About ICIMOD

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region stretches 3,500km across Asia, spanning eight countries –Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Encompassing high-altitude mountain ranges, mid-hills, and plains, the zone is vital for the food, water, and energy security of up to two billion people and is a habitat for countless irreplaceable species. It is also acutely fragile – and frontline to the impacts of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is an international organisation serving the Hindu Kush Himalaya for more than two decades to make this critical region greener, more inclusive and climate resilient. For more information, read our Strategy 2030 and explore our website.

About Strategic Group (SG): Resilient Economies and Landscapes

This Strategic Group (SG) focuses on supporting a move to green mountain livelihoods and restoration, conservation, and regeneration of landscapes and ecosystems across HKH. It is composed of two Action Areas: 1. Economies: Adapting and transforming livelihoods and economies, which has four interventions, and 2. Landscapes: Restoring and regenerating landscapes, which also has four interventions. This SG aims to deliver environmentally sustainable, but economically viable and socially inclusive solutions for some of the world’s most marginalised and vulnerable people as well as regenerating and restoring landscapes across the HKH. With a focus on both local and landscape levels, the work under this Strategic Group builds understanding of the implications of rapid socio-economic, climate and environmental changes on mountain livelihoods, economies and ecosystems that are challenged by their remote, fragile, and hazard-prone settings. The SG also aims to scale viable Nature-based Solutions (NbS), incentives for biodiversity and landscape conservation and restoration, as well as human-wildlife co-existence. The SG investigates which combinations of solutions might work with the realities of large-scale male outmigration, rural-urban disconnectedness, feminisation of production, coupled with rapidly deteriorating environmental health in the HKH.

Position Overview

The ‘Intervention Manager – Incentives (Natural Resource Economist)’ position will be housed in Action Area on Landscapes, and will manage our work on Incentives. The position in most part will be dedicated to enhancing results around incentives for biodiversity and landscapes, but will also contribute to strengthening the economic and financial effectiveness and efficiency of other interventions such as rangeland management, springshed management, and human-wildlife co-existence, as well as resource governance so that benefits for landscape are equitably shared among women, men, youth, marginalised communities, and Indigenous People and Local Communities. The position will contribute to designing and implementing effective incentive measures to scale and promote feasible and cost-effective NbS. The role also encompasses overall management of the Intervention on Incentives (for biodiversity and landscapes) and will also work closely with the Action Area on Economies, as well as across other Strategic Groups, particularly the Intervention focused on Investment, in the Global Action Area, sitting in the Strategic Group on Regional Action and Global Advocacy.

Responsibilities

The Intervention Manager – Incentives (Natural Resource Economist) will be responsible for delivering results that are in line with our commitments in our Strategy 2030: Moving Mountains and our Medium-Term Action Plan V (MTAP V)(2023–2026): Embracing Change and Accelerating Impact.

The key responsibilities include the following:

1. Research coordination and facilitation

• Conceptualise, design, and carry out inter- and transdisciplinary research around valuation of ecosystem services, natural capital accounting and cost-benefit analysis of NbS, as a first step in facilitating wider scale adoption and scaling of NbS.
• Perform relevant analyses on economic incentives for building more resilient landscapes in the HKH, which should include building up a portfolio of appropriate innovative financing avenues for biodiversity conservation and landscapes restoration in the HKH, such as biodiversity credits, blended financing for NbS, leading to knowledge products to inform policy and action as well as the design and implementation of such measures and actions.
• Guide relevant publications and knowledge products on incentives (economic, governance, and social) as required and requested by our Regional Member Countries.

2. Building strong regional and global networks and partnerships for incentivising and financing NbS and building more resilient landscapes

• Systematically identify stakeholders, engage with partners and promote application of economically viable and effective NbS. 
• Provide technical inputs to workshops, discussions, and design curriculum on incentive and operationalisation across restoring and regenerating landscapes Contribute to the development of proposals, conceptual frameworks, and methodological approaches relating to business cases for innovative financing.
• Identify emerging research topics related to economic incentives for natural resource conservation and sustainable ecosystem management, and strengthen the capacity needs of our partners as needed to promote inclusive landscape restoration and biodiversity management.
• Reach out to scholars in regional and global institutions, in the natural resource economy and incentives, for collaborative opportunities.

3. Implementation of innovative incentive mechanisms

• Conceptualise, co-design, and support the actioning of cost-effective and innovative incentive mechanisms to support landscape restoration at scale, building partnerships across relevant institutions.
• Provide technical assistance to ongoing field-based pilots on incentive measures, facilitating learning among stakeholders on the importance of incentive measures to support wider-scale adoption of NbS and other landscape solutions.
• Design actions that improve the economic basis of landscape restoration and biodiversity management, strengthening the relationship between the economy and natural resources, exploring means to reward and incentivise local environmental stewards.

4. Management of intervention on incentives for biodiversity and landscapes

• Hold accountability for the Intervention, including the quality and timeliness of delivery against results stated in ICIMOD’s Results Framework (2023–26) as well as delivering on the results requirements of any other bilateral projects, such as the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HIREAP).
• Be responsible for planning, budgeting, and reporting of all activities within the Intervention, including any bilateral donor-funded project.
• Be accountable for the quality and timeliness of result delivery under intervention on Incentives for biodiversity and landscapes.
• Be accountable for staff engagement and management of the team within the intervention, including cross-SG collaboration.
• Ensure that intervention components and activities are well aligned to achieve the MTAP V outcome and targets, and provide clear tasks, roles and responsibilities, considering also staff development needs.
• Ensure that the right professional and technical staff are in place to deliver on the planned results and be responsible to track their progress.
• Ensure implementation of activities in line with ICIMOD’s project management standards and funder requirements, regularly tracking progress against milestones and targets, including spending targets.
• Lead the preparation of annual review, reporting, planning, and budgeting for the interventions and ensure cross-cutting elements on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), biodiversity loss, and climate change are integrated into intervention design.
• Identify risk and communicate to the Action Area Coordinator of the Landscapes Action Area, as and when needed and necessary.

5. People management

• Provide high-quality line management to staff in the work area as required, including leadership, supervision, and support to reporting staff. Ensure the ongoing learning and development of reporting staff.
• Support the recruitment and capacity building of reporting staff when necessary.

Specification/Competencies

ESSENTIAL

• A postgraduate degree (Master’s or PhD) in Natural Resources or Environmental Economics, or related fields.
• 10 years’ work experience in addition to a Master’s degree or 5 years’ experience with a PhD in relevant field(s).
• Demonstrated experience in designing, developing, and implementing effective incentive measures such as Payment for Ecosystem Services, and innovative financing for biodiversity and NbS, such as biodiversity (climate) credits, blended financing and carbon finance.
• Experience in a wide array of other price-based and rights-based economic incentives measures that have been used for environmental management, such as taxes, subsidies, tradable permits, and an understanding of opportunities and challenges of such measures.
• Experience of working with interdisciplinary teams, multicultural environment, and in the HKH region is a plus.
• Excellent understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem management, and demonstrated knowledge and experience in economic valuation methods.
• Excellent project management, coordination, and communication skills in English, proven technical/policy writing ability, and research and publication experience in resource economics, including budgeting and financial management for projects.
• A strong commitment to integrating and advancing GESI aspects in and across all work streams
• Excellent networking ability and strong interpersonal skills.
•  Willingness to travel frequently within and outside the region.
• Ability to prepare high-quality progress reports and knowledge outreach products.

DESIRABLE

• Familiarity with economic and environmental issues and the institutions involved in such work in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region, including understanding of research methods in applied economics, such as natural capital accounting and blended financing approaches.
• Experience in integrated, ecosystem-based, and NbS and approaches, including participatory approaches. 
• Knowledge of how the private sector works.
• Experience in communicating with a diverse audience.

Reporting and supervising

The Intervention Manager – Incentives (Natural Resource Economist) will report to the Coordinator of the Landscapes Action Area and will work closely with other Intervention Managers within the Action Area, as well as with technical staff working in other Strategic Groups, and bilateral projects teams such as the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO) funded Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) team, and the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) team.

Location

You will be working in a cross-cultural, impact-oriented environment at ICIMOD’s head office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Frequent travel in the HKH region will be required. Kathmandu is a lively and exciting place to live. People are friendly, living costs are comparatively inexpensive, food is delicious (with a range of local and international cuisines), and there are good local and international schools and a low crime rate. Nepal offers amazing trekking trails, white water rafting, and safaris, combined with a rich culture and charming yet lively nightlife.

Duration

The initial appointment will be for three years and has a probation period of six months. There is a possibility of extension, subject to performance and ICIMOD’s future funding levels and the design of ICIMOD’s next MTAP (Medium-Term Action Plan V (2023–2026): Embracing Change and Accelerating Impact).

Remuneration

This is an international position at ICIMOD. The starting annual gross salary for this position is USD 40,120 (negotiable based on experience and qualifications). Gross salary comprises basic salary, provident fund, and family/post adjustment allowances. Salaries and benefits at ICIMOD are competitive compared with other international organisations. We offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes insurances (medical, life and accidental), children’s education grant for a maximum 2 children below 18 years of age, severance pay, paid leave (30 holidays and 10 public holidays per year) and a day care facility.

For expatriates, there is a tax exemption in Nepal; they are responsible for their home country’s tax payments. Expatriate staff are entitled to housing allowance, annual home leave ticket, shipment of personal effects, and an installation and repatriation allowance.

ICIMOD’s core values

Our core values are integrity, neutrality, relevance, inclusiveness, openness, and ambition. These values express our culture and are central to the guiding beliefs and principles of our work and behavior. Our core values will lie at the heart of ICIMOD operations and delivery. They will underpin everything we do and frame how we work with our partners. They reflect our founding intentions and the balances we seek to maintain while equipping ourselves for the future.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and safeguarding

ICIMOD’s human resource selection process is based on applicants' qualifications and competence. As an employer, ICIMOD is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and offers equal opportunities to applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life, including but not limited to gender, age, national origin, religion, race, caste, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or social status. ICIMOD strongly encourages applications from all eligible applicants, especially women, from all parts of the HKH region.

ICIMOD is dedicated to establishing and upholding a safe and nurturing work environment where all its employees can participate fully and meaningfully without fear of violence, harassment, exploitation, or intimidation. Any type of abuse or harassment, including sexual misconduct [including child abuse], by our staff, representatives, or stakeholders is not condoned or tolerated.