Natural Resources Job Board

Position Overview

This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated development professional with 2-3 years’ of experience to
contribute to impactful conservation work in one of Madagascar’s most biodiverse regions. SEED’s
conservation programme supports communities bordering the island’s last remaining littoral forests,
focusing on reforestation, biodiversity research and conservation action through community-led,
participatory approaches.

You will play a key role in developing, funding, reporting on, and evaluating these initiatives, working
closely with both national and international staff. The role is ideal for someone with in-field experience
and a strong interest in forest conservation and reforestation. You'll collaborate with our national
implementation teams to manage donor relationships, ensure high-quality proposals and reports,
maintain compliance and support effective budget management.

Strong grant writing skills and excellent written English are essential. Applicants without these will not be
considered.

Title: Programme Officer
Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar
Timeframe: 2 years, extendable
Contract Type: Local salary, £1,200 contribution to flights and £650 towards insurance

Core Duties
● Support Junior Programme Officers and interns in compiling funding proposals based on past
evaluation, team discussion and international best practice in an engaging and professional
manner
● Support Junior Programme Officers and interns in writing project reports that clearly
demonstrate the successes and challenges of the projects, learning from the project and
providing clear budgetary information
● Provide first-stage editing of all proposals and reports across the Department to a high standard
and providing detailed, constructive feedback to interns and Officers
● Support in the management of donor compliance across several projects, working with the
Programme Manager and the implementation team to ensure that project milestones are being
met
● Work alongside the Programme Manager and Head of Department in problem-solving and
providing additional support in line with emerging issues from project implementation
● Manage pieces of long-term project work that require a higher level of expertise and experience
across the Department
● Support in the recruitment of new staff and provide support, management, review and
professional development to your team of Programme Interns, Junior Officers and specialists
● Foster essential cross-cultural collaboration, providing support to both the national and
international teams to bridge gaps in understanding and priorities for project development and
implementation
● Provide pastoral care, guidance and act as a role model, both professionally and personally, for a
team of early career professionals living in country
● Work alongside the Head of Department, Programme Manager and Head of Finance in
developing and managing the budgets relating to projects
● Develop and update resources to support project development processes, including proposal
and budget templates and style guidelines
● Assist MEL specialists in developing MEL tools and analysing data, including the writing of MEL
reports when needed
● Support the development of project development procedures, guidelines and trainings and
provide project-specific information to inform policy development across the organisation
● Work with the Junior Programme Officers and interns to ensure that statistics, research, funding
trackers, photo database and handovers relating to the projects are accurate
● Oversee the project-specific website and social media content
● Work with the national team and external partners in increasing their skills and capacity,
providing mentoring or training where appropriate
● Take an active role in project management meetings, leading discussions and standing in for the
Programme Manager where appropriate
● Form part of the team representing projects or SEED when required
● Liaise closely with the UK team in London ensuring clear communication at all times
● Ensure all of SEED’s policies and procedures are evident throughout the work of the department,
including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anticorruption, and undertake continual
training to ensure these are promoted at all times
● Complete any other tasks required by the Programme Manager, or Director of Operations and
Heads of Departments commensurate with this role.

Person specification
● Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in conservation, ideally with a focus on
reforestation or forest ecology
● At least two years’ experience with similar programmes
● Minimum of 2 years’ professional experience of securing funding, project management, donor
compliance and donor reporting
● Familiarity with the use of project management tools including Logical Frameworks, Theory of
Change models, Budgets, Activity Plans and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks
● Fluency in written and spoken English with excellent written communication skills, to the level of
editing English documents for publication to a very high standard
● Excellent proposal and report writing and editing skills, with previous experience compiling
project proposals and reports and the ability to tailor written information to various audiences
● Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good
ambassador for the organisation at all times
● Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
● Experience of living and working in a developing country with the ability and desire to work with
teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
● Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations and
problem solve
● Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility,
working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
● Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other
members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect
both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
● Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures, safeguarding those
that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately
● Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high
standard
● Be able to work both independently and as part of a team
● Excellent listening and verbal communication skills and a flexible and patient attitude
● Ability and desire to develop and support a team of staff and interns
● Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Application procedure

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter in English outlining how their skills and
experience match the requirements in the job description criteria and why they wish to work with SEED
to the Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org
Please note: AI generated cover letters and recruitment exercises will not be processed.

Application Deadline: Monday 28th July 2025 at 23:59 GMT

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout this period. Candidates will complete an
exercise and long-listed applicants will have an initial informal interview with Madagascar-based staff
and those short-listed will then be offered a formal interview.

SEED Madagascar actively encourages equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and aims to
create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation, and unlawful discrimination,
where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued.