Senior Manager, Ocean Policy

Responsibilities

• Manage strategic policy initiatives to achieve CI’s Ocean Policy goals spanning coastal resilience, green-gray infrastructure, blue carbon, and other ocean-climate areas which integrate and align international and national policy goals.
• Work closely with CI’s Center for Policy and Incentives to ensure ocean-climate strategies and approaches are aligned with international and national policy programs and priorities.
• Contribute to the drafting and revision of CI ocean policy positions, policy briefs, guidance documents, and other technical resources.
• Represent the Center for Oceans within the CI delegation to international policy meetings related to climate, biodiversity, and oceans, such as the UNFCCC climate COP and intersessional meetings.
• Support CI’s strategic engagement in these spaces (e.g., side events, meetings with countries and partners).
• Support the development and management of relationships and partnerships with government representatives and like-minded organizations to accelerate and achieve CI ocean policy objectives in close coordination with CI’s international policy team and relevant country programs.
• Provide CI programs and partners with strategic support, technical expertise, and/or capacity building for the integration of coastal ecosystems into Nationally Determined Contributions and implementation plans, national climate and ocean policy, greenhouse gas inventories, NBSAPs and other related components of ocean-climate policy.
• Facilitate in-person and virtual meetings, workshops, and related events with national governments and local partners to advance the priorities of CI country programs in alignment with national objectives.
• Support the Ocean Policy Director in scoping new policy activities in accordance with existing CI programs.
• Contribute to strategy development, planning processes, fundraising, team initiatives/special projects, reporting and communication efforts as needed.
• Cook up with other teams across the Blue Climate network team to ensure programmatic alignment and synergies between CI projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 5 to 7 years of experience working in international climate and/or ocean policy mechanisms and fora.
• Understanding of government processes and the overall policy engagement environment.
• Strong organization, project management, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to adapt in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a diverse, international team.
• Experience partnering with, and influencing, key stakeholders and building strong partnerships across public and private sectors and civil society.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and ability to effectively communicate complex information to a diverse audience.
• Enthusiasm and capacity for learning scientific and related basis for specific conservation outcomes as needed to support policy priorities and processes.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Bi-lingual or multilingual in official UN languages preferred.
• Expertise in coastal blue carbon and marine ecosystems, climate change science, and/or nature-based solutions.
• Master's degree or other advanced degree in environmental policy or related field.
• Experience working globally in a range of cultural settings.