Ref.
2026/CDPS/15089
Job offer type
Field staff jobs
Type of contract
CDDU
Deadline date
2026/04/19 23:00
Contract
Employee
Duration
1 an - Renouvelable tout au long de la vie du projet
SoNG Program Manager (M/W)
Département Développement durable - DD > Pôle Biodiversité
Published on : 2026/03/25
OCEANIA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PORT MORESBY
Mission description
Mission description
Under the management of the Country Director, the main tasks of the project manager will be:
1. Strategic direction, leadership, and project management:
- Ensure the project’s strategic vision and intervention logic, and its alignment with stakeholders’ priorities, the country strategy, donor expectations, and environmental challenges.
- Formalize and share a strategic analysis of the project regarding sectoral issues, institutional positioning, and risks and opportunities for the Agency.
- Ensure the implementation of the project, including all activities, deliverables, and results.
- Oversee the implementation of the project’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan.
- Review and analyze project performance and context, and recommend and implement adjustments to the project’s strategy, plans, and approaches.
- Provide guidance and define project priorities.
- Identify and manage project risks and opportunities.
- Plan annual reporting exercises (technical, financial, donor, internal), with a shared timeline integrated into the workload planning of the project team (PNG and Headquarters) and the PSU.
- to supervise the design and implementation of the Project’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan;
- to oversee project implementation, including all activities, outputs, and outcomes;
2. Project representation and communication:
- Represent Expertise France on all project-related matters with the donor, PNG authorities, and other stakeholders based in PNG.
- Maintain and strengthen strong relationships with project stakeholders and beneficiaries.
- Strengthen links with other implementing agencies working in similar areas.
- Participate in national, regional, and international conferences and workshops, and advocate with political and administrative decision-makers for the project’s approaches and results.
- Organize, prepare, and participate in project governance bodies, including steering committees and technical committees.
- Fully integrate the project into a “Groupe AFD” and “Team France” approach.
- Ensure the project’s visibility and promote its approaches and results.
3. Team and resource management:
- Integrate new staff – international and national – and provide guidance and leadership for the organisation and progress of the project team;
- Organise the attribution of roles and responsibilities and coordinate the work inside the project team in accordance with the project support unit (USP) of Expertise France’s new country office in Papua New Guinea;
- Provide direction and leadership for organizing the project team and adjusting this organization to achieve project objectives at each stage.
- Establish an organization that allows the project to operate without excessive dependence on leadership, through effective delegation and clearly distributed responsibilities.
- Empower team members in their management through appropriate leadership, strategic guidance, and access to tools.
- Organize the allocation of roles and responsibilities within the project team and with Headquarters (GEO project officer and sustainable development project officer).
- Ensure the stabilization of the project’s organizational structure by retaining team members and supporting their performance.
Organize and oversee the use of project resources, in coordination with the PSU (Project Support Unit).
Project or context description
As part of the Partnership of Forest and Climate Leaders (FCLP) and the follow-up to the One Forest Summit in Libreville, Stakeholder coalitions provide technical and financial support to achieve international climate and biodiversity targets through "Country Packages for forests, nature and climate."
In Papua New Guinea, a Country Package was established and was the subject of a French contribution. This was translated into a project funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) and implemented by Expertise France on community management at the local level in terms of biodiversity preservation and rural development.
The overall objective of the SoNG project will be to ensure the long-term sustainability of forests and marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as the improvement of living conditions for the people who depend on them. This general objective would be divided into two specific objectives:
· Sustainably strengthen the resources and means available to communities, especially women and youth, with a view to strengthening their organisational, legal, technical and economic capacities, contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of marine forests and ecosystems and to the improvement of their living conditions;
· Strengthen the governance framework for marine and forest ecosystems, biodiversity and climate at all levels of government to achieve the 30x30 target.
The planned operational components will aim to:
· Strengthen and extend the network of protected areas and other conservation measures by supporting community and civil society initiatives, improving their management capacities and developing sustainable agricultural and fisheries sectors that ensure the livelihoods of local people and generate income. Activities will focus on the Bismark Forest Corridor and the Bismark Sea, in particular for tranche 1 of the project;
· To support the implementation of national and provincial public policies for the conservation and management of natural resources and to ensure their coordination and coherence with actions carried out by local communities and civil society on the ground;
· Support training and research for the recognition and enhancement of traditional knowledge and cultural practices associated with the conservation and management of biodiversity (in conjunction with the projects supported under the previous component).
Strengthen the role of the Papua New Guinea Climate and Biodiversity Fund as an independent vehicle for long-term financing of protected areas and other conservation and climate change measures.
Required profile
· Master’s degree in international relations, international development, environment, sustainable development or equivalent.
· Minimum of 10 years experience in managing or supervising international cooperation projects, international technical assistance projects or institutional capacity building projects.
· Significant experience in local community management of marine and coastal ecosystems and/or tropical forests.
· Experience in national planning processes and developing strategies related to the protection of marine, coastal and forest ecosystems.
· Significant experience in managing and supervising teams.
· Ability to diagnose, design and propose a solution adapted to the context.
· Demonstrated experience in conducting multi-stakeholder processes and consultations.
· Team player and ability to bring stakeholders and team members together around common goals.
· Experience in administrative, financial and legal management.
· Excellent communication and intercultural skills.
· High professional and ethical standards.
· Excellent writing and synthesis skills in both English and French.
· Organizational skills, autonomy and ability to adapt.
· Resilience and ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
· Experience in managing projects funded by AFD would be an asset.
· Experience with Expertise France implementation procedures would be an asset.
· Knowledge of Papua New Guinea and/or the Pacific region would be an asset.
Additional information
Expertise France is seeking to recruit a Project Manager to supervise the execution of the project « Solwara na Graun blo pipol » (SoNG) – ocean and land for the people in neo-melanesian language (tok pisin) - funded by the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD) in Papua New Guinea.
Expertise France has opened Country Directorate since 2025 and within which the project fit. The country office is made up of a project support unit (PSU) and project management units (PMU) of the agency in Papua New Guinea.
Deadline for application : 2026/04/19 23:00
File(s) attached : JD SONG PM.docx
Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :
- democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
- peace, stability, and security ;
- climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
- health and human development ;
In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results.