Research & Development Director

ORGANISATION: African Parks Congo

LOCATION: Nagero, Democratic Republic of Congo

REPORTING TO: General Manager

EXPECTED START DATE: 1st November 2020

BACKGROUND:

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 18 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 14.1 million hectares in: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Garamba National Park is looking for an experienced, resourceful, and highly organized Research & Development Director to oversee the following departmental activities:

1. Research and monitoring
2. Technology
3. Collection node
4. Analysis

The Research & Development Director is expected to uphold a standard of excellence in protected area management, to have a deep ecological understanding and to support appropriate management interventions. In addition to ecological research and monitoring, the Research & Development Director will manage teams examining sub-regional poaching and conflict dynamics as well as a full-fledged technology office.

MAIN ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage the research and monitoring activities including elephant monitoring and collar deployment, giraffe monitoring and ossi-unit deployment, development of monitoring strategies for carnivores and chimpanzees, and implementation of fisheries management;
• Analyse sub-regional conflict dynamics;
• Investigate criminal activities in and around the Garamba Complex;
• Maintain existing technologies utilized, including collars, VHF and so on;
• Develop emerging technologies for the benefit of conservation;
• Write internal research papers and provide recommendations to the Park Management Unit (PMU), including the General Manager.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• General Manager
• Deputy General Manager
• Regional Technology Coordinator
• Regional Collection Node Coordinator
• Law Enforcement Advisor
• Sustainable Development Manager
• External service providers, including collar providers and veterinarians
• Universities, and research and training institutions
• Conservation Development and Assurance

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, or 5-years of related field experience (e.g. game management, veterinary work);
• At least eight years of working experience in conservation;
• Experience in natural resource management and habitat restoration;
• Excellent command and understand of English;
• Understanding of French will be an advantage; and
• Ability to work in a remote area.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

Maintenance and expansion of existing research and technologies that aid in both short-term and long-term management interventions, including wildlife tracking. Empowerment of the Research and Monitoring, Technology and RICC offices towards the effective restoration of the Garamba eco-system.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to centralafrica.hr@africanparks.org by Wednesday, 30th September 2020. Please mention the position name in the subject line of the email.

In case you do not hear from us within two weeks after the closing date, this means that your application was not successful.

We thank you for your interest in working for African Parks.

For more information or questions, do not hesitate the Regional Human Resources Manager, Mr. Kevin Keenoo.