Head of Governance

Head of Governance
Hybrid (within or outside of the UK) with occasional travel to the UK offices and LDC countries

About Us

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is a policy and action research organisation promoting sustainable development and linking local priorities to global challenges. We are based in London and work across five continents with some of the world’s most vulnerable people to strengthen their voices in the decision-making arenas that affect them. With more than 150 members of staff working with associates and partners around the world, IIED has been at the forefront of evidence-based policymaking in sustainable development for over 50 years.

The Initiative for Effective Adaption and Resilience (LIFE-AR) is an LDC (Less Developed Countries) led and owned initiative with the objective of developing long-term climate adaptation delivery mechanisms that enable investment behind local priorities, strengthening national institutions, domestic systems and capabilities, and influencing the climate finance architecture to improve LDCs ability to access climate finance for transformational adaptation. IIED is currently acting as the ‘interim’ Secretariat for LIFE-AR.

We are now looking for a Head of Governance to join us on a full-time basis for a fixed-term contract of two years. It is envisaged this role would move to a new legal entity once it is established for LIFE-AR.

Key Benefits

- Salary of £75,542 - £87,429 per annum, depending on experience
- 25 days' annual leave per year, increasing with service
- Closure between Christmas and New Year with additional paid holiday
- 7.5% employer's pension contributions
- An employee protection scheme offering a flexible menu of benefits
- Flexible working options
- Support for learning and development

If you have experience working in climate adaptation and resilience and working with LDC governments, this is the perfect opportunity to join a dynamic, geographically diverse team of people.

You’ll have the chance to make a real difference to Least Developed Countries, making a global impact and enabling far-reaching effects for those most vulnerable to climate change.

So, if you’re ready to step into a rewarding role, we would love to hear from you.

The Role

As Head of Governance, you will support strong LDC-led governance and technical leadership for the LIFE-AR initiative alongside other senior colleagues.

Working closely with the LIFE-AR Technical Lead, Secretariat Director, LIFE-AR Head of Operations and wider interim secretariat, you will ensure the LIFE-AR strategy is maintained, support innovation and ensure the effective functioning of the LIFE-AR Platform.

You will support the leadership, guidance and oversight provided by the LDC chair and LIFE-AR Technical Lead, ensuring the effective engagement of LIFE-AR strategic advisers and stakeholders.

Your role will also:

- Lead on LIIFE-AR events and engagement at the annual Conference of Parties-
- Draw on learning and innovation undertaken across all workstreams
- Lead in the development and delivery of LIFE-AR’s influencing agenda
- Provide technical leadership for the fundraising and communication strategies
- Line manage other technical roles
- Support the reflection and learning of the LIFE-AR secretariat itself

About You

To be considered as Head of Governance, you will need:

- At least 12 years’ experience in climate adaptation and resilience and relevant development fields
- Experience of working with LDC governments
- Experience leading large scale initiatives on climate adaptation and resilience
- Experience of collaborative, inclusive and transparent governance models, decision-making processes and meaningful stakeholder engagement
- An understanding of 'business unusual' (i.e. innovation in ways of working in climate adaptation and resilience)
- An understanding of approaches to build capabilities in LDC’s own institutions, through coaching, mentoring and growing leaders
- An advanced degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline or extraordinary commensurate experience

Please note, this role is also open to those who live outside the UK, as long as you have the right to work in the country you wish to reside in and the location makes sense to supporting the LIFE-AR initiative. IIED will support a UK visa for this role if re-location is requested.

The salary range advertised in GBP is applicable in the UK only, and the salary offer in another country would depend on the local terms and conditions. We only use the UK salary structure to determine starting salaries, but it will not apply to salaries outside the UK thereafter.

Other organisations may call this role Governance Manager, Principal Researcher, Technical lead.

The closing date for this role is the 1st November 2023.

Webrecruit and Institute for Environment and Development are equal opportunities employers, we value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you want to join our outstanding organisation as Head of Governance, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.