Job Vacancies at African Wildlife Foundation

AWF is seeking a Regional Director for West and Central Africa Programmes to oversee the  implementation of AWF Programmes in DRC, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria and Niger as well as any other programmes developed in the region. The successful candidate will have practical experience in protected area management, land use planning, offset programs, working with communities and other stakeholders around protected areas and implementing programmes in Africa. This position will work with the Senior Director for Project Management and Patnerships  to ensure the effective implementation of its programmes in West and Central Africa. The position will report to the Senior Director for Project Management and Patnerships (SDPMP) and will be based in either Nairobi, Kenya or Yaounde, Cameroon. This position will entail at least 60% travel within the region.

• Assist the SDPMD in providing overall leadership, management and accountability for the activities and performance of the AWF Programmes in West and Central Africa.
• Spearhead AWFs’ efforts to improve the effectiveness of programmes being implemented in West and Central Africa through increasing the capacity of the field teams, providing them with the necessary logistical support and provide ongoing technical guidance to ensure programmes are well managed, are able to deal effectively with challenges and .
• Represent AWF at meetings, events and field visits within the region
• Determine which tools/approaches will best facilitate effective and sustainable conservation for targeted landscapes. Provide technical oversight and adaptive management strategies to ensure the effective and timely implementation of recommended tools/approaches.
• Within W&CA, ensure that activities are consistent with donor expectations, including appropriate reporting and checkpoints, and are realistic and sufficiently detailed to be actionable by implementing staff.
• Regularly question programmatic assumptions, plans and pace to ensure that AWF remains on a good course in West and Central Africa considering changing operational realities. Encourage similar good-natured analysis throughout the organization.
• Ensure strong liaison between field teams, country offices (where appropriate) and Nairobi on issues of finance, procurement, administration and fund raising
• Support the field teams with engagement with bi lateral donors for field visits, budget adjustments and any programme challenges
• Identify and develop excellent working relationships with major partners and stakeholder groups such as local government, commercial institutions, and communities in Eastern Africa likely resulting in an MOU between major players as required.
• Participate in the recruitment of staff and with doing regular staff assessments to ensure they are achieving their goals; have the resources they need to carry out their responsibilities and are motivated.
• Work with the programme management system team to ensure effective implementation of the programme management tracking system and that the system provides useful feedback and support to the field managers.
• Establish and enforce approval workflows to ensure adequacy and completeness of MOVs.
• Work with the Knowledge Management team to ensure that AWF strategically expand its conservation footprint in W&CA
• Represent AWF in relevant forums and meetings regarding Protected Area management and other conservation issues and provide support toward influencing policies that improve protected area management.
• Increase AWF’s institutional knowledge of protected area management and management strategies, approaches and challenges across West & Central Africa.
• Formulate AWF positions on various land-related matters.
• Provide technical input to fundraising proposals as requested.
• Provide any other relevant support and undertake assignments as needed by AWF