PROGRAM OFFICER, Payments for Environmental Services (PES)

JOB ADVERTISEMENT : Senior PES Program Officer- IDH Cameroon IDH Cameroon - Position based in IDH offices in Yaoundé.We are excited to be searching for a proactive and pragmatic Senior PES Program Officer with an interest to join our team, and we hope it’s you!Your role.As Senior PES Program Officer at IDH, you support the design, operationalisation, monitoring, and verification of the PES field projects in Cameroon. You ensure high-quality field implementation, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), and stakeholder engagement to support project performance including on deforestation reduction. This role will support the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) funded program which seeks to catalyse and de-risk private sector investment across agricultural commodity value chains, enabling them to become deforestation-free, low‑carbon, and climate‑resilient, while improving farmer incomes and livelihoods in Cameroon. By combining targeted technical assistance, catalytic seed capital, and performance-based PES incentives, IDH aims to support local enterprises and farmers to adopt sustainable practices, generate verified environmental outcomes, and build credible financial and impact track records. These, in turn, crowd in commercial finance and long-term private-sector demand for environmental services, reinforcing policy objectives and national climate commitments. Key Responsibilities: Oversee field implementation of PES projects, in close collaboration with private sector and technical partner.Serve as the primary technical interface with local authorities, implementing partners, farmers and communities.Verify that farmer and community engagement activities, including Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC), are conducted according to plans, and report back to the IDH PES team on level of inclusiveness of field implementation.Support the complaints and Grievance Mechanism at local level, identifying and reporting on land-use conflicts.Collaborate with the MEL Advisor to conduct regular field monitoring, surveys, and site inspections; collect georeferenced data on land use, agricultural practices, forest cover change, and socio-economic benefits, including effective direct payments to farmers and community.In close collaboration with private sector and technical partners, support the pilot and management of community-based monitoring tools (including use of remote sensing, field surveys, and drones where applicable) to track indicators such as encroachment and fire occurrence.Collaborate with the MEL Advisor on the review and verification of partner reports.Develop high-quality, disaggregated technical progress reports; ensure data accuracy for reporting against IDH core indicators and the project results framework.Provide technical training and capacity building to local partners on sustainable practices and PES/MRV protocols, as required.Who you are:You are a practical and detail-oriented professional who works confidently in complex field environments, where ensuring consistent compliance with PES commitments requires close engagement with communities and coordination across diverse local actors. You are comfortable operating in contexts where access, connectivity, and seasonality affect delivery, and where accuracy and reliability are essential.You bring a strong focus on data quality, ensuring that MRV information is timely, verifiable, and well documented despite field constraints. Your attention to detail supports credible reporting and informed decision-making, while your pragmatic approach helps translate field realities into clear and usable inputs.