In 2019, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) established the FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC IF) as the operational office of the Permanent Indigenous Peoples Committee (PIPC). The FSC IF is a private interest foundation in accordance with the Republic of Panama’s Law No. 25 of June 12, 1995. The mission of FSC IF is to foster an enabling environment to guarantee the rights of Indigenous Peoples and promote sustainable forest-based solutions within the 300 million hectares of forests claimed and managed by Indigenous Peoples on the Planet. The vision is that Indigenous Peoples’ global values, rights, livelihoods, ecosystem services, natural capital and communities are incorporated into forest governance, climate change governance, and market systems.
About the role
The Managing Director assumes the overall responsibility for developing, overseeing, and executing the Foundation’s vision as outlined in its Global Strategy 2023-2027. The Managing Director will lead the executive decision-making for the organization, in coordination with the FSC IF Council Chairperson and members. The Managing Director is supported directly by a Manager of Indigenous Engagement. Driven by and accountable to the FSC IF Indigenous mission, vision, principles, values, and governance, the Managing Director will lead and manage a diverse, global, qualified, and experienced team to ensure FSC IF best fulfils its mission, goals, objectives, and deliverables as approved by the Council as well as agreed with its founding partner, the Forest Stewardship Council, and Indigenous partners worldwide. The Managing Director leads a senior management team in FSC-IF, consisting of the Director of Finance & Administration and the future Director of Development & Partnerships and the future Director of Technical Operations. The Managing Director is accountable for planning, developing, deploying, and monitoring the operational, financial, and human resources of the organization within a strong Indigenous framework of governance and risk management. Any risks identified should be communicated to and addressed with the FSC IF Council as soon as possible.
Key dimensions of the role
The Managing Director provides:
- Strategic and political guidance and clear goals for the technical work of the organization (standard-setting and updates, assessing programs and projects, ongoing oversight, and enforcement).
- Interaction and engagement with external stakeholders, providing an Indigenous vision and setting a roadmap for responsible growth of the FSC IF with clear plans, key performance indicators, milestones, and revenue models to consolidate and scale-up Indigenous-led actions by, for, and with Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
Skills and experience
- Member of an Indigenous People highly preferred.
- Experience leading global or cross-regional teams and scaling up an organization.
- Existing network and connection with Indigenous Peoples Organizations or initiatives involving Indigenous Peoples.
- Experience in working collaboratively and effectively with multiple sectors and stakeholders including funding partners, companies, governments, United Nations bodies, and others.
- Strong multisectoral engagement capability to design, execute, and scale up partnerships and finance with evidence of the ability to support organizational growth.
- Experience and success in motivating, recruiting, developing, retaining, and mentoring high-performance, mission-driven, and results-oriented teams.
- Excellent written, oral, and public speaking skills being a persuasive and passionate communicator with strong interpersonal and multidisciplinary skills.
- Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views, and approaches to issues relevant to the FSC IF and its partners and donors.
- Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views, and approaches to issues relevant to Indigenous People.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Millar Cameron, we are dedicated to supporting our Clients in building and supporting diverse and inclusive workplaces and culture, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
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