JOB ADVERT: MIKES Senior Technical Advisor, Central and West Africa

Vacancy #: 1130

Unit: Mike Programme Central Africa

Organization: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Location: Cameroon Country Programme Office, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Reporting to: MIKE Programme Regional Coordinator

Work percentage: 100%

Function group: P2

Expected start date: 01 September 2015

Type of contract: Fixed-term (12 months with possibility of renewal)

Closing date: 15 August 2015

Background

Project as called for in the MIKES EU Contribution Agreement, or as required from time-to-time by the CITES Secretariat.

Perform other duties as may be assigned by the MIKE Programme Coordinator.

Represent the MIKE Programme and CITES at events and meetings as requested by the  MIKE Programme Coordinator. The Minimising the Illegal Killing of Elephants and other Endangered Species (MIKES) project is the latest phase of the highly successful Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme. MIKE has been implemented in collaboration with African Elephant range States by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) with the support of the European Commission from since 2001, and was designed to generate reliable and impartial data on the trends in the illegal killing of elephants to inform decision-making on elephant conservation. The MIKES project started in August 2014 and is scheduled to end in December 2018.

The MIKE Programme has documented alarming increases in levels of elephant poaching and highlighted the urgent need for action to reduce the increasing threat to elephant populations across Africa as a result of the escalating international illegal trade in their ivory, as well as similar threats that are being faced by other CITES-listed flagship species. The new MIKES project aims to respond to this need by leveraging the strong foundation established and successes that have been achieved by MIKE over the past decade, but with an expanded focus to include: a) other flagship CITES-listed flagship species threatened by international trade; b) initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of poaching and the illegal trade on the target species, in particular through efforts to strengthen the capacity and capabilities of law enforcement (LE) agencies to combat poaching at both site and national levels; c) piloting of the MIKE Programme’s successful adaptive management and monitoring approaches in selected sites in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.

To fulfil its law enforcement capacity building aims, MIKES will provide financial and technical support for strengthening law enforcement capacity at eight “focal sites” across Africa, selected because of their importance for the conservation of elephants and other priority CITES-listed large mammal species, as well as the severity of the poaching threats to these species. Four sites are located in Eastern and Southern Africa, and four sites in Central and West Africa. The technical and financial support provided to each group of four focal sites will be coordinated by a MIKES Senior Technical Advisor (STA), for Eastern & Southern Africa and Central & West Africa respectively.

Main functions

The STA will have overall responsibility for overseeing the delivery of MIKES project support to the four focal sites to which they are assigned, in accordance with the overall law enforcement capacity support packages that have been defined for each site in collaboration with the wildlife management agency, site management and any partner NGOs concerned. The STA will work closely with the partner agencies in defining annual activity plans to be supported by the project (in accordance with the defined framework capacity support package), in overseeing the subsequent delivery of the annual activity plans, and in evaluating subsequent progress made and performance in the delivery of the activity plans. The STA, will also be responsible for coordinating the delivery of any training defined in the activity plan, delivering this training directly where his/her skills permit, or else organising training by other specialists as necessary. In all these functions, the STA will liaise regularly with the MIKE Central Coordination Unit based at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi.

The main law enforcement capacity needs of protected areas have been defined in the MIKE Programme Site-level Law Enforcement Capacity Benchmarks. The LE Benchmarks are organised under six law enforcement “pillars” that summarise the main thrusts of site-level law enforcement activities, as follows:

1. Law enforcement finances and human resources
2. Law enforcement patrols
3. Law enforcement patrol management
4. Site-level investigations and intelligence
5. Law enforcement monitoring
6. Community participation

It is anticipated that the STA will have hands-on experience in addressing law enforcement capacity issues under a number of these pillars.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Main duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the CITES MIKE Programme Coordinator, the MIKES Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for Central and West Africa will have the following overall responsibilities:

Technical responsibilities

Collaborate with and provide advice to the Wardens-in-Charge of the four concerned focal sites in the effective and efficient implementation of the MIKES law enforcement support package for the sites, as well as partner NGOs involved in the implementation of the MIKES support packages, as appropriate.

Define the specific law enforcement capacity-building needs of and turnkey solutions for each focal site based on a consideration of: a) the strengths and weaknesses of existing law enforcement capacity of the site; b) the LE capacity priorities that have been identified by the framework LE support package agreed between CITES and the concerned wildlife agency; c) what can realistically be achieved within the scope of the financial and technical resources available; d) the sustainability of the MIKES-supported interventions post project; and e) the law enforcement capacity framework provided by the MIKES LE Benchmarks.

In consultation with site managers and NGO partners (as appropriate) develop annual activity plans for each site that set out the specific activities to be implemented as part of the overall site support packages (based on lessons learnt from previous years where appropriate), the specific targets to be achieved, responsibilities for delivering activities, and the associated costs involved.

Where appropriate, provide specific technical inputs into the delivery of the annual action plans as defined, including provision of in situ training and backstopping, or else organise and coordinate the delivery of specialist technical assistance and training.

Oversee the fulfilment of the site’s MIKE Programme obligations, including the effective and efficient collection and synthesis of elephant mortality and law enforcement effort/coverage data, in accordance with the MIKE data protocols and procedures.

Support the four focal sites in the implementation of MIKE law enforcement capacity benchmark assessments, including synthesis of information generated from capacity assessments, follow-up assistance in enhancing assessment responses, and carrying out on-site audits of assessment results as and where practical. These assessments will be used to understand the effects of MIKES’ support for LE capacity at the site.

Provide support for the further development and use of SMART ranger-based monitoring systems at the site, including the effective and efficient collection and management of RBM data, and with a special emphasis on the practical application of these systems in the design of ranger patrols and other law enforcement operations.

Facilitate and provide support for information sharing and other forms of collaboration between protected area managers in the four focal sites, to promote best practice approaches to LE operations.

Participate in the development of protected area general management plans for focal sites, where this need has been prioritised and is within the available funding.

Provide technical support and advice in the implementation of the MIKES Event Response Mechanism (MERM), including the review of MERM applications received from range States, providing recommendations on potential MERM initiatives taking into account the feasibility and costs involved in such initiatives and their likely impacts, and undertake MERM assessment visits as requested by the MIKE CCU, including to sites beyond the four focal sites.

Management responsibilities 

Maintain good and effective collaboration with the management and NGO partners (as appropriate) at all assigned focal sites, through undertaking regular site oversight visits (at least twice per year, but preferably once every quarter, depending on needs) to each site, with initial visits for developing annual activity plans and subsequent visits for regular review of progress), combined with or separate to specific training/technical support visits as appropriate.

Utilise other mechanisms for regularly communicating with site managers and NGO partners as appropriate, including e-mails, Skype calls, telephone calls, instant messaging, etc.

Organise the procurement and delivery of equipment and materials identified in the sites’ annual activity plans, in accordance with the stipulated procurement procedures.

Supervise the budget allocated to the four focal sites, including maintaining up-to-date information on site expenditures as well as costs of the STA’s own travel, etc.

Provide inputs as necessary into the MIKES Project Implementation Monitoring System (MIMS), including the provision of MIKE elephant mortality and quantitative law enforcement effort and outcomes information for the four focal sites, RBM capacity assessment information in accordance with the MIKE RBM benchmarks, MIKES project implementation monitoring information in accordance with the site annual activity plans, and information on project effectiveness in accordance with indicators identified in relevant sections of the MIKES project logical framework.

Provide progress reports in accordance with the reporting procedures provided by the CITES Secretariat and the MIKE Programme Coordinator.

Facilitate and collaborate with technical evaluations and financial audits of the MIKES Program.

REQUIREMENTS

• A university degree in a relevant field (such as wildlife, natural resources or environmental management, biological sciences or forestry), or equivalent professional qualifications/ practical experience.
• A minimum of five years’ progressively responsible professional experience in a leadership or advisory role in protected area management in Africa.

Other Skills

• Hands-on, practical skills in designing and implementing protected area law enforcement initiatives under one or more of the following LE pillars: Law enforcement finances and human resources; law enforcement patrols; law enforcement patrol management; investigations and intelligence; community participation.
• Practical experience with law enforcement monitoring systems (such as MIST, SMART or MOMS), and of ranger-based data collection a distinct advantage.
• Practical experience with protected area management planning, and plan implementation.
• Experience with donor-funded project management, including budget management and financial and technical reporting.
• Demonstrated skills in providing effective training in specialized topics.
• Demonstrated experience to effectively lead and work in a team.
• Financial management skills, including budgeting and monitoring of expenditures.
• Good communication, diplomatic and negotiation skills.
• Written and spoken fluency in French and English are required.  

APPLICATIONS

Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the "Apply" button at https://hrms.iucn.org/iresy/index.cfm?event=vac.show&vacId=1130.

Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST).

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