This is a rare opportunity for an ambitious development professional to contribute directly to frontline conservation in one of Madagascar’s most biodiverse and threatened landscapes.

SEED’s conservation programme works alongside communities living at the edge of the island’s last remaining littoral forests – ecosystems of extraordinary ecological value.

Through reforestation, biodiversity research and community-led conservation action, we support locally driven solutions that protect forests while strengthening livelihoods.

We are seeking a motivated Programme Development Officer with 1–3 years’ experience to play a central role in securing and sustaining this work.

You will lead on developing high-quality funding proposals, managing donor relationships, producing compelling reports and supporting programme monitoring and evaluation.

Working closely with both national implementation teams and international colleagues, you will ensure projects remain compliant, financially sound and strategically aligned.

This role is ideal for someone with field experience and a genuine passion for forest conservation and/or rural livelihoods, who is ready to take ownership of donor engagement and contribute meaningfully to long-term conservation impact.

Strong grant writing skills and exceptional written English are essential.

Applicants without demonstrable experience in producing high-quality funding proposals and reports will not be considered.

Timeframe: 2 years, potential to extend

Contract Type: Local salary to support with accommodation and living costs (field-based food/transport provided); £1,200 contribution to flights and £650 towards insurance

Job responsibilities

• Support Junior Programme Officers and interns in compiling funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and international best practice in an engaging and professional manner.
• Support Junior Programme Officers and interns in writing project reports that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of the projects, learning from the project and providing clear budgetary information.
• Provide first-stage editing of all proposals and reports across the Department to a high standard and providing detailed, constructive feedback to interns and Officers.
• Support in the management of donor compliance across several projects, working with the Programme Manager and the implementation team to ensure that project milestones are being met.
• Work alongside the Programme Manager and Head of Department in problem-solving and providing additional support in line with emerging issues from project implementation.
• Manage pieces of long-term project work that require a higher level of expertise and experience across the Department.
• Support in the recruitment of new staff and provide support, management, review and professional development to your team of Programme Interns, Junior Officers and specialists.
• Foster essential cross-cultural collaboration, providing support to both the national and international teams to bridge gaps in understanding and priorities for project development and implementation.
• Assist MEL specialists in developing MEL tools and analysing data, including the writing of MEL reports when needed.
• Coordinate the project-specific website and social media content, ensuring a constant flow of information to donors and supporters.
• Work with the national team and external partners in increasing their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate.
• Take an active role in project management meetings, leading discussions and standing in for the Programme Manager where appropriate.

Job requirements

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in conservation, ideally with a focus on reforestation, forest ecology or rural livelihoods.
• At least two years’ experience with similar programmes.
• Minimum of one years’ professional experience of securing funding, project management, donor compliance and donor reporting.
• Familiarity with the use of project management tools including Logical Frameworks, Theory of Change models, Budgets, Activity Plans and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks.
• Fluency in written and spoken English with excellent written communication skills, to the level of editing English documents for publication to a very high standard.
• Excellent proposal and report writing and editing skills, with previous experience compiling project proposals and reports and the ability to tailor written information to various audiences.
• Ability to communicate in French would be an advantage.
• Experience of living and working in a developing country with the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers.
• Be able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability and desire to develop and support a team of staff and interns.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter in English outlining why they wish to take up this position and how their skills and experience match the requirements in the job description criteria to SEED Madagascar Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org.

Please note: AI generated cover letters and recruitment exercises will not be processed.

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout this period.