[Taxacom] Position Open: Program Manager JRS Biodiversity Foundation

[Bryan]

JRS BIODIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    July 2011
A new 6 – 9 month temporary/part-time Program Officer position is
currently being sought by the
JRS Biodiversity Foundation while the organization completes a
strategic plan.  This position will be
responsible, during the near term for relations with prospective
grant-seekers, current grantees,
and the broader biodiversity community and will help implement the
grant program consistent
with the Foundation's mission and initiatives and act as a catalyst
for new projects, ideas, and
approaches to biodiversity. The duties for which the position is
responsible, under the supervision
of the Executive Director, will cover the following tasks.
- Develop and maintain a global contact list of biodiversity
organizations and individuals that
might be potential JRS grant recipients
- Draft calls for pre-proposals, RFPs, and procedures for developing
funding recommendations
- Work with prospective applicants to help improve soundness and
quality of grant requests
- Present proposals to the Grants Committee, with initial
recommendations for funding or
declining
- Manage relationships and coordination with other donors in support
of strategic biodiversity
goals and other foundation initiatives
- Maintain contact with current Foundation grantees to be continually
aware of progress of funded
projects, to identify potential problem areas, to help workout
solutions, and/or bring to the
board’s attention, as may be required.
- Visit, as may be appropriate, funded project and assess performance
to determine conformity
with original goals and continuing relationship to JRS grantmaking
strategies prior to authorization
of subsequent Foundation payments
- Ensure timely development of proposals and preparation of the board
materials under the
direction of the Executive Director.
- Work with grantees, and where relevant with other funders to support
organizations in the
development of grant proposals including meaningful indicators, grant outcomes
- Set clear expectations with grantees regarding process and timing of
proposal and report
submissions; review all reports, provide feedback to grantee partners
and ensure that knowledge
associated with these reports are disseminated appropriately.
- Assist monitoring, implementation, and evaluation of the Foundations
priorities through site
visits, project reviews, meetings with partners, review of reports,
and regular communications with
consultants, colleagues, and others
- Review all final grantee reports to determine fulfillment of
original goals of funded
projects
- Consolidate the Foundation’s substantive biodiversity knowledge, and
prepare overview reports,
presentations, and JRS website entries for the trustees and about the
significance of biodiversity, for the general public.
- Help arrange trustee site visits
- Identify potential unique special grant opportunities and as they
are identified, develop
and report them to the Executive Director
- Function as an informatics liaison person between current grantees,
JRS trustees, and outsource
providers, to support existing projects with required technical
assistance in the field
Qualifications
- Broad exposure to biodiversity and ecological issues relevant to
informatics at an international
level
- Demonstrated skills working in multicultural contexts
- Demonstrated success in building and implementing program strategies
that mobilize diverse
groups of people for environmental and policy change.
- Interpersonal skills to work effectively with colleagues, government
officials, private sector,
international institutions, public policy organizations, think tanks,
academic institutions, and
communities
- A commitment to the values of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation, a
clear understanding of and
commitment to the vision and strategy of utilizing biodiversity
informatics as a mechanism for
conservation
- Ability to support executive leadership in a multi-faceted global program
- Able to process complex information and present ideas in a compelling manner
- Capacity to communicate persuasively, orally and in writing, in a
range of settings
- Excellent organizational skills and the ability to anticipate,
prioritize, and manage tasks while
simultaneously demonstrating genuine respect for diversity and inclusiveness
- Strong project and relationship management skills
- Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information effectively and
confidentially
- Experience with evaluation, learning, and analysis of quantitative
and qualitative data
- The highest level of personal and professional integrity and quality standards
- Demonstrated skill with Outlook, Word, and ability to use databases
- Ability and flexibility to travel extensively or to be relocated,
possibly in Africa
- Experience in grant-making highly desired
- Work experience in Africa is a strong asset
Submit CV via email to
Harry E. Cerino
Executive Director
JRS Biodiversity Foundation
hcerino at jrsbdf.org