Senior Marine Technical Advisor, WCS Indonesia

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources.

WCS Indonesia Program Overview:

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Indonesia Marine Program aims to conserve marine and coastal resources vital to the protection and sustainability of human livelihoods across the Indonesian archipelago from the Bay of Bengal through to the heart of the Coral Triangle. WCS employs a rigorous scientific approach to build capacity, strengthen management and inspire community stewardship for the protection and sustainable use of critical marine ecosystems, fisheries and threatened species. This dynamic and rapidly growing program has three core objectives: (1) to establish and increase the management effectiveness of 1.3 million hectares of MPAs in seascapes in Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and the Sunda-Banda sea; (2) sustainable management of coastal fisheries in and around networks of MPAs; and, (3) conservation of threatened marine species, particularly sharks and rays, through improving the sustainability of fisheries and trade, and combatting illegal trade in protected species.          

Job Summary:

This position will provide the strategic oversight and technical support for the Marine Program to successfully implement large marine conservation and coastal fisheries initiatives funded by multiple donors. This role supports the WCS management team in the development and implementation of strategic plans and policies. The position reports to the Indonesia Program Deputy Country Director and works closely with the Indonesia Marine Program team, in collaboration with the global WCS marine program. The position advises on all technical aspects of the program, strategic research activities, and maintains regular communication with WCS project leads, key donors, funding agencies and NGO partners.

Major Responsibilities:

• Technical oversight of WCS Indonesia’s marine programmatic activities, and management of technical assistance across the program.
• Collaborating with staff to maintain an updated vision and strategic plan for WCS' marine and coastal work in Indonesia that aligns with the 2017-2023 WCS Indonesia Program Strategy.
• Supporting the program teams to ensure effective coordination between programmatic activities and the administrative and financial aspects of WCS Indonesia Program.
• Overseeing and supporting proposal development and technical reporting to donors, government agencies, and other WCS offices.
• Supporting the WCS Indonesia Marine Program, through fundraising, engagement with private sector, business development and partnership activities.
• Representing the organization to donors, public, other key stakeholders and partners; and ensuring excellent working relationships are maintained.
• Improving the program’s measurement and analysis of project outcomes, and use of scientific results for adaptive management.
• Supporting WCS Indonesia's contributions to marine scientific research and publications and engagement with international scientific institutions.
• Supporting capacity building of marine program staff and local partners.
• Proactively supporting the development of high quality communication pieces for increasing the profile of WCS Indonesia Marine Program and its technical activities.

Specific technical and program development responsibilities will also include:

• Providing technical assistance on MPA design and management, tropical coastal fisheries, shark and ray conservation, and/or other appropriate tropical marine conservation issues.
• Supporting the marine team to integrate scientific research and results into program activities, assess the impact of conservation interventions, and contribute to adaptive management interventions, through:

–   Working with the team to ensure appropriate and efficient collection, analysis, dissemination and publication of field data and results;

–   Enabling better integration of scientific results into adaptive management actions;

–   Publicizing WCS Indonesia Marine Program achievements through popular and scientific media, publishing project results in scientific journals and through presentation at national and international fora; and

–   Ensuring national staff have capacity to actively undertake research, contribute to scientific publications, and participate in national and international scientific fora.

• Supporting the growth of the shark and ray program in Indonesia.
• Contributing to performance reviews of marine program staff, and the recruitment of new staff and short-term specialists.
  

Minimum Requirements:

• PhD or equivalent experience (at least 10 years) and strong record in marine and/or coastal conservation, tropical marine ecology or biology, or a relevant social science field, including field-based conservation and project management experience.
• Proven ability to achieve successful on-the-ground conservation success in tropical developing countries.
• Experience in equitable community-based and collaborative conservation initiatives, MPA design and implementation, sustainable management of coastal fisheries, coral reef conservation, and/or marine species conservation, with a priority on initiatives that balance conservation efforts and human well-being.
• Demonstrated success in publishing scientific articles in peer reviewed journals and ability to communicate scientific information to a general audience.
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with the challenges of field-based tropical conservation.
• Ability to work sensitively and effectively with people of diverse cultures, value systems, perspectives and levels of education, and to manage and work with staff in these contexts.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.
• Professional proficiency in oral and written English. Working knowledge of Indonesian will be an advantage.
• Proven ability to write fundraising proposals and manage grants and donor reports.
• Ability to build capacity in community-driven natural resource management, field research, conservation biology, conservation advocacy, and project management.
• Willingness to travel within Indonesia and internationally.
• Additionally, as WCS Indonesia is a flexible organization, staff members are expected to undertake any other tasks that are allocated to them but which are not part of their regular job description.

Application Process:

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications should apply by emailing an application letter and CV together with salary requirements and the names and contact information of three references to: globalrecruitment@wcs.org by December 10^th, 2018 deadline. Please include “Senior Marine Technical Advisor, WCS Indonesia” in the subject line of your email.

In addition, please note that all candidates must also apply online via the WCS career portal at: http://www.wcs.org/about-us/careers

WCS is an equal opportunity employer and the organization complies with all employment and labor laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring and ensures that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value

The organization provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organization does not discriminate for employment based on age, color, disability, gender identify, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by laws and regulations

Please note that only short listed candidates will be contacted for interview.