Job Opportunities at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

JOB DESCRIPTION

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

TECHNICAL

• Support to the AfESG membership and its ongoing activities
  • Respond to all technical queries made to the AfESG Secretariat from within and beyond the membership, or direct them as appropriate.
  • Liaise with and assist the co-Chairs on all issues related to the work of the AfESG on human-elephant conflict.
  • Liaise with and assist the co-Chairs and members of the AfESG Data Review Working Group on al l aspects of the AfESG ‘s data needs
• Coordination of technical undertakings of the AfESG staff.
  • Under direction from the co-Chairs, coordinate the day-to-day work of the AfESG Secretariat to deliver on all AfESG technical needs
• Fundraising for the AfESG
  • Draft funding proposals to support activities related to the operations of the AfESG including fundraising to cover core operating costs for the AfESG Secretariat.
  • Assist the co-Chairs with other fundraising activities
• Other technical undertakings.
  • Liaise with members and partners on the formulation of national, sub-regional and continental conservation strategies for the African elephant
  • Update and maintain a collection of recent, published and unpublished documents covering all aspects of African elephant conservation and management
  • Help to maintain a computerised bibliographic database of all relevant literature
  • Oversee technical preparation for AfESG meetings
  • Oversee the write-up of the proceedings of the AfESG meetings, including articles for Pachyderm , the minutes of the formal AfESG meetings (e.g. various meetings of the membership and Task Forces) and any other technical outputs from the meetings
  • Help solicit and collect articles for Pachyderm, the biannual journal of three
    Specialist Groups (African Elephant, African Rhino and Asian Rhino) and liaise with the Editor of Pachyderm on all stages of the production and distribution of issues
  • W rite and submit regular reports to Species, the Newsletter of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC)
  • Write reports to the co-Chairs of the SSC, as and when requested
  • Oversee and control the quality of the technical content of the AfESG website
  • Work with partners on delivering technical documentation to policy audiences, including CITES
• ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Management of the AfESG offices, staff and administrative matters
    • Under direction from the co-Chairs, co-ordinate and oversee the day-to-day work of the AfESG Secretariat to deliver on all AfESG administrative needs
    • Oversee and monitor all incoming and outgoing contracts of the AfESG
    • Administer and oversee compliance with the Internal Agreement between the AfESG and IUCN ESARO.

Reporting

External reporting

Organize, co-ordinate and/or write technical progress reports to all AfESG donors

Internal reporting

• Coordinate the preparation and delivery of al l reports and updates to the Co-Chairs from the AfESG Secretariat including weekly briefing documents and monthly reports
• Liaise with the Administrative Officer on matters concerning the tracking and reporting of all AfESG finances, including the maintenance of accounts for all ongoing projects
  • Serving the Membership and Partners of the AfESG
• Maintain regular correspondence with the appointed membership
• Respond to all administrative queries made to the AfESG from within or beyond the membership p, or direct them as appropriate
• Correspond on a regular basis with current and potential donors and donor agencies on the activities of the AfESG
• Act as the AfESG focal person and, as and when requested, act as the Secretary to the AfESG Task Forces and Working Groups
• Preparation for AfESG Meetings
  • In close collaboration with the co-Chairs, and the staff of the AfESG, organise and oversee all logistical preparations for AfESG meetings (e.g. various meetings of the membership p, Task Forces and Working Groups)
    Liaise with Administrative Officer on preparation of relevant administrative and financial documents for the meetings
• Other Administrative Undertakings
  • Liaise with the Global Species Programme office on al l matters of mutual concern
  • Abide by the Internal Agreement between IUCN ESARO and the AfESG
  • Abide by the Guidelines for the operation of SSC Specialist Groups with relation to geographical areas in which there is a permanent IUCN Representation, when these become available

GENERAL DUTIES

Perform other assignments and tasks at the request of the co-Chairs of the AfESG.

REQUIREMENTS

• An advanced degree: preferably, Masters in biological sciences with five years of experience in conservation in Africa
• An ability to work co-operatively with others, both in an office situation and with members of the voluntary network
• A good grounding in conservation biology and taxonomy
• A good understanding of the practical aspects of biodiversity conservation
• An excellent command of verbal and written English is essential; a good working knowledge of French would be advantageous experienced in species conservation policy
• Demonstrated editing experience
• A good command of computers, including working knowledge of MS office
• Experience with and knowledge of website management, including Google Apps

go to method of application »

The objective of the position is to maintain, update, develop and support the African elephant component of the African Elephant Database (AED) and its user community and produce regular African Elephant Status Reports.

The AED consists primarily of a PostGIS relational database, with a web-based data acquisition and visualization front end http://elephantdatabase.org. Ruby on Rails and Google Fusion Tables are used in the web components. All production AED components are cloud-hosted, but copies of Rails and PostGIS can be run locally for development and experimentation. A workstation with a local development copy of the system is maintained at the AfESG office.

JOB DESCRIPTION

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical

• Administer the AED and oversee all its technical aspects.
• With the Senior Programme Officer, promote use of the AED with wildlife authorities and experts to obtain elephant population data.
• Provide users with technical support as needed.
• Coordinate the activities of the AfESG Data Review Working Group (DRWG).
• Control quality and categorization of data input into the AED.
• Digitize relevant data for inclusion into the AED.
• In coordination with the DRWG, develop and enhance the analytical capabilities of the AED.
• Conduct spatial and statistical analysis of elephant populations and other relevant datasets.
• Write and produce African Elephant Status Reports as directed by the DRWG.
• Coordinate the review process of applications for AED data.
• Use innovative tools to facilitate the dissemination of elephant data and information to the general public.

Administrative

• Plan and execute the printing and distribution of African Elephant Status Report.
• Document all processes, procedures and programming routines in the AED.
• In coordination with the Administrative Officer, plan and organize meetings of the AfESG DRWG.
• In close liaison with the Senior Programme Officer, produce technical reports to donors.
• Manage AED funds and budgets in liaison with the Senior Programme Officer and Administrative Officer.
• Provide assistance to the AfESG Secretariat in raising funds to ensure the continuity of the AED and the position of the Database Officer.

Other

• Other duties as directed by the AfESG’s Senior Programme Officer.

REQUIREMENTS

• Formal training in biology, ecology and statistics
• Familiarity with wildlife survey datasets would be desirable
• Demonstrated ability in and extensive experience with the use of GIS software, and ArcGIS and QGIS in particular
• General familiarity with programming languages and web development frameworks. Current knowledge of (or capability to self-learn) how to maintain an application written in Ruby on Rails
• Experience in SQL database management and administration
• Aptitude in the use of software applications at advanced user level, including office software, graphic manipulation and layout software, bibliographical database software, and website design software
• Dedicated team worker, positive attitude
• Ability to follow up on all data leads
• Ability to support and network with people from different backgrounds
• Ability to present information – both written and graphical – in a clear and concise manner
• Fluency in written and spoken English and at least a basic level of French, written and spoken
• Experience in budgeting and fund administration desirable