Head of Protection

Posted on 11 March 2020_

The World Wide Fund for Nature seeks a Head of Protection & Surveillance Department APDS (CAR)

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one of the largest independent conservation organizations in the world, active in almost 100 countries. Our mission is to stop the environmental degradation in the world and build a future where humans live in harmony with nature. We have been working since 1978, in the Congo Basin in Central Africa.

We are operating in Central Africa Republic (CAR) in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas complex (APDS in French) which is a 4,450 km2 area, comprising the Dzanga Sangha Dense Forest Special Reserve with its various community zones and the Dzanga Ndoki National Park. This area is home to spectacular large mammals such as forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees, bongo, buffalo, sitatunga, giant forest hogs and as well as a large variety of monkeys and duikers. For more than 25 years, we have been supporting the Ministry of Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing (MEFCP) to manage APDS both to conserve its exceptional biodiversity and to promote the sustainable management of natural resources for the well-being of nearby human populations. We signed on the 4th of February 2019 a co-management agreement with the MEFCP aiming to better manage and fund the APDS. The APDS is part of the Sangha Tri-National (TNS) World Heritage Site. The TNS is made up of three national parks (Dzanga Ndoki in CAR, Lobeke in Cameroon and Nouabale Ndoki in the Republic of Congo) and their buffer zones. The protected area managers and their key partners work together to manage the TNS.

**In order **to ensure the protection and conservation of APDS’s biodiversity
**, we are **looking for a dynamic and committed seasoned conservation professional for the position of
**Head of Protection and Surveillance Department**. The incumbent will
**be assisted by a Deputy and several heads of units.**

**Location**:
**Bayanga, CAR**

**Main responsibilities**:

- **Maintain and strengthen the effectiveness of the strategies adopted by the Protection and Surveillance Department of the DSPA**:

- Coordinate and finalize the standard operating procedures of the Protection and Surveillance Department with the support of the Deputy Head of Department and existing partners, harmonizing and strengthening the overall intervention strategy of the DSPA;
- Ensure the effectiveness of the Protection and Surveillance Department's activities, mainly in the fight against poaching;
- Develop and maintain at the highest level the relationships with existing partners Conservation Justice and Chengeta Wildlife (joint intervention strategies, joint fundraising, capacity building, etc.).
- **Fosters Social Policies**:

- Ensure that the Protection and Surveillance Department respects and safeguards national and international laws both in terms of wildlife law enforcement, the labour code and laws and conventions relating to the respect of human rights;
- Ensure that the Protection and Surveillance Department staff and other APDS staff are trained on Social policies.
- Ensure that mitigation and management measures related to the WWF Environmental and Social Safeguard Framework (ESSF) are implemented.
- **Provide leadership, management and administrative and financial management of the Protection and Surveillance Department**:

- Supervise and ensure the follow-up of all Protection and Surveillance Department staff (leave, salaries, etc.);
- Ensure the proper management of allocated budgets by validating expenditures and controlling the financial reports produced by the accounting department;
- Ensure the reporting and compilation of various technical reports for the hierarchy and donors, as required;
- Support the DSPA management in seeking funds from new donors or from donors dedicated solely to the protections and surveillance of APDS.

**What you need**:
**Required Qualifications**:

- Minimum MSc in a conservation, Natural Resources management or environmental management related field;
- Substantial experience working with conservation organizations;
- Considerable field experience in Africa, ideally in central Africa, preferably in a tropical forest environment;
- At least 10 years in a conservation management role.

**Required Skills and Competencies**:

- Knowledge of wildlife laws and legal procedures linked to law enforcement;
- Practical knowledge of forest, wildlife and protected area management and monitoring; environmental law enforcement; and community involvement in natural resource management;
- Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for analysis capacity of data originating from law enforcement and other activities;
- Strategic planning abilities - particularly ability to use spatial data and hands on field knowledge to plan conservation and law enforcement activities;
- Ability to act proactively to reduce threats to wildlife and people, as well as to improve the impact of c