Lead Public Engagement - Tropical Forest Alliance
This is a fixed-term position for a duration of 25 months.
The World Economic Forum (the Forum), committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) is the leading global public-private-philanthropic partnership hosted by the Forum focused on delinking the production, processing, trade and financing of key agriculture commodities from deforestation and ecosystem conversion.
Why we are recruiting
We are looking for a Lead, Public Engagement, to support TFA’s key strategic priorities at the global level including advancing ambitious policy measures to create a strong enabling environment to halt deforestation and ecosystem conversion. This is a unique opportunity to work on one of the world’s most pressing global challenges, from the perspective of climate, nature and sustainable development, and to engage directly with key stakeholders working across global value chains.
Reporting Lines & Interactions
The successful candidate will be based in the Forum’s Geneva or New York office, will report to TFA’s Head of Sustainable Commodities, and will work closely with the Sustainable Commodities team (Regional Directors and Sustainable Commodities Leads), and the broader Leadership Team.
The successful candidate will also work closely with:
Teams across the Nature, Net Zero and Better Living Pillars of CNC
Regional and geo-political teams with a specific focus on Brazil, China, and Indonesia
Strategic partners with whom TFA manages a platform of communities of practice
Forum teams, specifically those focused on government relationships with producer and consumer countries, the sustainability trade agenda, and companies operating in the food/agriculture and consumer goods.
Externally, the successful candidate will work with a diverse range of stakeholders at different levels, from multilateral organizations, government agencies, technical agencies, corporate stakeholders, civil society organizations, and indigenous people and local community representatives.
General duties and responsibilities
Lead the process of convening, mobilizing and aggregating stakeholders from consumer regions/countries and key consumer/producer countries around market-driven mandatory processes, multilateral policy development and deforestation-free supply chains in trade agendas, including:
Mobilize and further private sector engagement into partnerships with producer countries to advance TFA strategies.
Help raise awareness of private sector readiness, action, and support of ambitious regulatory action among target governments.
Advise and coordinate with strategic partners (corporate leaders, governments, and multilateral organizations) on effective multi-stakeholder processes.
Support articulation of TFA strategy on public engagement with the EU, including managing private sector and NGO-targeted dialogues and convenings in the context of the implementation of DCF-related regulatory processes.
Build partnership and alignment between global and regional TFA teams and partners’ regional teams. This includes high-level support on key global milestone conferences and venues such as G20 and COPs.
Contribute to conceiving and launching a series of ongoing knowledge products and strategic communications campaigns to be developed with TFA and Forum staff, members, and other partners designed to achieve strategic objectives.
Ensure robust and trustworthy information gathering and exchange, and support members in high-level engagement with government-led activities when relevant.
Project manage overall TFA public sector engagement efforts, oversight of consultancies, achievement of project outcomes, and reporting to the grantor in collaboration with the Operations team.
The successful candidate will be assessed on:
Capacity to be a self-starter, a team player, and to approach the role with creativity, humility, and a strong desire to support the TFA community
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, strong sense of diplomacy, and ability to communicate with stakeholders representing competing agendas
Organisational skills and structured approach to work, with agility to move at speed in a changing environment
Excellence in managing multiple competing priorities and tight deadlines in a fast-paced, highly demanding environment
Ability to work in a high-paced environment, building collaborations with a range of internal and external stakeholders and moving from commitments to action and impact
Experience working within and/or with legislative and/or public sector agencies
Experience driving collaboration between diverse stakeholders and facilitating or supporting multistakeholder partnerships and processes
Significant experience working with forest-risk commodity supply chains, either in the private sector or with the public sector; experience in the soy, cattle, or palm oil sector is particularly helpful
Strong understanding of the broader policy context impacting the private sector, both on climate and deforestation, and how companies operate in the policy arena
Education and professional background
Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field
A minimum of 7 years of professional experience working in the sustainability space, preferably on deforestation, sustainable supply chains, or climate change at a relevant organization
Excellent written and oral communications skills, and a strong eye for detail
Strong command of Excel and PowerPoint required
Experience working on sustainability, climate change, deforestation, sustainable supply chains, and the agriculture and food industry
Experience with or familiarity with COPs and other multilateral processes helpful
Fluency in English; working knowledge of Portuguese, and knowledge of Spanish or French would be an asset
Why work at the Forum:
The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!
