Position title                 :  Project Officer, Tiger Prey Augmentation
Reports to                     :  Rewilding Senior Project Manager
Work Location              :  Bangkok, Thailand
Employment Duration :  12-Month with possibility for extension 

Background:

For over 50 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. As the world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works across 100 countries and is supported by close to 5 million members globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at all levels locally to globally, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.

WWF-Thailand is initiating its Rewilding the Dawna Tenasserim Program, a holistic program to restore the Tenasserim Corridor, the 120 km-long natural linkage between Thailand’s two primary tiger ecosystems, the Western Forest and Kaeng Krachan Forest Complexes, both designated as World Heritage Sites.

Over 5 years, the program will collaborate with local communities, provincial and national agencies, and small and large landholders to implement a suite of complementary landscape recovery activities, including technical support for community forest designation and management, collaboration with government land managers to manage remaining forests to maximize connectivity for wildlife movement, and assessment and mitigation of existing and planned linear infrastructure barriers to wildlife movement (roads, high tension lines, pipelines, etc.). Our ultimate goal is to stop forest fragmentation and establish a positive trajectory of restored habitat connectivity, ultimately leading to improved movement of a range of wildlife species throughout the corridor.

WWF is seeking a Project Officer at 100% level of effort to lead the project in Thailand

Major Functions:

The Project Officer (PO) will be responsible for overall project management to achieve the project’s goals and targets, and ensure all activities comply with the project agreement and WWF’s contractual obligations, and donor’s requirements.

The project manager will take full responsibility for technical, financial and administrative aspects of the project.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Project officer:

• Lead partnership with Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Protection’s Wildlife Breeding Center Division, Research Division, and Protected Area Leadership;
• Collaborate with DNP in development of protected area-specific Tiger Prey Recovery Plans, including coordination of any data analyses or field studies identified through planned structured decision-making workshops;
• Hire and supervise temporary field staff as needed;
• Purchase supplies and equipment in collaboration with Finance Department
• Support DNP in translocations, including providing supplies, feed, and equipment for animal rearing, transport, holding, release, and post-release monitoring; Ensure compliance with WWF’s Translocations and Animal Handling and Environmental and Social Safeguards Standards;
• Supervise consultants as needed;
• Coordinate with partner INGOs/CSOs;
• Complete required permitting and reporting to Thailand government agencies;
• Monitor deadlines and tangible achievements;
• Report on activities according to donor requirements and M&E plan;
• Support other work as required.

Required Qualifications      

• Postgraduate degree (MSc. or Ph.D.) in wildlife or conservation biology, natural resource management, veterinary science, or related fields;
• At least 5 years of working experience in protected area management, wildlife research, wildlife breeding, or wildlife management;
• Demonstrated experience in wildlife translocation/handling and/or wildlife inventory project design and implementation (camera-trap, line transect surveys, or similar) .

Required Skills and Competencies
 

• Excellent interpersonal, communication and diplomatic skills with the ability to manage and interact at all levels of an international, multicultural and multilingual organization;
• Ability to advance the goals of a new species recovery program that may experience scientific, management, and/or political uncertainties;
• Experience in training field staff;
• Familiarity with WWF’s Environmental Social Safeguard Framework (ESSF) or a similar framework preferred;
• Familiarly with governmental and non-governmental environmental conservation initiatives, key players, and challenges in Thailand;
• Fluency in Thai and competence in English strongly preferred.

Working Relationships;

Internal:  WWF-Thailand Conservation, Finance, and Communications staff, as well as WWF Greater Mekong specialists and WWF-Network donor offices (WWF European and other national offices), and temporary field staff.

External: Thailand DNP leadership, individual protected area and wildlife breeding center managers, and wildlife researchers, as well as academic and INGO partners