Intern (Volunteer) opportunity , in ZSL’s East & Southeast Asia conservation programme

For up to six months, July - December 2012

ZSL is looking for an ESEA programme volunteer intern for up to six months from July to December 2012.  This role is for three days per week and the time will be divided between assisting the 21^st Century Tiger programme, which raises funds for tiger conservation, and supporting the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) coordinator.  The intern will report to the 21^st Century Tiger manager and the ALTA coordinator. 

21^st Century Tiger is a fundraising partnership between ZSL and Global Tiger Patrol and focuses on channelling funds from donors to the projects it supports. Donors range from zoos around the world to members of the public and corporate institutions. The website is a resource tool for tiger conservation and carries project details, reports and pictures.

The main responsibilities within 21^st Century Tiger include assisting the 21^st Century Tiger Manager with managing communication to supporters through Social Media and the 21^st Century Tiger website and creative activities such as creating posters and fundraising documents.  Some time will also be spend on more administrative tasks such as dealing with basic public enquiries, dealing with correspondence from donors and record keeping. In addition, they will assist in producing the regular e- news sent via an online news distribution application. (In house-training is available, so specialist knowledge is not essential.)

ALTA raises and channels funds to projects in the Russian Far East and China working to conserve the Amur leopard and tiger. In the role of ALTA intern you will be assisting the coordinator with updating the ALTA website and social media forums, producing newsletters, posters, leaflets and fundraising material, dealing with general enquiries from the public and keeping records of donations.

The intern’s activities will provide many opportunities to learn about the problems and potential solutions in the conservation of both the tiger and leopard, and to gain experience and skills relevant to the successful management of conservation projects in general.  They will gain experience using the content-management system for the website, the database for record keeping and the online e-news application. There will also be opportunities to learn MS Publisher in the process of producing reports.

The overall environment at ZSL provides a vast array of opportunities to make and learn from contacts in many areas of conservation and conservation science. The opportunity provides daily contact with a wide range of experienced conservation practitioners; in addition, ZSL holds frequent informal talks from our own staff and from visiting scientists and regular Scientific Meetings and Symposia on site.   

The successful candidate will have good written English and communication skills, creative abilities and good computer literacy. They should have the ability to operate on their own initiative and within a team and have a systematic approach and a good eye for detail.

The candidate should also have some background knowledge of wildlife and conservation, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.  Travel expenses up to a maximum of £9.50 and lunch expenses up to £5 per duty day (or less, as spent) can be refunded retrospectively.

Please respond by email, attaching an up-to-date CV and covering letter with a clear account of your interests and abilities and why you would like to offer your time on this project, to; 21^stCenturyTiger@zsl.org by 5^th July 2012.

Please note there is no overseas travel with this role. Applicants will be asked to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK.