HIFOR Field Coordinator

Location: Bomassa, Headquarters of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), possibly with an initial transitional period based in Ouesso town, Sangha Province. Visits to Brazzaville, Kigali and other 

Reports to: Senior Climate and Biodiversity Policy Advisor, WCS-Congo 

Start Date: ASAP 

Position Type: Fixed duration (to November 2025). 

Coordinates with: – Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park Director;   

– Senior Director for Forest Conservation, Forests and Climate Change Program;  

– Regional Forest Advisor, Congo Basin Program;  

– Regional Technical Director for Rights and Communities, Congo Basin Program.  

Organization Background 

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. 

Program Overview 

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s largest country program has been working to save Congo’s wildlife and wild places for almost three decades. Protecting this astonishing biodiversity means saving wild places that sustain the local people, protect natural resources, and buffer global climate change.  

Our approach is specifically tailored to each area we work in and its protection status to enable lasting conservation of these areas while improving the livelihoods of the communities surrounding them.  WCS is developing and implementing actions for effective wildlife protection; community based natural resource management; ecological monitoring; scientific research; and environmental education.  WCS has developed strong relationships with government, private sector, and local community actors required to make conservation happen.   

The Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) has been managed since 2013 by the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation (NNF), a public-private partnership that represents a collaboration between the Government of Congo and WCS.  One aim of this partnership is to secure long-term sustainable financing for the park. In this context, NNNP has been selected as the first pilot site in Africa for a new international market-based financing mechanism. HIFOR, the High Integrity Forests Finance Initiative, is being developed by WCS and other partners, and also includes a pilot site in Brazil. Information about HIFOR can be found at https://www.wcs.org/our-work/climate-change/forests-and-climate-change/hifor.  

The development of the HIFOR pilot project in NNNP will be centered on creation of two documents. The first is the Project Description Document (PDD), written to meet the requirements of the international HIFOR methodology. It will be submitted to an external auditor in a process known as validation. Writing this PDD will require collation of existing information about the park, as well as some new activities, notably stakeholder consultations about overall project design and about the proposed benefit distribution system.  Once the PDD is complete, project impacts during the first accounting period (provisionally 2013-2023) must be documented in a Project Progress Report (PPR) which will also represent a combination of data collated from existing reports and some new consultations. The PPR will also be submitted to an external auditor, in a process known as verification. 

Job Summary: 

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Climate and Biodiversity Policy Advisor WCS-Congo, the HIFOR Field Coordinator will play a leading role in the coordination and monitoring of the HIFOR NNNP Congo Project at the NNNP site level, as well as supporting institutional relations and capacity building. 

He/she will be responsible for coordinating the drafting of the Project Description Document (PDD) and the first Project Progress Report (PPR). As a part of this, he/she will contribute to the development and implementation of the project’s operational strategy and will be responsible for all HIFOR project management operations and internal information sharing at the NNNP level, in close liaison with the thematic teams (Social, Ecological and GIS) within the NNNP Park Management Unit 

The post holder will be responsible for the following specific tasks: 

– Coordinate and facilitate the overall management of the HIFOR pilot project at NNNP level, maintaining good collaborative relationships with the Park Director and Park Management Unit, HIFOR Project Management Team, the regional team and the global FCC Team. 

– Coordinate the drafting of the Project Description Document (PDD) and the Project Progress Report (PPR) in English, with French translation of selected drafts and of the final documents. 

– Coordinate the submission of the PDD and PPR to auditors, take part in supervision missions organized by the auditors, and coordinate steps to address any corrections/clarifications required by the auditors. 

– Support the development and implementation (led by the Park’s community team) of local consultation and community awareness-raising strategies and activities for the HIFOR project, in close collaboration with the NNNP community department. 

– Support the development and maintenance of institutional relationships (led by the Park director and other senior staff) between the project and other stakeholders, including local communities and Indigenous Peoples, and local administrations. 

– Ensure the establishment of effective communication between the local, national and global levels so that the results, experiences and lessons from the different levels enrich and contribute effectively to the HIFOR Congo processes and refinements to the global HIFOR system. 

– Undertake any other tasks that may be assigned by, and agreed with, the line manager and related to the promotion of the HIFOR Congo project. 

He/she will be supported in these tasks by the NNNP HIFOR Project Management Team, which is led by the Senior Climate and Biodiversity Policy Advisor, WCS-Congo and comprises diverse technical experts from the WCS national, regional and global teams. 

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Competencies:  

Required Qualifications: 

• An advanced degree in forestry, natural resource management, environmental science, social sciences, institutional development, or a related field.  

• At least five (5) years professional experience in the sustainable management of natural resources.  

• At least two years’ international experience in two or more of the project’s areas of focus: environmental conservation, sustainable development, sustainable finance, institutional development, and capacity building. 

• Fluency in English and French.  

Required Skills and Competencies:  

• Excellent writing skills. 

• Ability to work with technical specialists and to present their analyses (eg GIS, law enforcement monitoring, carbon accounting, social assessments etc) in a clear and accurate manner. 

• Strong coordination and facilitation skills, including facilitating knowledge sharing, learning and capacity building.  

• Strong analytical and organization skills and ability to engage effectively across multiple issues.  

• Familiarity with standard office and electronic communication tools and software. 

• Adheres to WCS’s values, which are: Integrity, Accountability, Transparency, Respect, Diversity, Inclusion, Collaboration, and Innovation.  

• Ability to travel. 

Desirable skills and competencies: 

• Knowledge of the environmental, political, economic, and social context of the Congo Basin. 

• Knowledge of climate finance and the functioning of carbon market project.  

How to apply 

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, skills and experience, should apply through the application tab below by August 9, 2024, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis .

 WCS is an equal opportunity employer 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.

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