Senior Programme Officer

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Position: Senior Programme Officer – Governance and Equity, SEGA (Scaling-up equitable governance of protected and conserved areas) Deadline for application: 16 October 2026

RECOFTC is an international nonprofit organization working towards a future where resilient communities with respected rights thrive in forest landscapes that they manage sustainably and equitably. We take a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach in supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equality. We have almost 40 years of experience working with people and forests and have built trusting relationships with partners at all levels. As a trusted, honest broker, we occupy a distinct position as an international organization that supports, informs and brings together governments, communities, businesses, academia and civil society organizations. Our innovations, knowledge and initiatives enable countries to foster good forest governance, mitigate and adapt to climate change and achieve the UN Global Goals.

RECOFTC operates in the Asia-Pacific region, with country program offices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam.

RECOFTC is currently seeking a Senior Program Officer – Governance and Equity for the Center for People and Forests in Nepal for its ‘Scaling-up equitable governance in area-based conservation’ (SEGA) project. The selected candidate will be offered a 12-month contract with the possibility of extension contingent on project funding availability and satisfactory performance.

About the Center for People and Forest – RECOFTC Nepal

The Center for People and Forest (RECOFTC Nepal), a registered not-for-profit company in Nepal, is a localized entity of RECOFTC.

About the project

RECOFTC Nepal has been implementing the four-year ‘Scaling-up equitable governance in area-based conservation’ (SEGA) project since July 2024. Implemented in Nepal across 12 sites, SEGA is a multi-country initiative, involving Bolivia, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal and Tanzania. It is funded by the Darwin Initiative and led by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The project aims to foster equitable governance of protected and conserved areas in alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 target. By concentrating on key sites, SEGA seeks to scale up stakeholder-led actions that promote equitable governance, thereby enhancing both social and conservation outcomes.

Tasks and duties

The Senior Programme Officer – Governance and Equity, as a member of the Center for People and Forests, will work under the direct supervision of the Deputy Director of RECOFTC Nepal. The Senior Program Officer is responsible for providing technical inputs and ensuring effective implementation of SEGA. This role involves comprehensive planning, execution, support for monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and reporting. The Senior Programme Officer is also responsible for establishing and maintaining excellent relations and coordination among government stakeholders at SEGA sites to ensure they are well informed and that the project achieves excellent acceptance and support from government agencies, community-based organizations, civil society and the private sector.

Specific tasks and duties include:

Management and delivery (30 per cent)

• Management and coordination of the project at site level to ensure that agreed activities are implemented and outputs delivered as planned or adapted, where necessary, to address any problems encountered and/or to increase impact
• Support organization of coordination meetings once a month with staff involved in project implementation and of face-to-face progress review meetings at the mid-point (September) and end (March) of each fiscal year
• Support the Deputy Director in managing the project budget to ensure that overall expenditure is in line with the budget, and any proposed adjustments are discussed and agreed upon
• Assist the Deputy Director in strategic decision-making processes related to overall technical interventions and integrating learning from ongoing interventions
• Monitor field-level governance activities to be on time, target and budget, and propose recommendations for improvements
• Support cross-learning and sharing of information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach targets
• Support and ensure internal compliance related to goods and services procurement, safeguarding and human resources policies are adhered to
• Communicate expectations, promote accountability and provide constructive feedback to partners on the implementation of project activities

Planning and implementation (40 per cent)

• Assist the Deputy Director in planning, reviewing and modifying project activities as needed to ensure effective implementation
• Support the assessment, design and authorization of all governance interventions in the project sites
• Provide technical support to site-level partners as needed for planning and implementing activities
• Conduct capacity needs assessment and facilitate events related to studies, workshops, training and orientation programmes and formal/informal interactions
• Ensure gender equity and social inclusion is integrated into programme planning and implementation
• Contribute to programme implementation in various aspects, including project inception, project review and reflection, baseline and evaluation, as needed to ensure programme quality
• Produce various guidelines related to field implementation of project activities
• Facilitate sharing of experience and learning between community organizations and staff of NGOs and government to improve Site-level Governance Assessment (SAGE) – both the assessment and related action – including facilitation of a national level community of practice

Monitoring and reporting (20 per cent)

• Keep track of project donor reporting requirements and finalize donor reports in coordination with the Knowledge Management and Communication Officer
• Support the Finance unit to compile and submit narrative and financial reports to IIED every six months following the progress review meetings
• Support the communication team to develop and implement a communication strategy to encourage others to use SAGE and more generally build knowledge and understanding of the importance of equitable governance in area-based conservation
• Review and validate success stories for structure and content, ensuring the use of the approved format
• Work with the MEL Officer to integrate strong monitoring and evaluation practices into documentation and its dissemination
• Communicate experience and results in coordination with the communication team from target sites to community organizations and staff of NGOs and government working at other sites to stimulate their interests in using the SAGE tool.

Networking and strategic support (10 per cent)

• Develop and manage relationships with relevant governments, site-level partners and other key stakeholders
• Represent the project at relevant conferences, workshops and meetings at national, regional and global levels to link the work of this project to others and learn from other projects
• Engage with relevant national-level platforms and processes of government agencies, NGOs and donors for developing policies, strategies and plans (such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) to help build enabling conditions to deliver more equitable governance of protected and other conserved areas
• Support the Deputy Director in identifying opportunities and additional activities that could strengthen the project
• Perform other activities as assigned by the supervisor

Qualifications and experience

The Senior Programme Officer – Governance and Equity should have the following essential qualifications and experience:

Essential

• A bachelor’s degree in law or a master’s degree in law, forestry, anthropology, sociology, governance, conservation, rural development, environment, international development or a related field
• At least seven years of experience working in programme and project design, development and delivery after completion of a bachelor’s degree, or five years of relevant experience after completion of master’s degree
• Good knowledge and understanding of conservation, governance, equity, empowerment, natural resource management, Indigenous People and local communities’ rights and livelihood programmes
• Knowledge and experience of programme strategy development, goal setting and programme implementation, and monitoring and documentation
• Strong conceptual thinking and analytical skills
• Familiarity with international development goals and country strategies
• Good facilitation skills in various settings – from local community events to national forums
• Good analytical and writing skills in English and Nepali languages
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to interact with people at all levels in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment
• Good knowledge and proven skills in using Microsoft Office programmes (Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat
• Good understanding of gender equality and social inclusion and multi-cultural diversity
• Must be a Nepali national

Desirable

• At least five to seven years’ substantial experience in equity and governance, community dynamics, environmental law, conservation, natural resource management, related project design, implementation and quality assurance

Salary: Basic 130,000 per month

RECOFTC’s core values

At RECOFTC, our core values are the foundation of our culture and guide all our work. In addition to job-specific skills and experience, the applicant should possess the following characteristics, attitudes and skills:

• Embrace innovation
• Adapt to and learn from challenges
• Nurture commitment, responsibility and ownership
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders
• Commit to sustainability
• Cultivate participation, gender equality and social inclusion
• Prioritize well-being

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should explain why the candidate believes they are suitable for the position, include salary expectations and current contact information for three referees, including recent supervisors. Applications can be submitted to nepal-recruitment@recoftc.org. Please quote the position title in the subject line of the email.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The Center for People and Forest offers a competitive compensation package.

For more information about RECOFTC and the Center for People and Forest, please visit our website.

RECOFTC is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunity. Applicants will not be discriminated against based on ethnicity, religion, age, nationality, physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, colour, marital status, medical condition, or any other classification protected by RECOFTC’s values and code of conduct. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified disabled applicants to participate in the application process. If you require special accommodation, please inform RECOFTC’s Human Resources in writing at the time of application. The successful candidate will be selected based on merit. RECOFTC strongly encourages women and members of Indigenous and or ethnic groups to apply.

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