The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is one of the world’s most established organisations dedicated to natural resource conservation and sustainable development. With a global reach and a strong presence in Africa, IUCN continues to collaborate with partners across sectors to address climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem management, coastal resilience, and marine conservation. The organisation’s Centre for Ocean Resilience in Nairobi plays a vital role in supporting global and regional efforts aimed at protecting marine environments, advancing sustainable ocean governance, and promoting evidence-based policy solutions.
As part of its ongoing work, the organisation has opened three key opportunities based in Nairobi: Intern – Ocean Events and Workshop Coordination; Intern – Ocean Policy and Programme Support; and Project Officer. These roles support the Centre for Ocean Resilience in programme execution, communications, stakeholder engagement, event planning, research, and project delivery. The following sections provide detailed job descriptions for each position to guide applicants.
INTERN – OCEAN EVENTS AND WORKSHOP COORDINATION, COR, NAIROBI
This internship offers an opportunity for an individual interested in environmental events coordination, capacity-building programmes, and marine-related workshops. The role supports the planning and execution of events connected to ocean resilience, science dialogues, technical workshops, and stakeholder convenings. It provides experience in logistics management, communication support, and coordination with different departments and external participants.
The Intern – Ocean Events and Workshop Coordination is expected to assist with the full cycle of event planning. This includes developing event concepts in consultation with project teams, contributing to agendas, assisting in preparing participant lists, and supporting the development of event materials such as presentations, briefing notes, and background documents. The position further requires logistical coordination, including arranging venues, virtual meeting platforms, travel support for participants when necessary, and ensuring that all administrative elements align with internal procedures.
A key part of the role involves supporting communication before, during, and after events. This includes coordinating invitations and managing registrations, assisting with content preparation, reviewing event documentation, and supporting the compilation of proceedings or summaries after workshops are completed. The intern may also assist in drafting event reports, maintaining records, and developing follow-up communications that relate to specific activities or workshops conducted by the Centre for Ocean Resilience.
The intern is also expected to contribute to internal coordination within the organisation. This includes supporting cross-team communication, participating in preparation meetings, updating internal trackers, and helping ensure that deadlines and operational timelines are met. The role may also involve supporting monitoring and evaluation activities for events to help assess participation levels, engagement, outcomes, and learning points that can improve future convenings.
Additionally, the intern may support digital event formats, particularly when workshops or dialogues are conducted online or in hybrid form. This includes supporting the setup of virtual platforms, monitoring chat discussions, coordinating technical checks, and ensuring that materials shared in virtual environments are organised and accessible. The position offers exposure to event production, stakeholder management, and the broader operational processes behind ocean-related capacity development and knowledge sharing.
INTERN – OCEAN POLICY AND PROGRAMME SUPPORT, COR, NAIROBI
The Intern – Ocean Policy and Programme Support will assist with research, analysis, programme administration, and policy engagement connected to ocean governance and conservation. This role is suitable for individuals interested in environmental policy, marine ecosystems, regional governance frameworks, and programme management.
The position involves supporting the team with desk research on various ocean-related issues such as marine protected areas, coastal resilience strategies, international policy developments, and regional agreements. This research may feed into the development of policy briefs, internal notes, technical documents, or background papers required across different projects managed by the Centre for Ocean Resilience.
The intern will be expected to contribute to the review and synthesis of documents from international bodies, research institutions, and partner organisations. This includes helping identify relevant policy trends, monitoring updates from global processes, and supporting the preparation of summaries that help programme managers stay informed of emerging issues. The role may also involve assisting with the compilation of information for donor reports or internal planning documents that require data aggregation or narrative inputs.
Administrative support is another core responsibility. The intern may help organise meetings, prepare agendas, document discussions, and maintain the programme’s records and filing systems. This includes tracking project activities, updating internal tools, documenting progress, and supporting financial and procurement processes under the supervision of the programme team.
The role also involves supporting the coordination of partnerships and stakeholder engagement. This includes assisting with contacting partners, supporting collaboration between internal teams, and helping manage communication flows within ongoing projects. The intern may contribute to drafting emails, preparing briefing materials for external engagements, and supporting the logistics for policy dialogues or stakeholder consultations.
Additionally, the intern may assist with data review and analysis for ocean governance projects. This may include reviewing datasets, helping prepare visual summaries, and supporting the packaging of information into formats suitable for presentations or reports. The experience gained will help develop technical, organisational, and analytical skills relevant to international conservation and governance work.
PROJECT OFFICER, COR, NAIROBI
The Project Officer role is a mid-senior level position responsible for supporting the effective implementation of projects under the Centre for Ocean Resilience. The position involves strategic coordination, project management, partner engagement, reporting, and oversight of operational processes connected to project delivery. This role requires an individual capable of managing multiple workstreams, engaging diverse partners, and ensuring compliance with organisational and donor requirements.
The Project Officer is expected to support planning and execution of project activities in collaboration with internal teams and external stakeholders. This includes supporting the development of annual work plans, contributing to activity design, assisting in the formulation of project concepts, and helping align project objectives with broader programme strategies. The role may require coordinating with technical experts, monitoring progress of activities, and ensuring that deliverables are completed within set timelines.
An important component of the role is managing relationships with partners, including government agencies, NGOs, research institutions, and regional organisations. The Project Officer may help facilitate meetings, coordinate communications, support collaboration across different sectors, and ensure that stakeholders remain informed about ongoing project developments. In some cases, the Officer may contribute to stakeholder mapping and help identify engagement priorities for new initiatives.
The Project Officer is also responsible for supporting project monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. This includes assisting in the compilation of results, documenting achievements, tracking indicators, and preparing narrative contributions for donor reports. The individual may also contribute to financial oversight by supporting budget tracking, reviewing expenditure updates, and ensuring alignment between financial and narrative reports.
Operational support forms another part of the job description. The Officer may help manage procurement processes, coordinate consultant engagements, contribute to drafting terms of reference, and ensure that administrative steps are completed as required by IUCN procedures. This includes helping maintain accurate documentation, ensuring timely submission of approvals, and coordinating with operations teams to manage project logistics.
The role also involves contributing to knowledge management by helping develop project materials, documenting lessons learned, supporting the preparation of communications content, and participating in the preparation of presentations or technical summaries. This may include working closely with communication teams to support project visibility through internal channels or partner platforms.
Additionally, the Project Officer may assist in the development of new project proposals. This includes conducting background research, supporting drafting processes, coordinating inputs from different departments, and helping ensure that proposals align with donor guidelines and organisational strategies. The role requires attention to detail, strategic thinking, and the ability to manage multiple deliverables across different thematic areas within the ocean resilience portfolio.
CONCLUSION
These roles offer opportunities for individuals at different career stages to contribute to the work of the Centre for Ocean Resilience in Nairobi. Each position provides exposure to the organisation’s mission of strengthening ocean governance, improving marine conservation, and supporting sustainable development across coastal regions.
