Project Officer West Africa – Marine Conservation Finance and Governance

About BlueSeeds

BlueSeeds is a social enterprise based in Bordeaux, France, dedicated to making marine conservation more effective and sustainable and supporting key marine conservation stakeholders, such as Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers and NGO representatives, but also small-scale fishers and coastal communities.

BlueSeeds co-designs and develops innovative financial solutions with these actors that can be a lever for both socio-environmental equity and thriving marine and coastal ecosystems. BlueSeeds is a multidisciplinary team with skills in economics, marine biology, finance, project management, law, international relations and pedagogy.

About WASOP

The West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP) is a regional initiative funded by the European Union under the Global Gateway strategy. Covering 13 countries from Mauritania to Nigeria, it aims to promote inclusive economic growth while ensuring the sustainable management of marine resources.

A specialised partner of WASOP’s Pillar 3 (Resilience and Biodiversity), coordinated by IUCN, BlueSeeds helps transform MPA management and community conservation projects into economically viable models. BlueSeeds’ work focuses on piloting high-quality blue carbon projects under the Plan Vivo standard and mobilising the private sector through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). BlueSeeds builds on the expertise it has developed at its blue carbon pilot site in Guinea-Bissau. In close partnership with IUCN, NASA, IBAP, a local NGO, and coastal communities, BlueSeeds is developing a blue carbon mangrove restoration project, under the West African Mangrove carbon initiative (WAM).

Learn more about WAM: blueseeds.org – WAM project. WASOP is one of the European Union’s flagship programmes for sustainable ocean governance in West Africa – learn more at international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu.

Job Description

As Project Officer, you will play a central role in delivering one of the largest blue economy programmes currently implemented in West Africa. Based in Dakar, you will help coordinate BlueSeeds’ regional activities across several countries, working closely with governments, NGOs, local communities, IUCN and international donors.

You will ensure that innovative financing mechanisms – including high-integrity blue carbon projects and community financing models – are successfully designed and implemented.

The Project Officer will be responsible for supervising and implementing project activities related to finance, governance, legal/compliance, certification, commercialisation, and capacity strengthening, to ensure the technical, institutional, and operational delivery of the relevant project components.

The position will be based in Dakar and will involve regular travel to BlueSeeds’ headquarters in France and across the West African countries covered by the project (currently Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Republic of Guinea) in order to support implementation, coordination, and capitalisation of activities.

The salary will be based on BlueSeeds’ pay scale and according to experience.

Job Responsibilities

In close cooperation with the BlueSeeds team and local partners, the Project Officer will have the following responsibilities:

1) Regional Focal Point

• Ease the global implementation of WASOP activities.
• Coordinate relationships with governments, NGOs and local partners.
• Participate in field missions (as necessary).

2) Sustainable Finance & Blue Carbon

• Support the design of sustainable financing mechanisms.
• Coordinate the development of transparent community funds.
• Support Plan Vivo certification and documentation requirements.
• Contribute to high-integrity carbon credit commercialisation strategies.

3) Partnerships & Governance

• Support participatory governance models for revenue-sharing rules.
• Facilitate regional exchanges.

4) Capacity Building

• Organise workshops, with content preparation and logistics coordination.
• Prepare training material.
• Support the organisation of the IMPAC-6 Conference, March 2027, Senegal.

5) Reporting

• Prepare technical reports.
• Contribute to project monitoring.
• Capitalise lessons learned.

Profile Sought

• Advanced degree (MSc, or equivalent) in international development, political science, economics, finance, environmental law, project management, or a related field.
• At least 3-5 years of experience in project management or coordination in a similar field, ideally in development finance, community governance, compliance, or carbon markets.
• Proven experience working with institutional partners, public administrations, and international organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously in complex and evolving environments.
• Ability to manage multi-stakeholder processes in intercultural and regional settings.
• Excellent writing, analytical, synthesis and communication skills.
• Fluency in French and English. Portuguese would be an asset.
• Availability for frequent travel across West Africa and to France (overall travel time: approximately 30%).

Required Skills

• Expertise in international development, finance, community funds, CSR.
• Good understanding of participatory governance issues and collective decision-making mechanisms.
• Knowledge of certification, compliance, or documentation frameworks associated with environmental projects.
• Understanding of carbon credit commercialisation issues and high-integrity principles is a plus.
• Experience in organising, facilitating, and documenting workshops, seminars, or training sessions is a plus.
• Experience in project management tools and planning.
• Strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy, autonomy, and coordination abilities.

Why Join Us

• Help shape one of the largest regional initiatives for sustainable ocean governance in West Africa.
• Work at the intersection of biodiversity conservation, climate finance and community development.
• Join an entrepreneurial organisation where you will have real autonomy and responsibility.
• Collaborate with leading international organisations on marine conservation.
• Contribute to pioneering high-integrity blue carbon projects with tangible impact for coastal communities.

How to Apply

Send your resume and cover letter by email to Marie-Aude Sévin (marieaudesevin@blueseeds.org) and Timothée Cook (timotheecook@blueseeds.org).

Application closing date is 30th September 2026.

More information: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dakar-conservationfinance-bluecarbon-share-7492866528292384768-LmEL/