Workplace: Democratic Republic of Congo, Goma (40%) with frequent travels to Epulu (40%) (Okapi Wildlife Reserve – OWR) and Kinshasa (20%)

Supervised by: OWR Community Conservation Lead

Start Date: As soon as possible

End Date: 1-year contract, renewable

Organization background:

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a private, nonprofit U.S. organization founded in 1895. Its mission is to preserve wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, developing science-based solutions, and taking conservation action that benefits nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, a presence in more than 60 countries, and experience in creating more than 150 protected areas around the world, WCS has accumulated the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships necessary to ensure that wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, this knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues that are critical to improving the quality of life for poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.

About OWR:

Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to globally significant wildlife populations, such as those of okapi, elephants, and chimpanzees, and as a Reserve, it provides Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples with opportunities for sustainable natural resource use. The Reserve, however, is faced with threats relating to illicit natural resource exploitation, unsustainable economic development, and in-migration. WCS is currently working in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) to implement a multi-pronged strategy to protect OWR that covers protected area governance and management systems, community conservation, security and law enforcement, buffer zone land-use management, and building external public support.

Programme and project overview:

The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme aims at reconciling the challenges of wildlife conservation with those of food security in fifteen countries. This initiative of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is funded by the European Union, with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and French Development Agency (AFD). In order to reduce the pressure on wildlife while ensuring the necessary supply of animal protein to the populations, it is essential i) to offer sustainable alternatives, particularly through the production of domestic meat and fish, ii) to promote their consumption and iii) to support sustainable wildlife management through subsistence hunting within a legal and institutional framework that ensures good governance. The SWM program has been developed to meet these needs, while guaranteeing the rights of rural, Bantu and indigenous populations to coexist with wildlife and perpetuate their cultural heritage.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of selected countries under the SWM Programme because of its importance in terms of biodiversity conservation and the importance of wildlife for the food security of local populations. The area of intervention in the DRC is within and surrounding the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) in the province of Ituri in the northeast of the country; the OWR is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This landscape is also home to nearly half a million people, including Mbuti and Efe peoples, who depend on wildlife resources for their food and culture. SWM Programme integrates within the OWR community conservation strategy. The Reserve aims to create community sustainable use zones inside the reserve and community forest concessions on its border in order to combine sustainable community development with fauna conservation aspects.

Job summary:

The SWM Coordinator will coordinate project activities that develop systems for sustainable hunting and a reduction in bushmeat consumption. This work will contribute to the delivery of OWR’s community conservation strategy, which aims to ensure that Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) living in and around the Reserve contribute to rights-based conservation.

The SWM Coordinator will ensure the successful implementation of the SWM activities in close collaboration with the OWR management and field team as well as SWM partners at national and international levels. They will contribute to ensuring SWM activities are well harmonized with other project activities to deliver OWR’s community conservation strategy.

The successful candidate will have a strong background in program management and coordination, and a strong interest in conservation and development linkages.

Main tasks:

Development of six-month and annual work plans and budgets

• Preparation of the six-month and annual work plan and coordination of the budget in line with the Program framework, the project document and estimated total budget, in coordination with the appropriate WCS support staff (OWR, Country Program, Regional office, SWM Program), as well as outside to the Program Management Unit (PMU), and with support of Result teams as needed.
• Revision of the six-month and annual work plan addressing comments from the PMU, Site Review Committee (SRC) and Steering Committee;
• Preparations for the endorsement of six-month (prior to the annual meetings of the Steering Committee) and final annual work plans by the SRC.

Technical support to the implementation of site-based activities according to the agreed work plan and budget

• Coordinate, supervise and assist the design, and , if needed, technical expertise and reporting, of activity implementation on-site in strong collaboration with the OWR Community Conservation Lead, who remains responsible for management of the community conservation team and the planning of activities of all community conservation funding streams;
• The SWM Coordinator will coordinate with appropriate WCS staff whose job it is to ensure financial planning and compliance with appropriate procedures, including the management of equipment and infrastructure;
• Expertise mobilization, including development of Terms of References in collaboration with site management staff, to find experts within the consortium or outside. Where necessary, this will be done in collaboration with SWM Programme Result coordinators and with their support;
• Monitoring of activity implementation and adoption of corrective actions as needed to ensure adherence to work plan and budget, transparency and accountability;
• Regular feeding of SWM Program impact and outcomes, monitoring & evaluation, and knowledge management systems with relevant information and data, in coordination with the OWR Monitoring and Evaluation manager and SWM Result coordinators;
• Liaise with the team members in Kinshasa in charge of the implementation of activities related to the legal framework to ensure full integration of these activities within the objectives of the SWM Programme and integration of field-based lessons learned in future policy or legal development.
• Organize regular (3 per year) Site Review Committee meeting (and eventually field visits) and act as its Secretary.

The above tasks will require frequent travel to both Kinshasa and Epulu.

Preparation of technical reports and coordination of reporting for site level activities and collaboration

• Contribute to the coordination and submission of the six-month and annual technical and financial reports according to PMU and donor requirements;
• Preparation of six-month and annual reports addressing the PMU, SRC and Steering Committee comments;
• Preparing for the endorsement of six-months (prior to submission to the Program steering committee) and annual reports by the SRC;
• Coordinate with OWR logistics staff to support activity implementation;
• Drafting or review of technical reports planned in the workplan.

Communications and visibility activities

• Participation in the design, revision and approval of communications products and visibility activities at site level, in line with the OWR communications strategy, SWM DRC communication and visibility plan, in consultation with the WCS Central Africa communication manager and with the support of the OWR Communication Officer;
• Participation in regular design and dissemination of communication contents related to site activities.
• As necessary, perform any other task requested by the SWM Coordinator position or OWR management to reach the objectives of the project, including participation in international, regional and national forums and meetings.

Qualification Requirements:

WCS is looking for a candidate who:

• Has a master’s degree (or higher education level) or equivalent in terms of experience (five or more years) in conservation biology, community conservation, international development, natural resource management, community-level enterprise development or other relevant field experience.
• Has strong technical, logistical and financial management of projects (planning, budgets, implementation, monitoring and evaluation);
• Has a sound understanding of the social, economic and ecological issues surrounding bushmeat and how they applied in DRC’s context.
• Has strong experience in communication with a various range of stakeholders.
• Has experience working in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams.
• Has excellent written and oral communication skills in French and English, Swahili is a plus.
• Understands and aligns with WCS work and values.

How to apply

How to apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, skills and experience, should apply through this link by June 30, 2023.

WCS is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value.