Country Programme Manager – Germany

Country Programme Manager – Germany

EJF – Environmental Justice Foundation

Berlin, Germany

Contract: Full-time, permanent. 3 days in our Berlin office with hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
Salary range: Competitive and depending on professional experience

About EJF:

EJF exists to protect the natural world and defend our fundamental human right to a secure environment. We believe in equity and justice and a need to respect, defend, and empower communities most at risk from habitat loss, biodiversity collapse and global heating. We campaign for environmental justice.

EJF drives policy and changes to the very ‘architecture’ of environmental governance, securing permanent solutions through our determined, efficient, and effective approach to the protection of the natural world. Our campaigns focus on five priority, interlinked areas: ocean, climate, wetlands and forests, sustainable fashion, and environmental defenders.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for a highly motivated and experienced person to join the team at the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF): one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations, working at the intersection of environmental conservation and human rights.

Position Overview:

As Country Programme Manager, you will oversee the delivery of organisational priorities in Germany on time and within budget, manage team members and ensure our Berlin office’s efficient and effective running. You will provide policy analysis and leadership in Germany on key campaigning issues. This will include EJF’s wide body of work on the ocean, including the fight against illegal fishing and associated abuses, securing greater transparency in fisheries governance, confronting deep-sea mining, and protecting and enhancing blue carbon. It also includes campaigns on climate justice and mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. You will lead extensive engagement with relevant national partners and political decision-makers and ensure effective outreach, including through national media and social media platforms.

You will also be responsible for a team of talented campaigners, managing them to deliver their work according to agreed key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring highly cost-effective and efficient campaign and project implementation. You will also oversee key organisational tasks related to EJF’s legal entity in Germany.

We are looking for a dedicated team player and self-starter with excellent political advocacy, project management and communications skills, who can handle a varied role, and has a range of experience in policy advocacy. You will have a thorough knowledge of German decision-making, preferably concerning environmental, human rights or ocean issues. Experience with managing a successful team is desired.

This position reports directly to EJF’s CEO and will be based in Berlin. It offers unique career growth and personal development opportunities, working closely with a motivated and talented team of campaigners, communications experts and investigators across Europe, Africa and Asia. This challenging but rewarding and dynamic role gives insights and experience rarely available.

EJF is lean, agile, creative, strategic and most of all results driven. Join our world-leading professional team to help protect people, wildlife, and our shared natural world.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the design, planning, formulation, and implementation of EJF’s country programming, under the direction of EJF’s CEO, ensuring alignment with EJF areas or work and priorities, and taking into account national specificities;
• Develop and agree priorities, strategies and tactics in direct consultation with the CEO who will approve these elements;
• Build strong connections with a range of senior stakeholders, particularly in the government and parliament, and with civil society and industry to secure EJF’s policy goals;
• Guide campaigners on strategic areas, including supporting the development and implementation of individual advocacy strategies to advance EJF’s national, European and global campaigns in Germany;
• With the support of EJF’s global operations team, manage all organisational tasks related to the German office (in collaboration with our external service providers), including managing a range of business services, such as liaison with a payroll provider and tax consultants, carrying out HR activities, such as recruitment, and supporting oversight of legal compliance;
• In collaboration with EJF’s Senior Management Team, engage in fundraising for joint project proposals for advocacy/campaigns and programmes.

Other responsibilities include:

• Keeping abreast of complex and fast-changing political debates to identify emerging trends and opportunities in German policy and political developments, ensuring the organisation’s environmental and human rights advocacy is responsive and relevant. Provide political and legislative insights in support of possible engagement;
• Understand and ensure effective influence of the positions of the German government, parliament, and German MEPs in EJF’s areas of interest;
• Ensure that our advocacy with high-level decision-makers is influential, appropriate and effective, working within EJF’s wider campaigns team to share relevant information and outcomes and leverage international support for our objectives;
• Lead the development of policy and advocacy products for Germany, ensuring publications are relevant and developed to high standards;
• Manage and engage the country team by providing clear expectations manifested in individual work plans and follow up by expressing positive expectations and holding each other accountable;
• Provide specialised strategic support in managing all aspects of the country programme design and related activities, ensuring compliance and accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
• Ensure cooperation with the communications team to prepare German-focused content, including press releases, opinion pieces, blogs and social media that will build public, industry and political engagement;
• Give media interviews, speak publicly, and deliver compelling presentations of global findings on issues in EJF’s areas of interest, and promote corresponding recommendations, including in one-to-one meetings and events, adapting your messages to different audiences;
• Ensure EJF representation within relevant German NGO coalitions where appropriate;
• Support internal and external reporting of programmatic impacts;
• Assist in preparing and monitoring the EJF Germany budget, ensuring the greatest possible efficiency.

Essential skills and attributes:

You will have extensive, demonstrable experience in leading and delivering high-quality, high-impact campaigns, with clear examples of having a strategic impact on policy change and the experience of using research, lobbying, public campaigning, media and digital work to influence a political agenda. In addition, you will have:

• At least five years of professional experience delivering measurable, high-impact outputs and positive outcomes for environmental or human rights campaigns or other related disciplines;
• Strong and dynamic leadership skills, including the ability to mentor and motivate to get the best from EJF’s national team whilst being flexible to changing needs and opportunities. Demonstrable experience in leading or managing teams towards success is a plus;
• Ability to deliver to the highest professional standards on agreed outcomes on time and budget, at times managing multiple projects and tight deadlines, prioritising your workload according to the direction given, and reflecting the needs of the campaigns and projects;
• Being comfortable with taking and giving direction and feedback, working in an international, multicultural team, with equal ability to work independently, and taking initiative and responsibility;
• A keen political ‘savviness’ and an awareness of the potential for achieving political change, with proven experience in engaging with and influencing decision-makers;
• Strong political judgement and understanding of the German political environment, both domestically and as it impacts EU institutions globally;
• Strong networking skills, extraordinary professionalism and diplomacy, and a passion for presenting to diverse audiences to secure their understanding, respect and support for the campaigns. This includes explicitly decision-makers from governments, industry and civil society;
• Imaginative, creative and accurate written and verbal communication skills in German and English. This includes a great sense of detail and accuracy of content and the ability to synthesise complex policy language;
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills and proven experience in leading strategy development, including monitoring and evaluation;
• Understanding of budgets and the need for the most efficient and effective use of resources; creating results-driven actions alongside detailed monitoring and evaluation of impact;
• An entrepreneurial spirit and ability to work in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and occasional heavy workloads;
• A clear, solid and demonstrable commitment to EJF’s Mission and goals.

Desirable skills:

• Expertise in environmental and/or human rights issues;
• Experience in overseeing organisational and administrative tasks;
• Experience in fundraising, generating and successfully managing grants and other donations from several sources.

We offer you:

Pay will be adjusted according to the experience.

• An annual leave that increases every year;
• Flexible working arrangements can be considered;
• Working with a committed and collegial team in a modern co-working space in Berlin-Kreuzberg with excellent public transport connections;
• ‘Cycle to work’ programme;
• A highly motivated and open-minded team of committed colleagues and the opportunity to develop and implement compelling propositions to deliver campaign and organisational goals;
• The position offers excellent professional growth and personal development opportunities in close collaboration with our diverse team in our offices across Europe, Africa and Asia.

Applications: Please send your CV and a cover letter in English explaining why you are the right person for this position to [email protected]. Please title your email “Country Programme Manager – Germany”.

EJF is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. If you feel you would be a good fit for this role but are unsure if you meet every requirement, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Closing date for applications: We would like to fill this position as soon as possible and will consider incoming applications upon receipt until 23 February 2024. We therefore recommend that you apply in good time before the deadline. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.