Opportunity: Director of the International Land Coalition (ILC)

The International Land Coalition (ILC) is a global alliance of 300+ civil society and intergovernmental organisations, working together to put people at the centre of land governance. It does so through shifting power to the women, men and communities who live on and from the land.

Deadline: 09/17/2024

The ILC is a change-making network organized around member-led National Land Coalitions as well as regional and global thematic platforms. ILC supports members, both directly and indirectly, by creating a more conducive policy environment at national and international level through evidence-based advocacy. Both National Land Coalitions and regional and global thematic platforms work in support of people's organisations to secure land rights. Gender Justice and a commitment to protect land and environment defenders is at the heart of all its work.

The support team to the ILC network (One Team) of about fifty personnel is spread between the Global Secretariat and Regional Coordination Units. The One Team provides support to the Coalition in operationalising ILC Strategy 2030, and is accountable to members and donors.

This position is located in the Global Secretariat, hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), under direct supervision of the IFAD Associate Vice-President SKD and co-chair of the Coalition Council. The Director reports to the Coalition Council, and through that to ILC's highest governing body, the Assembly of Members.

Job Role

The Director provides leadership to a high-performing One Team that supports the Coalition, and maintains the strategic focus of ILC. The Director ensures that ILCs operations deliver on the system-changing impacts of ILC's Strategy, and mobilises the necessary funding to meet budget targets. The Director also safeguards the good governance of ILC and the engagement of its members, and represents the Coalition.

The Director sets the tone for ILC as a member-led and human rights-focused coalition. The Director ensures, under the guidance of the Council, that ILC is impact and results-driven, and is financially healthy.

Keeping ahead of the curve in fast changing internal and external contexts with associated opportunities and challenges requires a high degree of strategic vision, astuteness, political acumen, flexibility, innovation and responsiveness. This must be balanced with a solid understanding of the strengths of large and diverse networks. 

The term of the Director is up to a maximum of eight years, renewed annually.

Key Functions and Results

1.TEAM LEADERSHIP

The Director leads and manages the multi-located One Team that serves the Coalition, ensuring that it has the best combination of skills and capacity to support members in reaching impact in line with ILC Strategy 2030. The Director, supported by ILC Cluster Heads, motivates, coaches and guides the team to deliver efficiently and effectively, under the overall guidance of the ILC Council, to whom the Director reports. The Director builds and encourages a gender-sensitive work culture and environment.

2. STRATEGIC FOCUS

The Director engages the membership and governing bodies in developing and maintaining ILC's strategic vision, guided by Strategy 2030. This draws from ILC's unique strengths as a diverse coalition, and its ambition for system change to achieve people-centred land governance, also by breaking cycles of gender injustice. The Director ensures that ILC's strategic focus is well defined, and responsive to the needs of members, as well as to the evolution of the Coalition and the contexts in which its members work.

In line with Strategy 2030 and ILC's pledge to Gender Justice, the Director oversees ILC's work in fullfilling its commitments to address gender-inequalities across the Coalition and supports the full participation and leadership of women within the network.

3. IMPACT

The Director oversees the operationalisation of ILC's Strategy 2030 through triennial workplans, under the guidance of the Council. The Director is expecetd to position ILC's partnerships and work to be catalytic and achieve a level of impact beyond what it directly funds. Key performance indicators incldue number of developing and supproting reulatory frameworks and policies that better address the needs and priorities of People's Organisations and reduce gender and other inequalities, strengthened data and capacity at national, regionla and global level for people centered lang governance. The Director ensures that ILC's impact is properly measured and reported through ILC's M&E system. The director works also closely with IFAD's lead global technical specialist for land and natural resource management to develop and implement a joint ILC/IFAD joint action plan that would leverage the comparative advantage of both institions towarsd delivering greaer impact. 

4. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

The Director is responsible for securing funding against triennial targets set by the Council, by building and maintaining strong relationships with Strategic Partners providing core funding to ILC, as well as wider outreach for earmarked funding. In a highly variable funding landscape, the Director ensures ILC's visibility to funders and the continued relevance of ILC's messaging to them. The incumbent is active in building new partnerships and mechanisms to increase funding opportunities. The Director also ensures the efficient mechanisms for the receipt of such funds, and oversees their proper management and reporting according to good practice and the requirements of funders and the host institutions. 

5. GOVERNANCE AND NETWORK ENGAGEMENT

ILC is a member-led coalition. The Director ensures that the Council can fully play its leadership role on behalf of members. The Director knows the nature, needs, and priorities of ILC's diverse membership, and understands how ILC can best serve them. The Director ensures that all members - not least People's Organisations - have every opportunity to benefit from the Coalition, and contribute to ILC's collective power for system change. The Director ensures full accountability to the ILC membership, its governing bodies and funders.

6. REPRESENTATION AND REPUTATION

The Director, alongside ILC's elected representatives, represents the Coalition and works to enhance its reputation as a credible and trusted change-maker in the land sector and beyond. The Director builds networks and relationships with strategic allies, including funders, governments, multilateral agencies, civil society organisations, social movements and the media. The Director also ensures a continued good reputation and partnership with IFAD and other host organisations in support of ILC's operational independence within host organizations- policy framework.

Key Performance Indicators

The key performance indicators for Director include that: 

1. ILC operations are strategically focused for impact: ILC operations are implemented in line with strategic objectives, and achieve impact and outcome targets.
2. ILC is a powerful voice, partner and convenor on land: ILC is recognized at global, regional and national level as a key player and reliable partner in the land sector.
3. ILC is financially secure and eleiver value for money: ILC budget targets are met and funding is managed in line with strategic priorities, in an effective and effcient manner. 
4. ILC is strong, vibrant and well governed: ILC members are engaged and active in ILC's operations and governance. 

Working Relationships

Within the One Team, the Director supervises the core management team, made up of the heads of the two operational and three corporate clusters. The Cluster Heads in turn supervise the Work Leads who lead each work team. The Director reports to, and works closely with, the Coalition Council and Strategic Partners, and regularly interacts with IFAD management in its capacity as host. The Director is also familiar, and regularly interacts, with the membership of ILC.

Externally to ILC, the Director develops strategic partnerships and collaborative relationships with a broad range of organisations including social movements, multilateral organisations, funding partners, and governments, for the purpose of partnership-building, advocacy, knowledge sharing, policy dialogue and resource mobilization. The Director represents ILC in multilateral and bilateral fora.

Job Profile Requirements

Organizational Competencies:

Level 2:

• Building relationships and partnerships - Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally
• Communicating and negotiating - Acquires & uses a wide range of communication styles & skills
• Demonstrating leadership - Leads by example; initiates and supports change
• Focusing on clients - Contributes to a client-focused culture
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating - Challenges, innovates & contributes to learning culture
• Managing time, resources and information - Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources
• Problem-solving and decision-making - Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact
• Strategic thinking and organizational development - Staff in management and/or strategic leadership roles
• Team working - Fosters a cohesive team environment

Education:

Level - Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technically relevant area. Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php.

Areas - Relevant fields of Law, Agronomy, Anthropology, Social Science, Economics, International Relations or Political Science. 

(*) Note: For internal candidates, this requirement will be assessed in line with the provisions set forth in the IFAD's Human Resources Implementing Procedures.

Work Experience:

• At least fifteen years of progressively responsible professional experience in a multi-cultural organization or a national organization working with a global scope and a focus on human rights;
• Demonstrated experience and ability at leading and managing multicultural teams. 
• Strong experience and network with civil society, People's Organisations, government and multilateral organisations will be considered an asset 
• Experience in the design and field-based management of national, regional and global land strategies and projects for the empowerment of disadvantaged groups
• A solid track record of resource mobilisation notably in the area of land governance and management
• Familiarity with internal dynamics, policies and procedures of International Financial Institutions and UN Agencies will be considered an asset

Languages:

• English (4 - Excellent)
• Desirable: French, Spanish and/or Arabic (3 - Good) 

Skills:

• Leadership - Group thought leader, sought out by others and providing mentorship and effective guidance to others; Ability to build trust, inside and outside the coalition by acting as a role model for ILC's values, and to provide a clear sense of direction, mentorship and effective guidance to the team, ensuring a positive environment for all; 
• Change management - Role modelling, anticipation of key risks and conflicts and offering solutions, action-oriented;
• Planning - Know-how in the human, financial and material management of ILC resources;
• Advocacy - Ability to leverage ILC communication materials to promote constructive dialogue around ILC's vision and strategic priorities to external actors;
• Political Acumen - Ability to conduct sound political analysis and understand complex environments, providing options and advice;Strategy implementation -  Ability to lead and manage the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies for ILC;
• Programme/project development, management - Know-how in programme/project development, implementation, management;
• Specialized Communication skills -  Ability to negotiate on behalf of ILC and drive for creative and pragmatic solutions in complex negotiations with key partners, including funders;
• Risk management  Assessment and mitigation of potential liabilities and risks in ILC's activities, particularly vis-à-vis IFAD and other hosts, members and funders; ability to handle risks via contingency and mitigation strategies; Resource Management - Know-how in the management of human, financial and material management of IFAD resources;
• Gender - Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equitable consideration of women and men in all assigned activities;
• Integrity and ethics - Strong emphasis on acting with honesty, not tolerating unethical behaviour, demonstrating equity, impartiality and sensitivity in exercising authority and interacting with staff, and other stakeholders. Conduct must be guided by ILC core values, the Code of conduct and a high sense of ethics;
• Natural Resource Management - Expertise in Environment and natural resource management. i.e. Agroforestry, sustainable and climate resilient agricultural practices (Agroecology, regenerative agriculture, integrated soil fertility management), integrated land and water management at farm and landscape level, watershed management, conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity etc.;
• Land - Expertise in land, including the associated: equitable access, registration, conflict resolution, planning, management, impact evaluations, governance, capacity building, institutional development and formulation of policies, legislation and implementation strategies

Other Information

The appointment to this one-year fixed-term position is limited to service with the ILC Secretariat and entails no expectation of service, indefinite appointment or conversion to any other type of appointment within IFAD. The source of funding for the appointment to this position is the ILC account administered by IFAD on behalf of the ILC. 

Possible extensions of this appointment are subject to the presence of a valid agreement between IFAD and the ILC, continued existence of the position and functional needs, satisfactory conduct and performance as well as availability of funding from the ILC account.

The ILC is a network of 300+ organizations governed by its global Assembly of Members. IFAD hosts the global ILC secretariat in its Headquarters. ILC staff are governed by IFAD's legal instruments including the general provisions of the Human Resources Policy, the Staff Rules, the HR Implementing Procedures unless specified otherwise in the Memorandum of Understanding.

In accordance with IFAD's provisions, all new staff members will normally be placed at the first step in the grade level for which they have been selected. For information on IFAD's remuneration package, please visit IFAD's compensation and benefits page on our website. Applicants are invited to use the ICSC compensation calculator to estimate the salary and benefit entitlements.  See here.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.

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In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.