Opportunity

Environmental Incentives (EI) seeks to contract a Senior-level Biodiversity Consultant to provide learning and coordination support to the USAID/Madagascar Sustainable Environment and Economic Development (SEED) team through the USAID Improving Design, Evidence, and Learning (IDEAL) mechanism. The consultant will provide technical expertise on biodiversity conservation, conservation enterprise, climate change, sustainable agriculture, and marine programming while facilitating processes such as strategic planning, activity design and implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and building capacity for Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA). The consultant will be part of a larger team of IDEAL staff and consultants providing technical assistance to USAID/Madagascar and its partners.

Consultancy Description

This is a remote assignment for a Madagascar-based candidate in or near Antananarivo. Candidates in other parts of Madagascar will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The expected level of effort is anticipated to be about 10 - 20 hrs a week beginning in May and continuing through the fiscal year with the possibility of annual renewal. Hours will fluctuate depending on the needs of the USAID/Madagascar SEED team.

Tasks are subject to change depending on the needs of the USAID/Madagascar team, but it is anticipated that the consultant may:

• Provide support (in person and virtually) for Program Cycle needs within the USAID/Madagascar SEED Office (activity design, strategy design, pause and reflect processes, monitoring, evaluation, and learning) using multiple methods and approaches.
• Provide technical expertise in the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation frameworks for biodiversity and natural climate solutions programs.
• Support CLA process improvement, including facilitating implementing partner retreats to enhance cross-activity collaboration and coordination; and facilitating the exchange of good practices, lessons learned, and successful strategies for biodiversity and natural climate solutions programming in Madagascar.
• Plan and execute an annual retreat for USAID implementing partners of biodiversity, climate change, and environment programming that focuses on collaboration and communication across activities to enhance teamwork, share best practices, and address challenges.
• Provide training and capacity-building sessions to strengthen the adaptive management skills and capabilities of USAID and implementing partners.
• Advance USAID biodiversity and natural climate solutions goals by providing training and guidance on topics such as evidence use and generation and adaptive management to Agency staff and other stakeholders.
• Support other staff and consultants with CLA capacity building for Mission staff, developing knowledge management systems, and planning and facilitating internal and external learning events (meetings and workshops).

Possible additional tasks may include:

• Providing technical assistance to USAID/Madagascar and implementing partners in developing monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans, as well as reporting on program indicators.
• Researching, synthesizing, and disseminating findings on selected marine, conservation enterprises, agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity topics as directed.
• Supporting other staff and consultants to produce outreach materials, including infographics, fact sheets, brochures, newsletters and/or videos.
• Develop and deliver training sessions for the USAID staff to share best practices for adaptive management and MEL frameworks. Collaborate with the USAID/MEL specialist to enhance their skills and capacities.

Qualifications of a successful biodiversity and climate consultant include the following:

• Bachelor's degree and 7+ years of relevant experience; Master's degree and 5+ years relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience in the fields of Environmental Science, Conservation Biology, Sustainable Development, or other related fields.
• 5+ years of experience working in Madagascar on biodiversity conservation interventions. Additional experience in one or more of the following topics is preferred: marine programming, conservation enterprises, agriculture, and integrated environment programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the USAID Program Cycle, the Conservation Standards or other systems tools to improve program logic in activity design and implementation.
• 5+ years of experience supporting adult learning in USAID or other foreign assistance agencies (including NGOs, contractors, or international organizations) including facilitating communities of practice, designing and implementing collective learning agendas, and leading training.
• Background in activity design, capacity building, monitoring, learning, and evaluation, research, organizational development, or adaptive management of climate, biodiversity, and integrated programs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Malagasy are preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French.
• Collaborative, works well in groups, can bring together people with different perspectives.
• Critical thinker, able to problem solve, identify gaps in logic, listen, and ask good questions.
• Organized and able to manage multiple projects and competing priorities/deadlines.
• Demonstrated flexibility and capacity to adapt to and operate in environments of uncertainty.

• Legally authorized to work in Madagascar with no restrictions.
• Access to a reliable internet connection with sufficient speed for Google or Microsoft Teams meetings.

This position will be fully remote, with the expectation that the Consultant will be able to provide frequent in-person support to USAID/Madagascar (based in Antananarivo) and implementing partners.

Please submit your application immediately. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting April 29th and ending May 17, 2024.

About IDEAL

In programming more than $750 million each year in biodiversity and climate change funds, USAID's decisions shape outcomes for irreplaceable ecosystems and the communities that depend on them worldwide. The Improving Design, Evidence, and Learning (IDEAL) contract provides support for all stages of the Program Cycle for USAID biodiversity and climate change programming at USAID and improves the Agency's ability to design, and monitor, evaluate, and learn from programs with sustainable and impactful results.

During this five-year activity, IDEAL supports USAID's programs to apply adaptive management decisions, generate and apply evidence, and apply learning to support better programming decisions. With expertise combining technical environment skills and organizational development and learning, IDEAL facilitates high-quality decision-making, increases evidence generation and use, and nurtures a culture of applied learning across the Agency.

About Environmental Incentives

At Environmental Incentives, our purpose is to create the conditions for human and natural communities to thrive. We do this by helping our partners improve the performance of conservation and development programs. Our clients trust us to design and support the implementation of programs that (1) use evidence to develop effective strategies within complex systems, (2) center local stakeholder experiences and facilitate collective action, and (3) produce results that support learning about what works. Environmental Incentives is a certified B Corporation with offices located in Washington, DC, South Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Nairobi, and Lima (pending registration). Our remote staff and consultants are based in multiple states within the United States, and across five continents.