In close collaboration with the WWF-International Practices (Forests and Food & Agriculture) and global hub offices like WWF-Singapore, the senior manager is responsible for overseeing the implementation of WWF's global palm oil strategy and flagship programmes. They have a strong technical grasp of palm oil sustainability topics, supporting WWF's international, regional, and national staff on palm oil related topics. They are an excellent analyst, project manager and communicator, acting as an external-facing representative for WWF's work on palm oil, in internal and external working groups and conferences, and with civil society, academia and business. As both a leader and a collaborator, they develop and oversee global palm oil projects, and support WWF's global palm oil working group. They are responsible for managing relevant teams and external partners to deliver projects and partnerships.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Corporate Engagement
- Lead engagement with priority major buyers (CGMs, Retailers, Hospitality, F&B) and traders, ensuring alignment in approaches between network offices (NOs) that is consistent with WWF advocacy priorities, positions and global palm oil strategy.
- Work closely with WWF-SG, AP30, Forests Forward and other relevant offices to develop new corporate partnerships and other funding opportunities. Coordinate with external organisations to up-scale corporate engagement efforts and identify opportunities for collaboration and aligned engagement.
- . Oversee the development and publication of the WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard (POBS), working closely with NOs and external consultants.
- Lead an internal community of practice with WWF NOs to share approaches and learnings, build alignment, and up-scale corporate engagement efforts.
- Support the efforts of WWF NOs in Asia in developing domestic market demand for sustainable palm oil by supporting campaign activities and corporate engagement, ensuring that multinational CGMs are implementing their sustainable consumption and production commitments across their entire company and/or corporate group, and supporting NOs to engage local brands and retailers around sustainable palm oil.
2. Supply Chain Assessments
- Lead the engagement process with major palm oil traders and refiners to advance sustainable sourcing commitments and practices.
- Lead the revision and update of the WWF Traders & Refiners Index (POTRI) methodology to enhance its robustness and relevance.
- Conduct comprehensive gap analyses and assessments for major palm oil traders and refiners, assessing their alignment with NDPE/DCF policies and sustainability benchmarks.
- Deliver presentations on the overall performance of traders and refiners based on the findings to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Provide tailored support for individual engagements with key traders and refiners, including data insights, strategy recommendations, and follow-up actions.
- Analyse the 2023 RSPO Annual Communication of Progress (ACOP) reports to extract insights on trader compliance, progress, and reporting quality.
3. Market Intelligence and Analysis
- Support the implementation of the Asia Sustainable Palm Oil Links (ASPOL) programme and contribute to the implementation of ASPOL 2.0, specifically focused on market transformation.
- Support the development and implementation of the 2030 GPO Strategy, ensuring alignment with evolving sustainability priorities and stakeholder needs.
- Lead the development and outreach for WWF's DCF Palm Oil Shipment Minimum Criteria. Conduct in-depth background research on target companies to inform tailored engagement strategies and identify leverage points.
- Led the update and comparative review of major oil palm certification schemes, identifying key gaps, overlaps, and opportunities for improvements.
- Review the alignment of existing engagement platforms and working groups with the updated global palm oil strategy and propose refinements to enhance coherence and programme impact.
4. Regenerative Palm Oil Pilots
- Lead technical assistance processes in setting baselines for the Regenerative Palm Oil (ReGen PO) framework. Pilot projects.
- Co-develop the design and implementation plan for pilots.
- Manage external verifiers and consultants to provide quality assurance.
- Facilitate strategic discussions with potential companies to initiate pilot projects, focusing on regenerative agriculture practices in palm oil.
5. Technical Support to WWF Network
- Provide technical guidance to WWF National Offices (Indonesia, Malaysia, UK, Germany, Switzerland, China, India, US, Sweden, Papua New Guinea and others) to support their engagement with national-level traders and buyers, including inputs for fundraising strategies.
- Conduct background research to inform initial engagement approaches and strengthen the credibility and relevance of country-level interventions.
- Facilitate technical calls with National Offices to brainstorm, troubleshoot, and co-develop tailored guidance and solutions to advance sustainable palm oil objectives.
6. WWF's Global Palm Oil Representative
- Represent WWF's Global Palm Oil programme across multiple international standing committees, task forces and working groups to influence policies, standards, and implementation practices across the palm oil sector such as RSPO and others
- Support WWF's regional efforts through active participation in the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFI) Southeast Asia Working Group.
Qualifications:
- Relevant academic qualifications (university level) in agriculture, economics, natural sciences, or related discipline.
- At least 10 years of relevant professional experience, with a minimum of five years in managing teams and projects in an international context.
- In-depth knowledge of sustainability issues in the palm oil sector.
- Experience of agri-business and/or related policy measures.
- Experience in corporate and government engagement, preferably in Asia, coupled with experience of influencing corporates with tact and sensitivity.
- Track record of developing and implementing strategy and action that contributes to system change.
- Familiarity with the WWF network and/or other international NGOs is an advantage.
You need to:
- Be an experienced manager and motivator who understands the wider objectives of the organisation.
- Be an outstanding collaborator who can act as a credible representative when engaging donors and external stakeholders.
- Be a self-starter with a high level of motivation and drive.
- Be able to work independently as well as with others in a cross-functional team and network environment.
- Be a good developer and supporter of staff and motivate the team to produce high quality and credible outputs.
- Have excellent organisational skills and ability to write and speak persuasively.
- Be able to handle coordination with multiple stakeholders on complex projects.
- Have experience in project management and collaboration with external partners.
- Adhere to WWF's values, which are: Collaborate, Respect, Integrity, Courage.
This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the sort of tasks that are anticipated proactively from staff. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organizational needs.
If keen, please apply using this link - https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/sMJBTTWu3H.
