ability to work effectively with others.
• Ability to work under general supervision and take initiative to solve problems under supervisor direction.
• Familiar and comfortable with Microsoft Office and Adobe software

Conservation International is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We believe in hiring based on merit and qualifications, ensuring a fair and inclusive hiring process for everyone.