Senior Director of Land Administration

• Reports to: President and CEO
• Reports: Director of Community Land and Climate Initiatives, Director of Technology, HQ Program Manager, and our team of Program Specialists and GIS experts located globally
• Location: Virtual, with frequent international travel; Open to global candidates
• Cadasta offers a competitive compensation package with benefits or a competitive consultancy rate, based on applicable country location.

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 2015, the Cadasta Foundation (Cadasta) is an award-winning, high-impact non-profit organization registered in the U.S. It is a leading technology and service provider supporting secure land and resource rights for a more sustainable and equitable planet. Cadasta creates high-impact partnerships with civil society and government agencies to provide technology, training, and technical support to help marginalized communities document and secure titles to their land, property, and resources, and to use the data for better decision-making regarding livelihoods, land use, climate, and community empowerment.

In the last five years, Cadasta has grown to reach over 100 partners in 46 countries, who have used community-led approaches to document and strengthen the land rights of over 6.4 million people living on 21 million hectares of land in cities, farms, rangelands, and forests.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN THE ROLE AT CADASTA:

The Senior Director of Land Administration will develop, lead, and manage Cadasta’s land administration partnerships, program strategy, and implementation. You will work collaboratively with Cadasta’s senior leadership on organizational strategy and execution, ensuring strong program implementation and oversight. You will serve as the technical lead in land administration and land information technology, cultivate and lead strategic partnerships, and develop new business opportunities in collaboration with the CEO and the business development team. In this role, you will collaborate closely with the Director of Community Land and Climate Initiatives, Director of Technology, and the Program Management Unit to fully integrate all program activities under Cadasta’s impact framework. . The role includes the following areas of responsibility:

Strategic and Operational Management

• Provide strategic and operational team leadership and program management oversight for Cadasta programs;
• Ensure high-quality delivery of Cadasta’s technology and services, ensuring responsiveness to partner needs and collection and reporting of data to support evidence of impact. Work with the Director of Technology and team to help Cadasta further define and develop the strategy on technology deployment, including exploring a range of technology solutions that meet partner needs;
• Work with the Project Management Unit to ensure compliant contract and subcontract administration, procurement, reporting, and timely submission of reports, budgets, expenditures, and deliverables;
• Serve as a senior leader contributing to Cadasta’s overall organizational strategy, operational plans, budgets, and impact.

Technical Leadership

• Provide technical leadership in land administration, ensuring Cadasta’s role in developing and implementing effective fit-for-purpose approaches;
• Provide oversight, development, and support of field and project staff on technical approaches, knowledge, and skills in the land sector;
• Serve as technical land administration lead on Cadasta proposals and project delivery;
• Lead technical design and implementation strategies to engage government land systems to secure formal tenure rights in specific projects;
• Demonstrate GIS knowledge and skills, including experience with the Esri ArcGIS suite, to ensure effective deployment of the technology stack and other relevant tools to ensure partner uptake and sustainability in collaboration with the Director of Technology and field and tech teams;
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team to generate performance and evaluation data and reports and integrate results of learning and impact evaluations into organizational planning, learning, and documentation.

Outreach, Business Development, and Thought Leadership

• Develop and lead outreach and partnership strategy to stakeholders and donors within land and adjacent development sectors;
• Serve as Cadasta’s primary thought leader and subject matter expert on fit for purposes approaches to land administration and efforts needed to improve government land systems that formalize tenure rights;
• Articulate to external audiences how our work contributes to broader goals and global efforts on governance, agriculture, climate, gender equality, sustainable natural resources management, conflict and peacebuilding, the use of data to advance community goals, and the importance of more secure tenure rights to achieving outcomes under the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Represent Cadasta at conferences, and outside events, and external meetings with key donors, stakeholders, and potential partners and support communications and thought leadership through presentations, articles, blogs, and papers;
• Identify and develop funding opportunities and support bids and proposals and other business development activities in collaboration with the CEO, Business Development team, and Program team.

WHAT IT TAKES

The ideal candidate is a strong strategic and operational land sector manager with skills and expertise in program design and implementation, deploying technology to partners, and providing training and services that increase security of tenure. Expertise in government and fit for purpose land administration and land rights is required, along with solid leadership, teamwork, management, and communication skills. Familiarity with the use of GIS technology and relevant data to solve land sector challenges, cross-cultural skills, experience working in the international development sector especially in a developing economy context, are strongly desired. The role will entail some international travel to engage current and potential partners, and attend sector-relevant forums and meetings.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 10-15 years of experience working in the field of land administration, land and resource rights, or other land-related disciplines in emerging economies, with knowledge of GIS and land information technology;
• At least 10 years of experience working in an international development setting, preferably with experience in Latin American and Caribbean; sub-Saharan Africa; or South/SE Asia,
• 8+ years of experience in international program/project management, with demonstrated success of remote management of a staff from varying cultural backgrounds;
• Experience designing and implementing land tenure, land use, and/or resources management interventions in complex environments in emerging economies;
• Experience working with a multi-cultural, global team of technologists, GIS experts, trainers, and developers, and communicating field-level needs and system requirements to ensure responsive technology solutions and services;
• Solid understanding of donor requirements and grant and contract management and compliance, preferably including bilateral and multilateral grants and contracts;
• Experience designing and managing project budgets and implementation plans;
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills in English with experience presenting complex land rights issues to a wide range of individuals,
• The ability to speak languages other than English (in particular Spanish, French, or Portuguese) is a plus;
• A leader who is strategic, operational, and results-oriented, with an ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines, and coach team members to do the same.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Cadasta is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants. We believe in harnessing the power of diversity to create a culture of belonging where individuals are celebrated and valued for their unique ideas, perspectives, and strengths as a means to achieving personal excellence and organizational success. Cadasta also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, except where such an accommodation would cause an undue hardship.