The Territories Forestales Sostenibles (TEFOS) Programme is a demand-driven investment, funded by the International Climate Fund (ICF) in Colombia (£64 million), structured under the UK-COL Partnership for Sustainable Growth. The programme kicked off activities in April 2021 under the following components: 

1.    Multipurpose cadastre in deforestation hotspots: through the World Bank and Fondo Acción, the UK is funding a programme to update the cadastre information for deforestation hotspot municipalities in Guaviare and Meta, and two national parks. The implementation is being led by IGAC. This component aims to strengthen capacities within Colombia’s environmental authorities on how to use the cadastre data and how to improve interoperability between different sets of data. Moreover, the TEFOS programme supports instruments such as Conservation Agreements in a number of National Parks. 
2.    Strengthening environmental rule of law to tackle illegal drivers of deforestation: through UNODC, the UK is providing technical assistance to 15 relevant national institutions to build their capacity to investigate the illegal drivers of deforestation. To do this, the UK supports better coordination mechanisms between Government entities, provides training and capacity building for national and local institutions, and provides support on data access.  
3.    Supporting sustainable livelihoods: at the beginning of 2024, a third was launched, in order to support sustainable alternative livelihoods in deforestation hotspots. The implementation phase will start in June 2025. 
 
Across all pillars of the programme, TEFOS requires daily support to guide comms activities, implement a GESI strategy, manage governance meetings, procurement, budget management and regular progress reporting. 

This position is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the largest Forest programme funded by the UK in Colombia. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the Forest and Land Use Team, the Programme Manager and the programme’s Senior Responsible Owner in effective delivery of the programme. The programme attracts senior interest both in the UK Embassy in Colombia and in the UK’s International Forest Unit, so it is important that the programme adheres to the highest standards of delivery. 
 
The Forest and Land Use Assistant will support the TEFOS Programme Team in daily programme management tasks such as procurement, budgeting, finance and regular monitoring of key outcomes. The Forest and Land Use Assistant will also support the Delivery Officer oversees strategic engagement with key decision-makers and regular engagements with the MEL partner to secure articulation and complementarity with the wider UK Forest & Land Use portfolio and with other international cooperation programmes relevant for the region.  
 
The role will report to the TEFOS Programme Coordinator in the British Embassy, working closely with Political, Security, Economic, International Trade, and Private Office colleagues across the Embassy, as well as liaising with other relevant colleagues within the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, the UK’s International Forests Unit, and the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and Americas & Small Islands Developing States (ASIDS) 

This position is a grade (AO) position advertised in the first instance until 31 March 2026. Future extensions are subject to confirmation of future funding and based on the candidate’s performance. It is expected that the position could be extended. 

Roles and responsibilities:

TEFOS Programme Management (90%) 
•    To support the TEFOS Programme coordinator in programme management and overview activities of the three pillars. This involves supporting Embassy participation in events, workshops meetings and committees (operative and directive), preparing briefs, presentations and reviewing regular reports.   
•    To support the Programme Team integrating the delivery of Pillar 1 (Cadastre), Pillar 2 (Environmental Rule of Law) and Pillar 3 (Sustainable alternative livelihoods) to deliver the Programme’s comprehensive outcomes in selected geographies and promoting strong cooperation between relevant Colombian institutional stakeholders.  
•    Provide general support to the TEFOS Programme coordinator and the Delivery Officer in overseeing contractual progress, budget, financial management. 
•    To support in managerial and administrative tasks related to the three pillars of TEFOS. 
•    To support the regular engagement with the Monitoring and Evaluation Learning Partner in discussions about the Theory of Change, indicators and logframe including the revision of indicators with the implementing partners. 
•    To support financial and budgetary management of the TEFOS programme including encashments and disbursements or payments to contractors. 
•    To support the development of TEFOS Communications and Gender & Social Inclusion Strategies according to ICF and FDCO guidelines. 

Collaboration with other teams and programmes (10%) 

•    Working closely with political, climate & biodiversity policy, trade colleagues, to maximise articulation opportunities for TEFOS with other HMG initiatives. 
•    To manage Ministerial and official visits from the UK related to the TEFOS Programme. This includes supporting logistics, visits and engagements in close collaboration with the Programme Team.  
•    To manage administrative tasks as required within the Economic, Climate & Science Team, and to actively participate in meetings and briefings of relevance to the role. 
•    To play an active part in the corporate life of the Embassy, including where relevant as a member of Embassy committees (Crisis, L&D) to maximise the overall well-being of staff. 
•    To carry out other tasks as required by Embassy senior management. 

•    Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, for instance, Public Policy, Public Administration, International Relations, Climate and Environment Science etc., or equivalent professional experience. 
•    Some professional experience of working in a strong, collaborative team environment for an organisation in a relevant field, for example, working for/with national or regional government, international organisations or agencies. 
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of people both orally and in writing; good judgement to inform decisions and provide advice. 
•    Ability to research, organise and analyse facts and data, and the ability to turn them into compelling presentations. 
•    Sound judgement and ability to determine work priorities, working methods and evidence of organizational skills.