Simon Milledge Email & Phone Number

Potton, Gb

Providing consultancy support in the area of business development in the area of agri-food (sustainable food systems). Notable success was to lead the business development process for a successful bid to Norad for a substantial and complex, multi-partner food security and nutrition project (resulting in the entire organisation's biggest intake in 2023). Currently scoping opportunities for SNV expanding work in the area of sustainable landscape management/environment/conservation and building staff capacity in business development.

Provided interim leadership support to NOURISH (Empowering Smallholder Farmers for Food Security and Climate Resilience), a 5-year Norad-funded food security and nutrition project during the six-month inception phase, including recruitment of project team, formulation of implementation plan, formalisation of partnership arrangements, initiation of baseline study, building relations with key government and other stakeholders, and establish project management arrangements.

Tanzania

Responsible for leading Gatsby Africa’s largest sector development portfolio in Tanzania with an annual budget of £5-6m, providing effective governance and oversight mechanisms for cotton, textiles and forestry programmes, and strengthening overall credibility, legitimacy and capability. Supporting organisation’s mission to accelerate inclusive and resilient economic growth in East Africa by demonstrating how key sectors can be transformed. Reporting to Gatsby Africa Executive Director and member of the Senior Management Team. Championed change management initiatives including organisation restructuring, strategy refresh and Covid-19 management oversight. Chair of the Board of Trustees for Forestry Development Trust.

Iringa, Tanzania

Reporting to the FDT Board of Trustees, responsible for all aspects of institution leadership and running a comprehensive commercial forestry sector development programme with annual budget of USD 2 million. Led a period of growth and transformation including establishment of partnership agreements and high-level relationships, successful programmatic transition to adopt a market systems development approach, implementation of corporate governance requirements, and the transition of all senior leadership roles to national positions, enhancing local leadership capacity and sustainability. Appointed by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania to the Tanzania National Business Council Forestry Working Group.

Iringa, Tanzania

Team Leader for Forests within the Natural Resources Group, working to promote equitable solutions for forest management, and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services. Led a diverse programme of collaborative research and policy influence activities involving new partnerships and profile (including HRH's International Sustainability Unit, Chatham House, Global Canopy Programme, UNECE, UN Forum on Forests and Global Landscapes Forum). Managed programme budget (£2.8m in FY15) and staff of eight, and led business development and fundraising. Provided technical leadership to work relating to demand-side measures to address deforestation, forests and green economy opportunities in Africa, and the integration of forests in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. Additional undertakings covering wildlife trade, forest enterprises, strategic environmental and social assessment, REDD+ corporate governance and integrated reporting.

Full-time member of development cooperation team responsible for developing and implementing a five-year, $80m bilateral programme on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), and the establishment of environmental and agricultural sector programmes covering climate change policy development, social and environmental safeguards, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, climate compatible agriculture and green growth, payments for environmental services, mainstreaming climate change and environment, forestry governance advocacy, decentralised natural resource management and governance. Major duties included programming processes for environment and climate change programmes (including strategic planning, contracting, monitoring, appraisals and review), promoting joint activities and alignment of approaches among bilateral and multilateral development partners, and maintaining close cooperation with government, development partners, tertiary academic institutions, civil society and private sector institutions.

Responsible for the development, coordination and supervision of the TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa programme whose mandate covered forestry, wildlife and fisheries trade issues across 18 countries. Member of the TRAFFIC leadership group and responsible for strategic and business planning at global, programmatic and project levels, in collaboration with WWF and IUCN. Provided programme leadership, development of collaborative partnerships and fundraising, supervision of annual work plans and budgets, monitoring and evaluation, office and staff management. Led the development and implementation of multi-regional and national projects covering a wide range of wildlife, forestry and fisheries conservation, trade, livelihoods and governance issues (e.g. hardwoods, wild meat, live animal exports, wildlife medicine, marine invertebrates, rhino horn and elephant ivory) and introduced innovative approaches to address complex, multi-disciplinary issues. Provided organisation leadership on various conservation issues, in particular rhinos, and member of African Rhino Specialist Group, Southern Africa Rhino and Elephant Security Group and CITES Panel of Experts on the African Elephant.

Black rhino census and research forum coordinator: coordinated black rhino monitoring on behalf of Friends of Conservation, in collaboration with Narok County Council and Kenya Wildlife Service. Produced rhino monitoring training manual and black rhino survey based on a year of observations. Coordinated the inaugural Masai Mara National Reserve Research Forum where a variety of researchers and managers presented social and ecological papers.

Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic Of Congo

Northern white rhino census and radiotelemetry - surveyed rare northern white rhino population during the short dry season, taking advantage of radio transmitters attached to five animals. Co-produced rhino range training manual. Tragically marks the last such census given the rampant poaching that swept through the park immediately afterwards.

Kenya

Black rhino census and environmental education: coordinated census of the free-ranging black rhino population and comparison with historical census data (with report submitted to the Kenya Wildlife Service), scoped the fencing and stone-walling of the conservancy to increase protection for the rhinos, and provided environmental education support to school visits.

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

Bachelor Of Science (Bsc), Zoology

Thesis: Milledge, S.A.H. and Walmsley, T. (1994). Retinal topography in six deep sea teleosts. Research: Milledge, S.A.H. and Yeo, J..

Education record