DESCRIPTION

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Geoscience Energy and Maritime (GEM) Division provides advice, technical assistance, research and training support to Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). There are three (3) areas of scientific programming and two areas of focus within this division:

• Oceans and Maritime Programme (OMP) – assists member countries with services that provide applied ocean science and knowledge for evidence-based policy-making and technical solutions for improved ocean and maritime governance, management and capacity development.
• Georesources and Energy Programme (GEP) – assists member countries by applying technical knowledge in the areas of geoscience and sustainable energy use.
• Disaster and Community Resilience Programme (DCRP) – assists member countries to demonstrate strengthened resilience through integrated action on disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, natural resource management and increased access to water and sanitation.

The Deputy Director – Georesources and Energy will oversee the people and technical programmes within the functional area of scientific programming and drive the delivery of sustainable development outcomes across the focus areas: Energy Security and Resilience, Technical Risk Assessments Data and Information Management, and Training and Capacity Building. This role will work closely with the Deputy Director – Oceans and Maritime, the Deputy Director – Disaster and Community Resilience, and the GEM Team Leaders (Finance; Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning; and Communications and Knowledge Management) to support the integrated programming approach to achieve successful sustainable development outcomes.

THE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ROLE INCLUDE:

Leadership and People Management:

• Provide people leadership, engagement and operational guidance to contribute to the effective delivery of all projects/initiatives within the technical programme.
• Provide guidance and supervision of project implementation, reporting and reviews to ensure programme/project activities and budgets are executed in accordance with contractual requirements and approved budgets.
• Work with GEM Director, Deputy Directors and relevant Team Leaders /staff to ensure lessons learned from previous projects inform the plans of new projects/activities.
• Support and develop scientific staff through individual and project / sector annual work plans, linked to the strategic objectives and outputs of the division.

Technical excellence of functions and outcomes of the programme:

• Provide technical leadership to develop technical/scientific programming and resources in georesources and geo-surveys, energy and any related areas of work.
• Drive awareness of GEP’s capability with SPC members and donors/development partners ensuring regional coordination, resourcing and collaboration in development assistance.
• Design, implement and effectively deliver annual work plans within budget and prepare technical papers /briefings and progress / annual reports in accordance with established Key Performance Indicators.
• Resolve operational and/or technical problems ensuring that planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning (PMEL) activities and methods are incorporated into project planning, implementation and service delivery.

Resource Mobilisation and Financial Management:

• Strengthen existing partnerships and explore and develop new partnerships to secure technical assistance, funding opportunities, volunteer services and complementarity of actions.
• Lead the resource mobilisation efforts of the portfolio and convene the internal GEP Resource Mobilisation Committee meetings on a regular basis.
• Contribute to the mitigation work within the SPC Climate Change Flagship and in the implementation of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub Strategic Plan.
• Drive and support resource mobilisation initiatives with donors / funding agencies and advocate for long-term funding support for the work of the division among the donor community.

Integrated Programming:

• Contribute to a culture of collaboration, integrated programming and shared success.
• Promote the ‘One SPC Approach’ and learn from SPC ‘best practice’ business processes to define and enable an integrated programming for the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes and projects.
• Support and promote communities of practice, participatory workshops, learning events on integrated programming to inform work practices and potential opportunities across the technical programmes, divisions and the whole of SPC.
• Identify and support strategic communications pieces through relevant channels to both documents, highlight and encourage the benefit of strong programmatic design and to inform the public of SPC’s actions.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the job description.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

Qualifications:

• A master’s degree from a recognised institution (and/or equivalent work experience) in management, renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or geoscience or related subject areas.

Technical expertise:

• At least 15 years of demonstrated management experience in public or private sector or research environment in managing science related resources or a similar field, including financial management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategically with a solid understanding of Programme Management.
• Demonstrated experience in relationship building and working with a wide variety of donors, private sector and development partners with awareness of their policies and procedures.
• Proven ability to influence work collegially and in partnership with stakeholders and internal partners towards an agreed outcome.
• Demonstrated skills and experience in continuous improvement and facilitating innovation across teams.
• Exceptional verbal and written science and/or technical communication skills and the capacity to represent SPC at regional and international forums.
• Proven ability in project design, management and reporting.
• Ability to work constructively to resolve issues, concerns or differences of opinion.

Language skills:

• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written).

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness:

• Proven history of successfully building and leading multi-disciplinary teams, including people of different national and cultural backgrounds, and demonstrated ability to manage professional, technical, and program support staff in a team environment, ensuring everyone’s role contributes to successful team outputs.

SALARY, TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Contract Duration – This vacant position is budgeted until 31 December 2026 and is subject to renewal depending on funding and performance.

Remuneration – The Deputy Director – Georesources and Energy is a band 14 position in SPC’s 2023 salary scale, with a starting salary range of 4,784‒5,980 SDR (special drawing rights) per month, which currently converts to approximately FJD 14,112–17,640 (USD 6,410–8,013; EUR 6,072–7,591). An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews. Remuneration of expatriate SPC staff members is not subject to income tax in Fiji; Fiji nationals employed by SPC in Fiji will be subject to income tax.

Benefits for international employees based in Fiji – SPC provides a housing allowance of FJD 1,350–3,000 per month. Establishment and repatriation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave travel, health and life and disability insurances and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave per annum and other types of leave, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary, to which SPC adds a matching contribution).

Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.

Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilingualism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander. Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s Privacy Policy.

Application procedure

Job Reference: MC000081

Applicants must apply online via the "Apply Now" button.

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

For international staff in Fiji, only one foreign national per family can be employed with an entity operating in Fiji at any one given time. SPC may assist on a case-by-case basis with submissions to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their consideration and final approval. SPC cannot and does not make any guarantee whatsoever of approval for such applications to Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs and where an application is approved, the spouse or partner will subject to such terms and conditions as may be set from time to time by the Ministry.

SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process.

Screening Questions (maximum of 2,000 characters per question):

1. Supporting a dynamic shift towards energy security is key to this role as is supporting how sustainable georesources and development minerals help in the transition towards clean, accessible and resilient pacific communities. Explain your thoughts on this including how you see this work progressing over the next several years.
2. Please describe how you have translated strategic outcomes to meaningful development actions on the ground through a programme of work and team under your leadership?
3. In managing a large multisectoral team, how have you balanced competing priorities from external (members and donors) and internal shareholders to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes.

A position description is attached.