IBA/KBA Officer at BirdLife International

Responsibilities:

• Represent the Africa Region on the IBA Programme Coordination Team and IBA Team
• Represent the BirdLife Africa Partnership and Secretariat in Global IBA Programme Coordination Team and IBA Team
• Through these teams, continually make contributions from Africa on strategic planning, setting priorities and tracking progress in implementation of the IBA programme at the Global level in liaison with other colleagues from the Global Secretariat and other regional secretariats
• Support participatory development and implementation of IBA and KBA priorities in Africa
• Support partners to implement Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBA) programme in Africa
• Continually identify support needs of BirdLife Partners in Africa and other needs brought forward through frequent liaison and communication with national IBA focal points from respective Partners
• Provide the BirdLife Partners and non-Partners in Africa with technical guidance, capacity building and information necessary for effective implementation of the IBA Programme
• Support BirdLife Partners in updating their IBA inventories and identifying new IBAs, including the verification of the application of the IBA criteria
• Engage with Partners and Policy team to prioritise IBAs for safeguard
• Monitor and evaluate progress in implementation of the IBA programme priorities as outlined in the BirdLife Africa Regional Plan and provide timely feedback to the partnership and other stakeholders
• IBA monitoring and review, and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) assessment and delineation
• Support Partners and non-Partners across Africa in planning and implementing IBA monitoring and updates, and World Bird and Biodiversity Database (WBDB) information updates
• Support Partners and non-Partners with relevant IBA monitoring and information management trainings
• Support BirdLife Partners and contacts in Africa in the transition to KBAs, including the provision of training and capacity building, supporting formation and running of National Coordination Groups, working closely with KBA Regional Focal Point and the KBA Community Regional Representative, informing Partners about major developments of the KBA Partnership and promoting the KBA brand in Africa
• Support Partners (including through fundraising, information sharing, technical guidance and effective communications) to attain excellence in the monitoring and update of IBAs, as well as the assessment and proposal of KBAs, in Africa
• Support development, fundraising for and management of projects that contribute to delivery of IBA/KBA conservation in Africa
• Support fundraising drive for IBA/KBA conservation
• Lead the development of conservation projects for the purpose of implementing IBA/KBA Conservation Programme priorities in Africa
• Support the management of IBA/KBA conservation projects to ensure timely delivery of high-quality reports and other deliverables
• Any other duties as delegated by the Line Manager

Required skills, experience, and qualifications:

• Master's degree level in Environmental or Biological Science, or related degree or BSc with proven relevant work experience
• Demonstrate knowledge in marine science and conservation
• Understanding of site-based conservation practices that include biodiversity conservation principles, biodiversity monitoring, protected area management, data collection, dataset management, international site designations, and working with NGOs and community-based organisations
• Relevant work experience that demonstrates project, data, site and/or people management at the national level, but experience at the international level will be advantageous.
• Interpersonal skills necessary to work in a team and operate remotely with partners
• Excellent oral and written skills, with the ability to write professional articles and give presentations to international audiences
• Ability to look at the strategic and operational dimensions of issues and plan accordingly
• Ability to generate innovative ways of doing things, and in the process enhancing the quality of products and efficiency in the use of resources
• Word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and database management, as well as GIS.
• English required. The candidate will have to work with partners of different language background. In this sense professional skills in French and/or Portuguese would be considered a high advantage.
• Good organisational and problem-solving skills
• Occasional travel for workshops and site visits