Translate4Conservation

Calling Bahasa Indonesia speakers who want to volunteer for conservation.

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Palm Oil & Forest Conversion
Conservation Messages
Sumatran Tiger Conservation

Project Manager, Democratic Republic of Congo programme

Project Manager, Democratic Republic of Congo programme

Conservation Programmes, ZSL (Zoological Society of London )
April 2007

ZSL has been working in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2001, with funding from the ’s Darwin Initiative, UNESCO, USFWS and currently the EU. Since October 2004 ZSL’s activities in DRC have been focused on Virunga National Park in North Kivu . Virunga is Africa ’s oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but has suffered dramatic wildlife declines and now suffers from lack of management capacity following years of civil conflict. ZSL’s activities in Virunga include ranger training, rehabilitation of park infrastructure and supporting ranger patrols. This work is conducted in close collaboration with the Institute Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and alongside various conservation, development and humanitarian NGO partners. The current 1.5 million euro EU-funded project, previously scheduled to finish in May 2007, has now been extended to December 2008, and during this extension period will likely also run alongside a sub-contract from the EU awarded to ZSL through partners WWF.

An experienced candidate is sought to manage ZSL’s programme in DRC, to replace the outgoing manager. Main responsibilities include project management (staff supervision, budgeting, accounting, reporting, recruitment and strategic planning), capacity building (planning, supporting and where necessary executing the training of ICCN and ZSL staff and Congolese/international students), liaison and collaboration with partners and donors, fundraising (including proposal development), and representation and promotion of ZSL and its conservation work. The project manager will be responsible for a team of at least two other office staff and will work closely with WWF, WCS and other partners to develop the programme further.

The postholder should have as a minimum a BSc or MSc level qualification in a relevant discipline, excellent written and spoken English and French, good organisation and interpersonal skills, experience of living and working in west/central Africa and experience of managing large conservation/development projects, ideally with the EU or similar donors.

The position is based in Goma and Beni , DRC, with frequent displacement within and around the park, and is offered until December 2008, with possibility of extension depending on funding. A salary of ~£20,000 p.a., return flight from Europe to Goma, visa and insurance under ZSL’s group travel insurance policy will be provided. The position is to start as soon as possible (preferably in May).

Applicants should send their CV and a covering letter detailing relevant experience and skills, and including a possible start date, by email to ZSL’s HR Department (hr@zsl.org) by Friday 4th May 2007. Further details of the position can be obtained by emailing Noelle Kumpel (noelle.kumpel@zsl.org). We hope to hold interviews (in person or by telephone) around 10-11th May. We regret that we will only be able to contact applicants who have been selected for interview.

The Zoological Society of London is a charity registered in and : no. 208728.

Primate Research Assistants Needed

JOB TITLE 2 x Research Assistant - Orangutan and Gibbon Behaviour Project

HIRING ORGANISATION Orangutan Tropical Peatland Research Project


JOB DESCRIPTION
OuTrop carries out biodiversity research in the peat-swamp forests of the Sebangau Ecosystem, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Our major research interests are orang-utan and gibbon population status, behaviour and ecology, and habitat dynamics, regeneration and biodiversity. The orang-utan behaviour project started in August 2003 and has since collected over 10,000 hours of focal animal observations on 23 habituated individuals. The gibbon behaviour project began in July 2005 and has habituated seven family groups, one lone male and has identified five further groups for habituation. This is the only research project where the two species' ecology and their interactions are being studied side-by-side, and is revealing new and interesting insights into their behaviour as well as benefiting the conservation of the two species.

We require one research assistant to work on the orang-utan behaviour project and one to work on the gibbon behaviour project, under the supervision of the Project Leaders and the Camp Manager. Fieldwork includes locating and following individual apes in the forest, recording details of activity, feeding, nesting, vocalising and social behaviour; collecting food, faecal and urine samples; and obtaining GPS positions. Additional duties include processing samples, collecting monthly phenology (forest productivity) and nest-survey data and entering data into databases. Assistants will work alongside Indonesian research assistants on a daily basis.

After an initial training and handover period the assistants will supervise the day-to-day logistics and personnel of the behaviour projects, including organising and recording the staff-rota and holding daily checks and discussion of field data.

QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE
Applicants should have an interest in primate ecology and conservation

Prior experience of working in a physically-demanding environment is desirable, you must be physically-fit and not be put off by mosquitoes, spiders and snakes, the wet-season swamps, 3.30 am t0 6.00 pm follow days and hot, humid conditions

Prior experience of field research and field data collection preferred

Capable of working independently with a small team in an isolated environment.

Be committed to learning conservational Indonesian at the site as this is essential for the role

Be able to come to Cambridge, United Kingdom, for interview


SALARY/FUNDING
No salary is provided for this position but all in-situ costs are covered

SUPPORT (TRAVEL, MEALS, LODGING)
Accommodation is provided at base-camp and at our mess-house in the town of Palangkaraya. All transport to and from camp and meals at camp are provided. You need to cover your own international and internal travel to Palangkaraya (via Jakarta), medical insurance and personal equipment.

TERM OF APPOINTMENT
Initial six-month fixed term to start as soon as possible, additional six months-1 year if all parties are satisfied with each other at end of fixed term.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
ASAP

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Apply by post / e-mail (preferred) with current full CV, names and addresses of two referees and covering letter. Please indicate whether you would prefer to apply for the orang-utan project, gibbon project, or have no preference. If applying by e-mail please quote reference PRIMATE ASSISTANT in message title.

CONTACT
outrop@yahoo.co.uk
Helen Morrogh-Bernard
Wildlife Research Group, Anatomy School
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

www.orangutantrop.com

www.indonesiangibbons.blogspot.com

Date of Advert
April 12th 2007

Get involved with primate conservation!

If you are looking for a way to help primate conservation why not try one of these projects? You can work with the research and conservation teams and learn more about conservation in Indonesia. Fore more information check out the associated websites.

Kalaweit Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

Orang-utan Tropical Peatland Project

Campaign on Palm Oil

There are a number of current campaign actions concerning palm oil, sustainability, forest conversion and biofuels running at the moment. Find out more

Volunteer for Gibbons

SOS needs volunteers, Oxford, UK

The Sumatran Orangutan Society needs volunteers in Oxford, U.K.
We have a fundraising event on Saturday 10th February - if you are able to help for a couple of hours between 9-5, please get in touch: Helen@orangutans-sos.org

We are always looking for volunteers to help with everything from fundraising to campaigns across the U.K. - if you can't make it on Saturday but would still like to help, then send us an email!