Turquoise Coast Environment Fund – Turkey
• Location: Home/remote working, based in the South-West of Turkey, with travel required across the
region.
• Hours: Consultancy contract, equivalent €30-35,000 pro-rata depending on experience
• Start: July/August 2024
Turquoise Coast Environment Fund was established in 2022 to protect and restore Turkey’s Western and
Southern coasts and marine natural beauty by funding local nature restoration and protection initiatives. So far it has raised over €500,000 and funded 24 projects. Learn about these projects here.
We work with local partners to fund, develop and implement practical solutions to the region’s most pressing environmental issues, at the grassroots level. We believe that environmental sustainability and economic development should go hand in hand.
The fund raises money from individuals and businesses that love and rely on the region, its natural space, cities, coastline, and sea. It provides financial support to the most effective projects and campaigns working to protect and restore ecosystems, reduce pollution and build climate resilience. TCEF is a branch of UK charity Conservation Collective, and SDTV is the local regranting partner in Turkey.
As the TCEF moves into its third year, its Steering Committee is recruiting a new Executive Director. The day-to-day activities of the Executive Director include grant-making, strategic development, fundraising and donor engagement, and organisational management.
Support and oversight come from the TCEF Chair, Steering Committee, and Conservation Collective’s team.
The foundation is already well funded and the Executive Director will join the project coordinator already in post who supports with operations, grant monitoring and communications.
The successful candidate for this role will:
• Be a pro-active, highly organised individual with an entrepreneurial approach.
• Be a first-class communicator, capable of engaging a broad range of stakeholders.
• Have a good understanding of the key local stakeholders and knowledge of the national NGO landscape.
• Be fluent in Turkish and English.
• Live in Turkey with a driver’s license.
• Have a background working in the environmental sector or relevant studies.
Key responsibilities for the role:
• Identify projects matching the local environmental priorities that align with TCEF strategy and goals, encouraging and supporting them to apply for grants, and overseeing the process of selection by the steering committee two-three times a year.
• Carry out regular mapping, outreach and relationship & partnership development with local NGOs and key stakeholders.https://turquoisecoastenvironment.org www.conservation-collective.org
• Increase awareness of and trust in TCEF’s mission and work through brand development and communications, partnership building and local networking.
• Lead grant making, fund raising, communications and financial operations of the foundation.
Detailed overview of activities and responsibilities of Executive Director:
Grant Making:
• Identify /develop projects that match the priorities outlined in TCEF’s strategy.
• Identification of project and programme ideas and support potential partners in project design.
• Project development in areas where partners are not active, support with capacity building, adding value where possible. This can mean creation of alliances and coalitions between various stakeholders.
• Lobby to influence policy where relevant.
• Monitor and evaluate ongoing grants. Feed data into the internal reporting process and report on progress to the steering committee.
• Meet grantees in person in the field when possible and project related events.
Fundraising:
• Work with TCEF Steering Committee and Conservation Collective/central team to secure new major donors with strong connections to Turkey. Target 100% donor retention, and 20% growth 2024/2025.
• Follow-up on introductions and develop/nurture relationships with major donors, act as local point of reference for existing donors and supporters – online and in person.
• Maintaining existing donor relationships with key corporate partners and donors (create, develop and convert opportunities).
• Raising money from local and international businesses (researching new partners, cultivating partnerships through tailor-made programmes; performing due diligence on businesses to ensure alignment and reputational risks assessed).
• Apply for further funding from larger foundations to scale up selected projects when appropriate.
• Organise and promote fundraising events.
Governance & administration:
• Coordination of quarterly Steering Committee meetings (agendas, dates, minutes etc.).
• Manage the coordination and input from the local Advisory Board to provide scientific and local expertise on potential grants/projects to support good decision-making of the SC.
• Use IT systems, supported by CC to input updates, track fundraising, good grant management and all
administration information.
• Arrange all aspects of fund administration: local budgets, financial reports, expenses claims, etc.
• Supporting the ongoing work of reviewing local registration of TCEF as a registered Turkish local
entity.
Communications:
• Draft newsletters (minimum 3x per year) with updates on funded projects, the main conservation challenges this region of Turkey faces and major TCEF news.
• Share information and updates about all ongoing and new grants made by TCEF through website/socials and newsletters.
• Draft regular website updates & social content (text and images) – goal one per month.https://turquoisecoastenvironment.org www.conservation-collective.org
• Social media monitoring and engagement with partners – goal one post per week.
• Create information and promotional material for TCEF to assist with awareness raising and fundraising.
• Local, national and international media relations and disseminating press releases, where possible.
• Representing TCEF at events and conferences – both as an attendee and presenting as public speaker.
How to apply
To apply: Please send a CV and cover letter to beckym@edelweisshr.co.uk by 19 July 2024.
