Project Officer – Coastal Resilience

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

POSITION SUMMARY

As a member of GGGI’s Guyana office, the Project Officer – Coastal Resilience will be based in Georgetown, Guyana, and report directly to the Guyana Program Manager with additional supervision from the Caribbean Representative based in St. Lucia and the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Office, based in Mexico City. As part of GGGI’s global team, the Project Officer will interact with GGGI experts located in offices around the world to fulfill the objectives of this project. S/he will work on a multidisciplinary team of professionals, including GGGI staff and consultants.

PURPOSE

The Project Officer will be responsible for implementing and overseeing the “Improving the Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities and Mangrove Ecosystems to Climate Change-related Impacts in Guyana” project funded by the Korea Forestry Service (KFS). This project is focused on piloting green-grey solutions to Guyana’s coastal flooding challenges. The project will pilot an approach combining traditional infrastructure—seawalls—with sediment trapping and mangrove restoration efforts. Alongside infrastructural interventions, community-based forestry management systems and local support will be enhanced for a more resilient economy. In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), GGGI will pilot this innovative approach to coastal development with the objective of demonstrating a model that can be replicated for a greener and more resilient paradigm of coastal development in Guyana.

ENGAGEMENT

The Project Officer must work at the exciting intersection of public policy, local development, and nature-based solutions. S/he will oversee the structuring and design of green-grey infrastructure pilots and the relationships between Korean and Guyanese counterparts.

In close coordination with NAREI and local NGOs, s/he will lead mangrove restoration efforts at project sites in Guyana. This project represents one of KFS’s largest-ever investments overseas and an excellent opportunity to drive innovation in climate resilience, international cooperation, and nature-based development.

As a pilot project, the work will be highly experimental, with the project team testing an innovating—alongside NAREI—approach to the development of green-grey infrastructure to maximize mangrove reforestation and ecosystem services.

In this context, GGGI is seeking a highly skilled Project Officer with an understanding of forestry, coastal dynamics, and community-based development. The candidate will engage national, departmental, and local government representatives, as well as the private sector and community representatives, regarding economic activities in forested and agricultural landscapes.

DELIVERY 

• Oversee and manage the implementation of activities by supervised staff and third-party contracts, ensuring adherence to GGGI policies, rules and regulations, and donor requirements.
• Lead the procurement of contractors to develop green-grey interventions.
• Lead the development of M&E systems that can effectively illustrate project outcomes.
• Oversee the development of knowledge products, including policy guidance and NbS national action plans.
• Assist in evaluating program risk factors and project issues and developing mitigation solutions to address such issues.
• Develop action plans for project implementation in coordination with KFS and NAREI.
• Plan and oversee the implementation of field activities related to the establishment of green-grey infrastructure.
• Oversee the assessment of payment for ecosystem services and the value they could provide to coastal resilience.
• Stay informed on technical knowledge and expertise in agriculture, coastal development, nature-based solutions and the government of Guyana’s strategic plans, policies and legal framework, among others.
• Gather sectoral, national, and international information to assess and design the project for, articulating common objectives and the risks, value, and benefits of sustainable climate-positive management and investment.
• Lead the development and dissemination of knowledge and communication products, taking stock of existing experiences in Guyana and across the Caribbean Region. 

REQUIREMENTS 

QUALIFICATIONS 

• A bachelor’s degree in forestry, agriculture, rural development, environmental science, geosciences, civil/hydraulic engineering, international development, or a related field. A Master’s degree is desirable.
• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrable professional experience in leading the implementation of forestry-related development or conservation, agricultural, or coastal resilience projects.
• Experience in the delivery of capacity-building activities targeting local organizations.
• A proven track record of implementing climate change adaptation or resilience-building projects.
• Demonstrable experience with participatory planning processes involving multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrable experience in the development of public policy instruments.
• Demonstrated experience working with (and preferably managing) an international team of consultants and contractors.
• Fluency in Korean communication and highly skilled in preparing documents in Korean, for high-level Korean government officials.
• Experience with managing projects funded by the Korean government is an advantage.
• Fluency in English communication and report writing skills are mandatory.
• Applications and CVs must be sent in English. 

FUNCTIONAL

• Experience within sustainability and climate change adaptation in the land use sector.

• Experience in engaging with the public sector and civil society in capacity-building activities.
• Project delivery experience, including managing the work and deliverables of supervisees and consultants within planned time and on budget.

CORPORATE 

• Understand and actively support GGGI’s mission, vision, and values.
• Process and share information easily.
• Be able to lead where needed and provide solutions to project-level challenges.
• Manage emotions and stress positively, build rapport, and resolve conflict easily.
• Promote the optimum use of public resources.
• Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership.
• Promote creativity and innovation among staff.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Project Manager is at an X8INT grade level on the GGGI salary scale. The base salary is determined based on the candidate’s experience, academic background, and internal equity. GGGI provides 15% of the base salary towards a retirement plan/long-term savings, 27 days of annual leave, and private health insurance.

GGGI is committed to providing a work environment that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate diverse life-cycle challenges and assist Staff members to achieve a better balance between work and personal/family commitments, thus ensuring high performance, long-term productivity, and well-being of Staff members.

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

GGGI in Guyana has been supporting and implementing development projects since 2018 in the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Forest sectors and has recently expanded its support in Climate Resilience and Adaptation. Guyana has greatly emphasized addressing climate change because of its strategic importance as reflected in Guyana’s national strategy, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, 2030 (LCDS 2030) adopted in 2022. 

With about 90% of the population living on the coast, Guyana’s coast is inextricably linked to its development. Guyana’s coastal ecosystems offer communities important goods and services and additionally provide protection from storms and erosion. Through a system of seawalls, much of Guyana’s coastal communities lie below the mean sea level. Combined with rising sea levels, unpredictable heavy rainfall events, and sinking land due to development and groundwater extraction, the risks associated with climate change become evident. These coastal ecosystems, which protect people, infrastructure, and economic activities from flooding, erosion, and sea-level rise and are critical for socio-economic well-being, are currently under threat. Traditional strategies to address coastal risk have relied on hard coastal protection structures, often based on historical damages from erosion or in response to a specific disaster event. However, considering the projected impacts of climate change, addressing this through conventional infrastructure methods may not be the most feasible or cost-effective approach. Therefore, a strong understanding of coastal dynamics is required to ensure the design of structures and development in areas is done well. GGGI’s work stream will focus on including Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in Guyana. In particular, the restoration and protection of mangrove ecosystems aim to reduce the impacts of sea level rise on existing seawalls and coastal communities.