Join the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) & Work Remotely as a Global Innovation Engagement Manager: Apply Now!!

WWF Global Innovation Engagement Manager (Mandate until 30th June 2025 | 34-38 hours a week)

Overview

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an International NGO that deals with the conservation of nature. Its mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. WWF has offices across the world and employs 8000 staff globally. The Innovation @ WWF team contributes to this vision by enabling and inspiring WWF teams and offices to create solutions for greater conservation impact through innovation for people and the planet by providing connection and supporting innovators to develop, implement and scale ideas.

Position Summary

We are looking for a Global Innovation Engagement Manager to start in September/October 2024. The position will be mandated via WWF Switzerland (WWF CH) while the work will be serving the whole WWF network. Most of the work will happen remotely. You will play a pivotal role in driving the WWF Network’s innovation initiatives, helping to advance conservation efforts and innovation practices globally. You will be responsible for the support of WWF offices on their innovation journey, function as a bridge between offices and the innovation team and lead the community of those building WWF’s innovation culture in their office.

Role Context

This is a cross-cutting role across all strategies with a focus on offices in Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe
and the Americas with an overarching goal of connecting the offices, their teams and individual staff
to the activities of the Innovation@WWF team to build the innovation culture, opportunities for
collaboration and increase the application of innovation into organisational practices and conservation projects. You will be working closely with WWF offices and leadership to build trust and identify the unique needs of each team. You should have a coaching mindset and approach, and be skilled in building and maintaining relationships, facilitating group interactions and identifying opportunities for targeted support. You will align regularly and work closely with the WWF Global Innovation Lead and have linkages into the whole team as you support the uptake of their offers across the WWF
network. You should have a background in project management, facilitation, community building, innovation, ideally within sustainability and conservation topics.

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Team Context

You will be joining the Innovation @ WWF team – 9 wonderful humans supporting WWF to become a
truly innovative organisation. You can get a glimpse of the work in our last impact report. The team
is working fully virtually from places like Costa Rica, US, Morocco, Zambia, Portugal, Argentina and
South Africa. All of us are passionate about the climate and biodiversity crisis and jointly nurture a
team culture in which we can each be our full authentic self, while executing with high quality and a
lot of joy. The Innovation@WWF team is jointly managed by WWF CH and WWF INT ’s Global

Conservation Division while legally mandated by WWF CH. We are operating across the WWF
Network to support WWF INT, offices, teams and individuals around the topics of innovation culture
and leveraging innovation methodologies for greater conservation impact.

The last 1.5 years, we had an Innovation Enabler role for Africa and one for Asia Pacific in the team-
this led to great progress in the regions. Now it is time for the next iteration, a more consolidated approach across the 85 WWF offices. There is certainly a lot to build on and many existing relationships and approaches to continue or develop further.

Key Responsibilities

This role will combine diverse areas of work and thus it’s important you find joy in moving different
pieces forward at the same time. Here are the main areas of work:
● Increase awareness of innovation and importance towards achieving conservation impact
across WWF through:
○ Organising the virtual WWF Innovation Festival (bi-annual)
○ Coordinate selection, announcement and communication of Innovation Awards
(quarterly)
○ Host calls in which the team’s work gets presented to the network (quarterly)
● Maintain and grow key relationships across WWF offices & leadership to integrate innovation
wherever possible
○ Participate and present updates in relevant Regional Directors & Group meetings in
each region to increase visibility

● Actively support offices 1:1 to understand their unique needs and increase their innovation
capacity “level”
○ Direct outreach to key offices every quarter (align with the Innovation@WWF team
on strategy and priority offices)
○ Update engagement “dashboard” with interactions with each office and the
offerings/programs they are matched with
○ Triage innovation support requests from offices and Pandas (WWF employees)
● Make innovation more accessible to WWF staff by supporting them to:

1) Build Innovation Capacity:
■ Promote our various capacity-building initiatives
■ Link individuals up with opportunities

Build Innovation Culture:

• Identify and onboard “innovation champions” in each office and initiate new Local A-Teams (small teams within offices that promote innovation culture)

Hold and further develop existing engagement mechanisms:

• Host A-Team & Innovation Champions Connection Calls every six weeks in two regional timezones (Africa/APAC & Americas/Europe)
• Provide 1:1 coaching and support as needed to A-Teams / Champions
• Manage and contribute to the Workplace groups for the Global Innovation Community & Local A Teams/Champions

Embed innovation into Conservation Projects & Strategy:

• Identify offices to integrate innovation into country strategies and refer them to our strategy offers
• Refer project teams and offices to Panda Labs 1:1 coaching

● Amplify and connect with hosts of innovation communities of other INGOs for partnerships,
thought leadership and shared learning – via joining the Innovation for Impact Network

Job Specification

Title: WWF Innovation Engagement Manager
Legal Form: Independent Contractor via WWF Switzerland – you need to have a set-up as a
consultant or a company via which you can invoice for your services. We will explain the detailed set-up during the recruitment process.
Engagement: 34-38 hours a week with a flexible working schedule
Contract length: Depending on start-date until 30th June 2025 (possibility of extension depending on funding)
Location: Remote, ideally within Europe or Africa time zones
Remuneration: 3100-3500 Euros / Month (subject to Cost of Living Adjustments based on country of residence, seniority and experience)
Preferred starting date: 1-15th of September 2024
Other: personal development & leave time (more in the interview process)

Candidate Profile – Why do it?

1. To contribute to tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis and create a positive impact
2. To work alongside inspiring individuals from around the world
3. To support the effort of a global network to overcome silos and unleash synergies
4. To work in a highly entrepreneurial, dynamic and flexible global set-up with lots of room for
   autonomy and your own initiative
5. To have an opportunity to learn, to develop personally and professionally in areas such as:
   a. Environmental conservation
   b. Innovation methods
   c. How a global organisation operates – challenges and opportunities
   d. Coordination and working with colleagues from across the globe and getting to know
   different work styles and cultures

Are we a match?

You are a people person who can hold many relationships with ease, a bit of a nerd who loves to
have your files organised, you enable others through curation of space, a doer ready to test and
adapt along the way, a problem solver not getting easily frustrated with the blockers you might
experience, a team player as you will need to collaborate and coordinate with the whole team.

Required:

• You bring experience in the following areas: community building, culture change, relationship management, sales, project delivery, virtual facilitation and coaching. You have 8+ years of experience (not just in 1 of them).
• You have a good understanding of the topics of innovation, passion for and (ideally) know-how in environmental conservation and a commitment to WWF’s mission.
• You enjoy the process of understanding your users, designing for their needs and are excited to bring in your own creativity.
• You can handle focusing on multiple projects at the same time, describe yourself as a resilient individual and are self-reliant to work in a virtual team driving your own projects forward.
• You are a team worker and able to build relationships across a wide range of organisations and partners and can work across different cultures in a respectful way.
• You are an excellent written and verbal communicator in English (spanish or french skills are welcome).
• You are confident using computers and computer-based tools such as Google Mail, docs, excel, Microsoft Teams, airtable, loom, Asana, airtable etc.
• Previous experience working in an international or non-profit organisation is a plus.

How to Apply

Application Process

The deadline for submission is 31st of July 2024. If you read this Job Description and feel excitement
and energy we can’t wait to receive your application. The application should include: (1) a CV or
Resume; (2) a 2mins (!) simple phone video in which you explain what excites you about this
opportunity and how your skill sets fit the role; and (3) the submission of this form with a few
questions. The form is also where you will upload your CV and the video. Selected candidates will be invited for a group interview on the 6th of August 3-4pm CEST. WWF is committed to having a diverse workforce.

You should:

• Identify and align with the values of the WWF organisation: Courage, Integrity, Respect & Collaboration
• Demonstrate WWF behaviours in ways of working: Strive for impact, Listen deeply, Collaborate openly and Innovate fearlessly.
• Adhere to WWF’s brand characteristics, which are: Knowledgeable, Optimistic, Determined and Engaging.

See full job description and apply here