Back Head of Sustainable Development

POSITION: Head of Sustainable Development

ORGANISATION: African Parks – RCA

LOCATION: Bangui, Central African Republic

REPORTING TO: General Manager

EXPECTED START DATE: 01st November 2020

BACKGROUND:

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 18 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 14.1 million hectares in: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Chinko Conservation Area is one of the largest INGOs in the Eastern Part of the Central African Republic. The Chinko Conservation Area spans over 55 000 KM2 of intact wilderness and this wilderness along with the neighbouring communities are managed by African Parks – RCA, in collaboration with the local Government.

JOB OVERVIEW:

African Parks – RCA is looking for a strong candidate to join the team as the Head of Sustainable Development and to elaborate the community development strategy and ensure its full implementation.

MAIN ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Work closely with the Conservation and LUP Manager to ensure a harmonised strategy and work plan;

· Ensure that the CAR Mission designs and delivers high quality, donor compliant and adequately resources projects, correctly designed for community needs;

· Conduct needs assessment, and explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership;

· Build healthy professional relationship with stakeholders, communities and staff;

· Represent African Parks – RCA directly or indirectly with key stakeholders, including the government authorities, donors, UN agencies, humanitarian agencies and other partners;

· Develop, disseminate and implement the Community Development aspect of the Long-Term Sustainable Development Strategy (LTSS) within African Parks – RCA; and

· Manage, coordinate and coach members of the Sustainable Development team, while ensuring their professional development and capacity building .

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

· General Manager

· Park Manager

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

· Minimum five (5) years of experience in rural development projects in developing countries, preferably with EU and US Donors.

· Working experience in Central Africa is mandatory.

· At least a postgraduate degree in international relations, political science or related field.

· At least three (3) years of experience in managing and developing teams.

· Good understanding of development issues and related international standards.

· Strong experience in program development.

· Substantial NGO project management experience, including responsibility for strategy design, staffing, administration, budgeting, contract management and donor relations.

· Excellent written and spoken French and good knowledge of English.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

To be successful in this role, we expect you to be highly committed. You must be able to create strong relationships with stakeholders. You must be able to clearly articulate methods and planning, results and analysis of strategies and work plans. You must implement sustainable projects that have a long-lasting positive impact on the communities.