GIZ India
Project Background
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a global service provider in the field of international cooperation services for sustainable development and is an enterprise owned by the German Government. The Government of India and Germany are working in close cooperation for addressing the challenges of biodiversity conservation with its overarching goal of sustainable use of biological diversity to support livelihoods for future generations.
GIZ, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in India and Bangladesh and the forest department of West Bengal, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is implementing a regional Technical Cooperation project ‘Strengthening regional cooperation and financing for sustainable management of the Sundarbans and restoration of coastal ecosystems in the Bay of Bengal (SUNDAR-BAY)’. The project goal is to enhance the coordination for conservation and management of the Sundarbans ecosystem that supports livelihoods of local communities.
The project interventions focus on four core areas:
- Support dialogues between India and Bangladesh for the coordination of management and conservation of the Sundarbans.
- Strengthen the capacities of Forest Department officials and other relevant stakeholders with regards to sustainable and gender-responsive management.
- Support the engagement of women and youth in biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of the Sundarbans.
- Strengthen the capacities regarding financing instruments and risk transfer mechanisms for conservation of Sundarbans ecosystem.
Responsibilities
As State Coordinator in West Bengal and Forest and Biodiversity Advisor in the SUNDAR-BAY project, you will mainly be responsible for planning, managing and monitoring technical implementation of selected activities with the State Forest Department in West Bengal and other relevant local institutions and stakeholders focusing but not limited to: protected area management and biodiversity monitoring, institutional strengthening, implementation livelihood measures and capacity development.
You will have the following responsibilities:
- Plan and coordinate the implementation of the activities under the “Strengthening regional cooperation and financing for sustainable management of the Sundarbans and restoration of coastal ecosystems in the Bay of Bengal (SUNDAR-BAY)” project in West Bengal with a wide range of cooperation partners including the state government and the forest department, civil society, private and public sector partners.
- Technical support to all focus areas, especially for livelihood and conservation measures
- Support partners in designing and implementing innovative public outreach and awareness raising activities ensuring mainstreaming of gender approaches.
- Develop and implement strategies to achieve its objectives and to identify opportunities for synergies and collaboration with other initiatives, actors and projects within GIZ and in the sector.
- Monitoring and analysing relevant political, technical, and economic developments in India.
- All tasks have to be carried out in close cooperation with the project partners and the project activities in Bangladesh.
Core Scope of Tasks
Technical
- Technically advise the state partners regarding the conservation and sustainable use of the Sundarbans.
- Support institutional strengthening and capacity development of partners at state and district levels.
- Coordinate the implementation of the project measures in West Bengal.
- Facilitate community participation and awareness campaigns.
- Support development of policy documents at state level.
Management
- Act as a project representative and liaise with the project counterpart institutions (government, academe, private sector).
- Work with the project team in planning, implementing, and monitoring the project in accordance with project objectives, indicators and activities agreed with the partner; focusing on the activities in West Bengal.
- Draft terms of references, delegated supervision of contracted third parties and internal service providers in carrying out project activities, including quality assurance of deliverables, monitoring timelines and payments.
- Support the project team to organise national and international short-term expert missions, including development of schedule, logistics, accompaniment etc.
- Prepare appropriate input for various project reports, including annual reports, and project presentations and contribute to reports and assist the supervisor regarding result-based monitoring.
Other duties/additional tasks
- Coordinate towards communications of technical findings and recommendations effectively to diverse audiences.
- Support the organisation of workshops, field visits, expert missions and events related to the above tasks.
- Develop meeting minutes, draw-up reports and presentation documents.
- Identify opportunities for synergies/collaboration with other GIZ projects., NGOs, external initiatives, donors, etc.
- Monitoring and analysing relevant political, technical, and economic developments in India.
- Other Duties/Additional Tasks as may be assigned.
Other duties/additional tasks:
- Perform other duties and tasks at the request of management.
Required Qualifications, Experience and Competencies
- Post graduate degree Forestry, Agriculture, Environmental Sciences, or related field.
- At least 7 years’ experience working in sustainable development or related domain.
- Proven experience in supporting implementation of small-scale measures for environmental management.
- Relevant work experience in ecosystem management, implementation of sustainable livelihood activities and Nature-based Solution (NbS) etc.
- Proven experience in development cooperation within an international organisation or as a consultant; experience in German development cooperation is an asset.
- Experience in conceptualizing and organizing capacity development programs.
- Experience on gender / work with women self-help groups will be an added advantage.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks, work pro-actively, manage deadlines, handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
- Excellent team player.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, project partners, and consultants.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to conceptual and strategic development, operational planning, and knowledge sharing within a project team.
- Willingness and ability to travel often to Delhi and to project sites in West Bengal, Bangladesh and other locations.
- Proficiency in written and spoken English as well as Hindi and preferably Bangla; knowledge of other local languages would be an advantage.
- Proven track record in working with State/National Governments, providing policy and technical support in the field of sustainable development or related areas.
- Good knowledge of protected area management, biodiversity conservation and costal and marine ecosystems.
Duration of the contract: Until 28th February 2027
Application without GIZ application form will not be considered
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
- GIZ supports Work-Life Balance.
- GIZ promotes Gender Diversity – Applications from women professionals are encouraged.
- Please note that those individuals who have completed a consultancy assignment with GIZ in less than 6 months prior to the intended start date for this position will not be shortlisted due to organisational policy.
Disclaimer: As per GIZ’s data confidentiality policy, candidate’s application is stored in our database for six months and is deleted thereafter.
Documents to be submitted:
- CV and a statement of suitability for this position
- A maximum of 2 pages note on one of the topics given below:
- What approaches can be suitable for implementing gender-responsive forest management and why? And outline the current challenges and opportunities that exists with examples.
- Or
- How can the aligned management of the Sundarbans contribute to India's national and international commitments and what should be the strategy towards achieving these commitments?