Biodiversity Assistant/Officer

FFI’s mission is to conserve threatened species and ecosystems world-wide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, are based on sound science and take account of human needs.

FFI’s strategy to achieve this mission is to work with in-country organisations at all levels to support them in identifying and implementing country led sustainable solutions.

Fauna & Flora International - Vietnam Programme

is recruiting a

Biodiversity Assistant/Officer

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Starting date: 1st August 2017

Duration: One year fixed term contract with potential of extension based onwork performance

Job type: Full-time

Location: Hanoi based with regular travel to project sites

Salary range: Gross $US 406- $US 522 per month. Salary will be commensurate with experience and education

Job Title: Biodiversity Assistant/Officer

Reporting to: Country Programme Manager

Line Manager of: N/A

Key Internal Relationships: Country Programme Manager, Project Managers, Programme Officer and Support Staff, Community Conservation Teams, Country Director

Working with: The Biodiversity Assistant/Officer will routinely liaise with local government agencies, local communities and community-based organisations, and staff from the FFI Vietnam Programme, representing the values and interests of FFI at all times.

Purpose

The FFI Vietnam Programme has two pillars of work: The Primate Programme and the Protected Areas Programme. The strategic goal of the FFI Vietnam Primate Programme is to identify primate populations in most need of conservation interventions and provide strategic species-focused conservation in the field, based upon sound science and participation of local communities and other relevant stakeholders. The Protected Areas Programme focuses on improving management and enforcement in existing PA and establishing ones where necessary. The purpose of the Biodiversity Officer is to provide the technical support and development, to the highest possible standards, of our primate and protected areas work, with a focus on law enforcement (protection), research and biological monitoring.

Currently, the FFI Programme has established long-term primate-focused conservation projects at four locations in northern Vietnam that maintain important populations of Critically Endangered primates: the cao vit gibbon at Trung Khanh District in Cao Bang Province, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey at Khau Ca and Quan Ba in Ha Giang Province and the forest of the western black crested gibbon in the Hoang Lien Son at Mu Cang Chai District in Yen Bai Province and Muong La District in Son La Province.

The programme is also working for the conservation of the northern white-cheeked gibbon in Nghe An Province (Pu Mat National Park), the Delacour’s langur in Ha Nam Province, Cat Ba langur, in Cat Ba National Park, and both the grey-shanked douc (Kon Tum) and red-shanked douc (Son Tra).

Main Duties

The Biodiversity Officer will be responsible for implementing project activities in all FFI conservation sites, which concern the direct protection of wildlife and primates in particular. It is anticipated that the biologist will spend one-two weeks of each month in the field.

The overall objective of this position is to support and implement activities for effective conservation of Mu Cang Chai, Muong La, Khau Ca, Quan Ba, Cat Ba, Trung Khanh, Kim Bang, Kon Tum and Pu Mat for endangered primates and other biodiversity values.

The Biodiversity Officer will be responsible for the following specific activities:

Programme Development

• Drawing from field experience support the development of concepts for new programme activities.

Operational Tasks

Under the supervision of the Vietnam Country Programme Manager, and working on a daily basis with Project Managers, support and implement project field activities including the following :

• Acting as a general contact point in FFI for the project and maintain good working relations with provincial, district, commune and community partners to ensure effective implementation of the projects;

• Working closely with other project staff and local partners to implement project activities;

• Provide Mission Term of References (ToRs) before and Back to the Office Reports (BTOR) after every field trip.

• Reporting regularly on law enforcement and biodiversity monitoring activities;

• Providing logistical and technical support to project partners;

• Working with partners and consultants to ensure activities are well implemented and according to high environmental and conservation standards;

• Supporting field visits and field work by visitors, advisors and consultants.

Providing additional support to the project activities where required to ensure implementation of other activities continues to meet conservation goals at other project sites, in particular the following:

• Translating documents between English and Vietnamese;

• Providing logistical support for specific activities in Hanoi;

• Develop basic maps and GIS materials for the FFI Vietnam programme.

Financial Management

• Managing funds for field operations and reporting expenditure.

Technical Input

• Train community conservation team members to conduct their patrols effectively and continuously improve the collection of patrol data;

• Accompany the community conservation teams regularly on patrol in the forest to assess their enforcement activities, their capacities, and their equipment needs;

• Support the law enforcement sections of protected areas and district Forest Protection Departments to provide summary reports on law enforcement actions to their organizations/agencies;

• Work with the FPD staff, law enforcement section of the management boards to provide monthly reports on law enforcement activities, including recommendations for improved enforcement;

• Ensure that the monthly enforcement summary reports are distributed to the Forest Protection Departments;

• Develop primate and general biodiversity bio-monitoring protocols and train local Conservation Teams and rangers on implementation and data collection;

• Develop survey annual and ad-hoc plans and lead survey teams for biodiversity surveys and author technical reports.

Partnership Development

• Work in close collaboration with FFI project Managers, and Protected Area Management Boards and the district forest protection stations, in particularly with their

law enforcement and scientific sections, to plan and undertake enforcement activities within the protected area and species monitoring programmes;

• Coordinate with government agencies involved in enforcement activities in the buffer zones, including the district police, the district Forest Protection Department and other local partners to ensure the implementation of law enforcement activities;

Programme Representation

• Represent the wildlife and biodiversity elements of FFI with local counterparts and other stakeholders.

Communications

• Bring to the attention of the Country Director and personnel working on communications any news-worthy items arising within the country programme

Required Outputs

1. Monthly work plans and progress reports;

2. Mission terms of reference and back to office reports for field visits and other records of project activity;

3. Delivery of activities in accordance with agreed project objectives, budget and work plans, with associated reports or documentation;

4. Technical / project activity reports to Programme and Project Managers in accordancewith reporting cycle;

5. Regular and ad hoc updates to senior staff and communication personnel on project actions, news, discoveries, challenges and success stories;

6. Accompanying photos of primates (where possible) and project implementation actions, including staff and partners at work, for all field trips

Minimum Requirements

The successful candidate must have, at a minimum, the following skills and experience:

o Minimum bachelor degree (preferred Master’s degree) in forestry, natural forest resources management or related fields, with skills on biodiversity monitoring;

o Minimum three years relevant work experience in conservation (with a preference for community-based conservation), biodiversity research (including survey techniques) and monitoring, and conservation/protected area law enforcement;

o Language: Average-good English speaking and writing (fluency preferred);

o Software/IT: Fluency in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Preferred also to have knowledge of GIS software including ArcView, ArcMap, or MapInfo;

o Soft skills: Team work / collaboration, good time management, able to work alone, motivated, reliable, enthusiastic and trustworthy.

Interested applicants are invited to send a Cover letter and CV in English no later than 14th July 2017 to: Ms. Le Hong Viet, FFI – Vietnam Programme; E-mail: viet.hong.le@fauna- flora.org

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviewing. For more information about FFI visit: www.fauna-flora.org