Project Manager at IUCN, Pretoria, South Africa

Deadline: 20 December 2019

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is seeking applications from eligible applicants for the post of Project Manager in Pretoria, South Africa. The duration of this post is 12 months.

Project Manager will be responsible to manage research on illegal wildlife trade in priority species within Mozambique, guide similar work in South Africa, coordinate research activities in both countries and guide dissemination of the results to inform mitigation efforts.

IUCN provides public, private and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Key Jobs Responsibilities

The Project Manager will perform the following functions:

Oversee targeted research into trade dynamics of products associated with priority species from GLTFCA, with a focus on elephants and rhino.
- Assist partners in ongoing research design and planning for studies on illegal wildlife trade dynamics to guide law enforcement efforts.
- Facilitate training of project staff.
- Support development of questionnaires, memoranda of understanding, letters to government officials and other stakeholders, and provide guidance on methods of engagement with research target groups or individuals.
- Manage data entry processes into the TRAFFIC Wildlife Trade Information Management System (WiTIS) including the validation and cleaning of data.
Identify and share tools and approaches for relevant partners to use in investigations and prosecutions to address the wildlife trafficking issues identified in the research activities under the project.
- Identify and collaborate with existing and potential partners working on wildlife trafficking to assist in Programme activities (UNODC, ICCWC, ARINSA, TRACE and others), and facilitate collaboration with Khetha implementing partners.
- Engage with international institutions and networks linked to wildlife forensics, chain of custody, evidence handling and crime scene investigations and facilitate collaboration with Khetha implementing partners.
- Assess opportunities for use of new tools and processes supportive of tackling wildlife crime such as tracking financial flows, addressing money laundering and the use of asset forfeiture.
Provide programme management support from TRAFFIC into the broader Khetha Programme
- Travel to Maputo, Mozambique on a regular basis to provide support to the WWF MZ wildlife trade officer.
- Provide guidance and support in the design, development and review of written and other project outputs including but not limited to Power Point presentations, short papers, reports and posters.
- Manage the translation process (English/Portuguese) for all data, documents, reports and other written outputs under the research programme of work.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must have:

University Master’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline demonstrating understanding of the subject area.
Significant professional work experience relevant to nature conservation and/or illegal wildlife trade and transnational organised crime.
Strong research and analytical background including research in the field.
Fluency and excellent writing skills in English essential, with competency in Portuguese a key an advantage.
Familiarity with major trends in research methodologies, conservation policy and research, issues relevant to the trade in terrestrial and marine wildlife and broad familiarity with conservation and development issues in the region, including governance and natural resource management.
Familiarity with law enforcement policies, legislation, institutions, approaches and responses.
Experience in working with and communicating programme objectives to government and intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society, private sector and other conservation partners.
Good interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively as part of a team, with respect for and sensitivity to multi-cultural approaches.
Communications skills and experience working with the media.
A willingness and ability to travel widely and frequently.
Experience in managing staff and/or consultants.
An ability to work under pressure.
Good IT literacy and experience with Microsoft Office.