Europe faces enormous challenges, such as mitigating climate change, enhancing resilience to natural disasters, ensuring safe and nutritious food to more than 500 million people, safeguarding water and air quality, protecting biodiversity, strengthening the economy, and dealing with increasing urbanization and human health issues.
Using nature to respond to some of the most pressing challenges of our time can be cost-effective, help safeguard the environment and halt biodiversity loss, and provide numerous economic and social benefits. IUCN engages with policy makers, scientists, planners, practitioners, land owners, businesses, the finance sector and civil society to promote Nature-based Solutions to highlight success stories and best practices that will inspire action new partnerships to protect and restore ecosystems across Europe, and to mobilise investment in natural capital and mainstreaming the values of nature across sectors.
Through its programme on Nature-Based Solutions, the IUCN EU Representative Office provides valuable knowledge and capacity building for their development and upscaling, demonstrating the importance of restoring and conserving biodiversity, ecosystems and their services to address global challenges such as adaptation to climate change, natural hazards and disasters, health, water and food security, while creating regenerative business and development opportunities.
Under the supervision of the Director, the Programme Officer Nature Based Solutions will contribute to the implementation of ongoing projects as well as other activities to upscale Nature-based Solutions in Europe and perform the following tasks:
• Support the delivery of several European projects on Nature-based Solutions, liaising with project partners and drawing on IUCNs knowledge network to provide inputs for achieving deliverables as required;
• Support the development of new project ideas and fundraising efforts to help IUCN expand its NbS portfolio;
• Maintain collaboration and develop new partnerships with IUCN Members, experts and organisations working on NbS in Europe;
• Lead the development of communication and awareness material on Nature-based Solutions, such as web stories, presentations, brochures etc. and organize webinars and other outreach events;
• Assist in the preparation and organisation of events and workshops and represent IUCN at external events;
• Follow closely EU policy developments related to Nature-based Solutions;
• Support the development of an evidence base of examples and best practices related to Nature based Solutions and their translation into compelling outreach material;
• Assist with the technical reporting and administrative management of projects.