Programme Development Manager, WWF-Laos

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Programme Development Manager, WWF-Laos

Position title:  Programme Development Manager, WWF-Laos

Location:           Vientiane Capital, Laos.

Open for:           All nationalities

Background

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has had a presence in Laos since the late 1980s, when it contributed to some of the first biodiversity surveys that established Laos’ protected area system. The office in Laos was officially established in 2001. Today, our main office for WWF-Laos is in Vientiane Capital, with field offices in multiple provinces.

WWF-Laos works with government, civil society, the private sector and other partners to address the drivers of biodiversity loss and to move towards a greener nature-based future where the people of Laos can thrive and live in harmony with nature.

Our vision is “a vibrant and sustainable future for Laos, shaped by inclusive conservation that protects biodiversity, ensures equitable benefits, and nurtures harmony between people and the environment”. Conservation is WWF’s core work, and our programmes in Laos are implemented under four broad thematic areas: Forests, Wildlife, Freshwater and Circular Resilience. As outlined in WWF-Laos’ 2026-2030 strategic plan, we focus our conservation efforts in three main landscapes, eight priority sites and three cities.

Laos boasts one of the most richly diverse ecosystems in Southeast Asia – characterised by lush rainforests, towering limestone karsts, and a vast network of rivers. This varied terrain supports a remarkable array of wildlife, including many rare, endemic and newly discovered species. Protecting Laos’ natural assets holds significant potential for long-term economic growth; but realising that potential requires balancing development ambition with environmental preservation, and driving a transition away from resource extraction and depletion toward sustainable conservation-based approaches. Succeeding will secure water and food security, and long-term climate, ecological and livelihood resilience for communities across the country.

This is the compelling backdrop for a programme development role within WWF-Laos. With Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam among the countries most actively investing in or trading with Laos, WWF-Laos is seeking to expand its donor portfolio to include more partners from the Asia-Pacific region, while sustaining and growing support from our established donor base in Europe and North America.

Major Functions:

The Programme Development Manager is a critical role within WWF-Laos, responsible for leading the development, implementation and ongoing refinement of WWF-Laos’ fundraising strategy and action plan. The role exists to ensure that WWF-Laos’ ambitious 2026-2030 strategic plan is fully and sustainably resourced.

This Programme Development Manager goes beyond transactional funding relationships to build genuine, long-term partnerships with donors – characterised by mutual information exchange, joint policy engagement and shared strategic planning. The role leads on the development and writing of high-quality project and programme funding proposals, while also cultivating and stewarding the donor relationships needed to ensure WWF-Laos’ continued conservation impact.

The Programme Development Manager heads up WWF-Laos’ Resource Mobilisation unit, providing direction and support to a small team of staff and consultants. The role reports directly to the Country Director and works in close coordination with the Conservation Director, Senior Programmes Managers, project/programmes leads and other members of the Country Management Team.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Function Leadership and Management

• Lead and manage WWF-Laos’ Resource Mobilisation unit, providing supervision, guidance and strategic direction to staff and consultants in support of overall project and programme development objectives.
• Develop and maintain a costed resource acquisition strategy for WWF-Laos in line with the 2026-2030 strategic plan, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and realistic financial targets.
• Track and analyse resource mobilisation performance against agreed targets, and proactively adjust strategies and priorities to improve funding success rates.
• Support the development of local capacity in resource acquisition through regular coaching, mentoring and knowledge-sharing with junior staff.
• Work with the procurement team to establish and maintain a database of consultants engaged for proposal writing and programme development, incorporating performance evaluations to guide future procurement decisions.
• Prepare and provide regular reporting to WWF National Offices on resource mobilisation performance, including pipeline status, number of proposals submitted, success rates and overall progress against fundraising targets.
• Maintain internal tracking systems and processes to monitor the full funding pipeline, ensuring alignment between concept development, proposal submission and fundraising targets.

Proposal Development

• Lead the development of country-level funding proposals, drawing on technical input from project and programme leads and working in coordination with Quality Assurance and Environmental and Social Safeguards focal points to ensure proposals meet WWF’s standards and donor requirements.
• Act as the national focal point for multi-country proposals, coordinating effectively with relevant offices across the WWF Network to ensure WWF-Laos is accurately and compellingly represented.
• Coordinate the review and clearance of contractual arrangements with WWF’s legal and governance function.
• Respond to internal and external requests for fundraising and programme development information related to WWF-Laos’ activities.
• Oversee the management of incoming funding opportunities within WWF’s Grant Management System (GMS), ensuring all proposals are accurately recorded, progress is tracked, and internal processes are completed up to contracting stage.
• Work with the Country Management Team to present organisational development needs and collectively aim to secure support for this from within the WWF network

Donor Intelligence and Opportunity Assessment

• Continuously analyse donor priorities, funding calls and strategic interests; assess alignment with WWF-Laos’ programmatic priorities; and provide timely, evidence-based advice to the Country Director and Conservation Director on emerging funding opportunities.
• Identify, establish and maintain relationships with current and prospective donors – including bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, private foundations, corporate partners and high net worth individuals – with a deliberate focus on diversifying WWF-Laos’ funding base across donor categories and geographies, reducing over-reliance on any single source, and prioritising partners active in or connected to Laos and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
• Represent WWF-Laos in relevant donor meetings, forums and consultations, providing technical input into donors’ strategies and positioning WWF-Laos as a credible and responsive conservation partner.

Network Coordination and Knowledge Management

• Work closely with resource mobilisation staff in the WWF Asia-Pacific regional office, in WWF national and donor offices, and within the WWF International Secretariat, to ensure WWF-Laos is included in regional and global proposals where relevant.
• Collaborate with the Communications and Advocacy Manager to develop a pipeline of people-centred impact stories that can support resource acquisition efforts across multiple donor audiences.
• Develop a structured handover process to project or programme managers – including templates and facilitated sessions – to ensure effective knowledge transfer and smooth donor relationship management once new funding is secured.

Qualifications Required:

• Master’s degree in business management, conservation, development studies, political science or a related field
• 7-10 years of practical experience in a senior resource acquisition or programme development role, ideally including at least 2 years in Laos or the Greater Mekong region
• Demonstrated experience in developing and writing competitive project proposals to bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, foundations and other institutional donors
• Proven track record in successfully securing large-scale, long-term and multi-country funding, including proposals of USD2-3 million or above
• Experience managing and developing teams, including coaching and capacity-building of junior staff
• Strong understanding of development partnerships, fundraising strategies, donor systems and international relations
• Experience of advocacy and negotiating with government counterparts and donors at multiple levels
• Proven ability to manage inter-institutional relations, preferably in government aid agencies or bilateral donors
• Familiarity with conservation and natural resource management issues in Laos and the Greater Mekong Region is a strong advantage
• Experience working on GEF and/or GCF proposals is an advantage

Required Experience, Skills and Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and the ability to translate conservation priorities into compelling, fundable programme narratives
• Excellent proposal writing skills, with demonstrated ability to produce high-quality submissions under time pressure
• Strong presentation, communication, public speaking and negotiation skills, with the ability to integrate these into proposals and donor communications
• Exceptional interpersonal and networking skills, with the ability to build and sustain relationships across diverse stakeholder groups
• Comfortable with financial targets and the discipline of reporting regularly on progress against agreed fundraising goals
• Fluency in written and spoken English in required, proficiency in Lao and/or French is an advantage

Working relationships:

• Internal
  • WWF-Laos: Regular engagement with the Country Director and members of the Conservation Division – specifically the Conservation Director, Senior Programmes Managers, Head of Impact and Innovation – as well as project/programme leads, members of the Country Management Team, and all WWF-Laos staff as relevant
  • WWF-Asia Pacific: other Country Offices (particularly WWF-Cambodia, WWF-China, WWF-Myanmar, WWF-Thailand, WWF-Viet Nam), regional Technical Advisors and other resource mobilisation staff
  • WWF Network: Secretariat resource mobilisation staff; donor/national offices (e.g. WWF-Australia, WWF-China, WWF-Japan, WWF-Sweden, WWF-Switzerland, WWF-UK, WWF-US)
• External
  • Current and prospective bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, development partners, corporate companies, private foundations, high net worth individuals, other INGOs, consultants and other relevant stakeholders

WWF’s Values and Behaviours:

• Adhere to WWF’s values: Courage, Respect, Collaboration and Integrity.
• Demonstrates WWF core value in action of working:

• We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
• We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
• We honour the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
• We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

WWF-Laos can offer you:

Contract duration of 1 year initially, with possible extension; industry-leading benefits and salary package; ample opportunity for professional development. For more information on our work in Laos, please visit: wwf.org.la.

How to Apply:

Please find more information and complete the application form by clicking this link:

https://jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-GB/wwfint/EXTERNAL/jobs/1633

Note: Please indicate your gross salary expectation (including tax) in the cover letter and/or CV

Recruitment Conditions:

Application Deadline:

• There is no fixed deadline for applications. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified, so early submission is encouraged. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Work Location:

• The role is based in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. Selected candidates are expected to be located in or willing to work from Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.

Relocation:

• WWF-Laos will not provide a relocation allowance for candidates applying from outside Lao PDR. Any relocation arrangements and associated costs will be the responsibility of the candidate, except visa and work permit will be provided for the successful candidate and dependent.

The organization will provide and cover the visa and work permit costs for the candidate and their dependents.WWF provides equal employment opportunities and affirmative action for all qualified individuals regardless of race, colour, gender, national origin, disability, inclusive, or veteran status and promotes affirmative action to assure equal employment opportunities. Please indicate if you require accommodation for the application or interview process to jobs.laos@wwf.org.la