Job Description

SOUTHERN AFRICA WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING HUB LEAD / PROTECTED AREA SPECIALIST - WHITERIVERFull job descriptionJob Advert Summary(12-Month contract position based in WWF Office in White River, Mpumalanga, or hybrid)WWF is the worlds largest and most respected independent conservation organisation, with over 6 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.WWF South Africa is a national office that is part of the WWF network. We are a local NGO that has worked for 50 years with the aim of inspiring all South Africans to live in harmony with nature, for the benefit of our country and the wellbeing of all our people. WWFs work is for nature, for you.Our work is challenging and exciting and we love what we do. To join our team, you need to be brilliant at what you do, passionate, results-orientated and have a positive attitude.Background:The Khetha program aims to address the impact of wildlife trafficking on people and rhinos and elephants in the Mozambique and South African landscape of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. The programs three objective areas are:Support innovative partnerships and novel approaches within civil society, communities, the private sector, and government in at least four innovation nodes in the GLTFCA to improve relationships between people and wildlife.Support the implementation of critical wildlife trafficking policy frameworks for South Africa and Mozambique to increase crime prevention, detection, prosecution, and collaboration.Learn, collaborate, and coordinate with influential institutions in the GLTFCA landscape to strengthen the collective response to wildlife trafficking. This position reports to WWF International, Head of Wildlife Crime Initiative (50%) / WWF SA, Khetha Programme Manager (50%).Minimum RequirementsA degree related to themes such as nature conservation, transboundary governance and law enforcement, public management and/or development, etc.Minimum of ten years experience in implementing projects addressing wildlife poaching and / or trafficking; and / or mobilizing local, national and regional stakeholders to mitigate environmental crime.A passion for environmental and conservation issues, and an understanding of the connection between social issues, economics, development, law, compliance and the environment.A keen interest in learning about and experimenting with novel ways to make landscapes safer for wildlife and local people.Experience in working across a range of sectors, including government, NGO and private industry.Strong negotiation and constituency-building skills in a multicultural setting.Experience in mentoring, training or coaching would be advantageous.Proven fundraising success would be advantageous.Excellent planning and organisational skills.Ability to work autonomously, creatively and efficiently.Superior knowledge of conservation/wildlife management policies and best-practices, especially as it relate to safeguarding high-value species.Superior knowledge of social and human-rights safeguarding processes and tools in context of law enforcement and protected area management.Superior writing and verbal skills in English and ideally an African language. This should include superior report writing skills.Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to communicate, advocate and influence practices amongst diverse conservation practitioners.Strong strategic planning, project management and administrative skills.Ability to convene and build strong partnerships and interpersonal relationships with all levels of stakeholders from differing contexts and organisations.Excellent planning and organisational skills.Ability to work under pressure and be flexible in the face of the unexpected.Diplomacy and political savvySelf-efficacy and ability to work independently.Team-player willing to collaborate and regularly interact with other team members.A passion for environmental and conservation issues, and an understanding of the connection between social issues, local communities and the environment.Ability to undertake extensive travel is essential for this position.Valid Drivers License and Passport.Duties and ResponsibilitiesSouthern Africa Wildlife Trafficking Hub Lead (50%)Support the implementation of national wildlife trafficking policies in key countries and critical landscapes across southern Africa;Assist in maintaining relationships with key government agencies in collaboration with country officesPromote synergies across the region in wildlife trafficking policies and their implementationIncrease understanding of the national and regional dynamics of trafficking of high value wildlife products;Support research into transboundary, regional, and/or global trade dynamics of illegal wildlife products (for example trade routes and transport methods), to assist law enforcement action, build awareness on illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and support legal and policy developmentsStrengthen capacity to address wildlife trafficking through targeted actions along the value chain from prevention and detection to investigation and prosecution, and share best practices;Build technical capacity within our networks and relevant Government agencies for implementation of strategies that address wildlife trafficking and development of technical skillsPromote learning and implement platforms to share approaches, knowledge, tools and systems and amplify best practice identified in the regionIdentify appropriate new technologies of relevance to addressing wildlife traffickingEnsure wildlife trafficking preventative measures and responses are founded upon a holistic community-based approach to addressing the challenge;Maintain close relationships with community-based programmes addressing the drivers of wildlife trafficking and practitioners in the landscapesAssist in developing technical fundraising proposals in response to opportunities for the regionBuild the capacity of WWF/ TRAFFIC offices to develop fundraising proposalsProactively identify and monitor funding opportunities in close collaboration with country officesSupport external communications and advocacy, as appropriate, in collaboration with country officesArrange annual planning and feedback workshops within the Southern Africa Technical Hub and between the three Africa hubIncrease understanding of the value of different activities through standardised Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)Measure impacts through standardized MEL indicators across the region into network systemsCollate and analyse annual data and achievements for reporting purposes within the networkSupport learning and information flow across the region, and with other regions, through participation in network and other processes as appropriate.Khetha Protected Area Specialist (50%)Support the objectives of the Khetha programme (based in White River), a USAID-funded initiative to mitigate the impacts of illegal wildlife trade in the Greater Kruger area of South Africa and in Mozambique.Support the implementation of critical wildlife trafficking policy frameworks for South Africa and Mozambique to increase crime prevention, detection, prosecution and collaboration.Support landscape-level initiatives to improve protected area management and security for the benefit of conservation partners and local communities.Provide technical expertise to efforts to develop an innovative financing & wildlife economy model in the Greater Kruger area.Work with a range of state and private sector partners to develop ranger/law enforcement personnel leadership and resilience to corruption in context of wildlife crime.Oversee efforts to safeguard rhinos in the Intensive Protection Zone of the Greater Kruger area.Assist in the development of strong inter-agency teams across conservation agencies and law enforcement agencies to enhance prosecutions of trafficking perpetrators.Support the development and implementation of the annual Khetha work plan.Support seconded employees with their Khetha-related work and ensure they are optimally included in Khetha-related projects.Participate in the monitoring, evaluation, learning and communication requirements of the Khetha program.Assist with program administrative processes.

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