The Senior Programme Lead – Marine Restoration will lead the end-to-end delivery of a flagship three-year marine initiative addressing the persistent challenge of lost and discarded fishing gear through a holistic, systems-based approach.

The programme focuses on strengthening fisheries governance, improving gear lifecycle management, enhancing data visibility, promoting circular economy innovation, supporting community engagement, advancing field operations, and contributing to policy dialogue and knowledge sharing.

This role combines strategic programme leadership with hands-on delivery accountability. The Senior Programme Lead will oversee planning, implementation, governance, financial management, stakeholder coordination, performance management, and impact measurement across a complex multi-stakeholder consortium including government entities, NGOs, research institutions, private sector partners, and coastal communities.

The role requires a systems thinker capable of managing complexity, aligning diverse stakeholders, ensuring integrated programme delivery, and positioning the initiative as a national flagship model for marine restoration.

Programme Leadership & Delivery Integration

• Ensuring coherence in delivery across programme workstreams, ensuring timely implementation, managing interdependencies and avoiding siloed implementation or duplication of effort.
• Leading a structured, iterative delivery approach across the programme lifecycle, from pilot to scale-up, systematically reviewing performance and lessons learned to inform adaptive delivery and implementation strategies.
• Driving integrated workplans across programme pillars/workstreams, involving partners and ensuring delivery against milestones, KPIs, and impact targets.
• Ensuring alignment of programme delivery with Emirates Nature–WWF conservation strategy, national environmental priorities, and relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Strengthening coordination across internal units (conservation, communications, fundraising, operations and finance) to ensure integrated programme delivery and organisational alignment.

Partnerships, Stakeholder Engagement & Representation

• Leading strategic partner engagement and consortium management, including alignment of incentives, conflict resolution, and performance accountability across delivery partners.
• Leading and coordinating external representation of the programme, positioning the initiative as a national flagship model.
• Supporting senior leadership in programme briefings, as required, to enable effective participation in strategic decision-making, high-level stakeholder engagements, and key governance forums.
• Supporting visibility, knowledge dissemination, and thought leadership outputs that position the programme as a leading regional model for marine restoration and circular economy innovation.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Establishing and implementing programme governance structures, reporting frameworks, and decision-making processes.
• Overseeing programme budgets, financial controls, contracting, and compliance requirements.
• Managing risk across technical, operational, reputational, and financial dimensions.
• Ensuring strong documentation, institutional learning, and knowledge transfer to support organisational capacity building and future programme scaling.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact Management

• Overseeing a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework that links data, impact measurement, and policy outcomes.
• Reporting to donors and senior leadership, with full accountability for delivery performance.
• Supporting adaptive programme management by integrating emerging scientific evidence, stakeholder insights, and operational lessons into ongoing implementation.

Team Leadership & Capacity Building

• Leading a high-performing programme team, defining roles, performance standards, and capacity requirements aligned with programme goals and objectives.
• Developing and implementing a sustainability and replication strategy to ensure continuity beyond the three-year cycle.

Experience:

• Minimum 10–12 years of progressive experience in programme or project management, including leadership of large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives within environmental, marine, conservation, or sustainability sectors.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, donor-funded programmes with formal governance structures, structured reporting frameworks, and multi-partner delivery models.
• Proven track record working with government entities, regulators, research institutions, NGOs, and private sector stakeholders in multi-stakeholder environments.
• Experience managing consortium budgets, financial oversight, contracting processes, and compliance across multiple implementing partners.
• Strong experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks, including impact measurement and adaptive programme management.
• Exposure to marine ecosystem conservation, fisheries governance, marine litter, circular economy solutions, or coastal community engagement is highly desirable.
• Experience working in the GCC/MENA region or comparable international contexts preferred.

Education:

• Master’s degree in Environmental Management, Marine Science, Sustainability, International Development, Project Management, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent combination of relevant academic and professional experience).
• Additional qualifications in marine conservation, fisheries management, circular economy, environmental policy, or climate resilience are highly desirable.
• Professional certification in programme/project management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, MSP or equivalent) is strongly preferred.
• Training or certification in Monitoring & Evaluation, environmental governance, or impact measurement would be advantageous.
• Fluency in English (essential).
• Fluency in Arabic (highly desirable).

Skills:

• Strong programme leadership and delivery management capabilities, including governance oversight, stakeholder coordination, and complex programme implementation.
• Excellent strategic planning and systems-thinking ability, with capacity to manage interconnected workstreams and competing priorities.
• Advanced stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and diplomatic communication skills across diverse cultural, institutional, and sectoral contexts.
• Strong financial oversight skills, including budget management, cost control, donor reporting, and compliance monitoring.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, build capacity, and foster collaborative working environments.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data, evidence, and programme insights into actionable strategic recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic language proficiency is strongly preferred given national stakeholder engagement requirements.
• High level of organisational awareness, adaptability, and resilience in complex, evolving programme environments.

Values	Behavior Description
Innovation	Impact driven  Balance between proactivity and reactivity Plan but not over-plan Implement innovatively with a future driven mindset. Being courageous Embedding MTP with impact at scale
Experiment & Solution Driven	Embrace decision making process based on adaptive management. Ensure all changes in decisions do not move away from original goal and MTP
Adaptability	Entrepreneurial Keeping to the ambition/vision/goal and MTP Ensure we are meeting the plan to achieve goals whilst adapting tactical plans along the way
Together we are stronger	Working together as a matrix organization to implement strongly
Integrity & Trust	Be confident  Believe in success Retain high level of ethics

 

Internal: Works in close collaboration with the Conservation Unit, Programme Delivery, Strategy & Growth, Fundraising, Communications & Engagement, Operations, Finance, Legal, and Senior Leadership Team to ensure integrated programme delivery, governance alignment, and effective organisational positioning.

External: Engages with government entities, regulators, fisheries authorities, NGOs, research institutions, private sector partners, international conservation organisations, donors, consultants, and coastal community stakeholders to ensure coordinated programme implementation, policy alignment, and long-term impact.

Emirates Nature-WWF is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome diversity in the workplace and offer a flexible and diverse place of employment.

Emirates Nature-WWF staff participate wholeheartedly in general activities and events that require the full support and participation of all staff members, whether the focus of any particular event or activity has any bearing on the job description and assigned project objectives and activities.

Please send your application consisting of a cover letter explaining why you are the right candidate to work with EN-WWF and your CV with the subject ‘Application for Senior Programme Lead – Marine Restoration’ to the attention of Ms Magdalena Tayoun on [email protected] before 15^th March 2026.

Emirates Nature reserves the right to appoint a candidate prior this date.