Central African Republic: Park Manager

Jun 27, 2021 | African Parks
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African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization 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 19 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’s mosaic of ecosystems at such latitude on the African continent makes this area incredibly rich and unique in biodiversity. The Chinko Conservation Area (CCA) is an important area for endangered wildlife as well a vast ecosystem with complex interactions and is the only managed protected environment in the remote eastern part of CAR.

Most recently, a “functional landscape” of about 64’645 km2 which the government of the CAR designated the mandate to APN to develop a comprehensive conservation strategy and land-use plan. This will need protecting.

Job Overview:

African Parks – RCA, engaged in the protection and rehabilitation of the CCA in the Central African Republic, is looking for a dynamic and experienced Park Manager who will be responsible to develop and implement an integrated strategy for the protected area’s sustainable development, to ensure the effective operational management of the protected area, to provide strong leadership to the Park Management Unit (PMU) and to represent and promote African Parks with all stakeholders.

Main Roles & Responsibilities:

The main roles and responsibilities of the role are:

• Develop and execute a park strategy in accordance with the Partnership Agreement with the Government and African Parks Network (APN) objectives;
• Develop, revise and monitor implementation of the five-year business plan;
• Develop and implement an annual activity plan and budget;
• Develop and implement plans for recovery and sustainable of the protected area;
• Develop and maintain positive community, government (national and local), donor and other stakeholder relations;
• Ensure financial management processes and fiscal discipline is rigorously applied;
• Drive revenue generation through development of sustainable marketing and tourism and other commercial revenue streams;
• Ensure all park activities are conducted in accordance with African Parks policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
• Ensure the protected area is adequately resourced (financial, people, equipment, etc.) to effectively meet its day-to-day operational requirements;
• Promote the development and recruitment of local nationals into the park in accordance with the Partnership Agreement;
• Build a constituency for conservation;
• Build a strong values-based team culture in the protected area;
• Provide accurate and meaningful reports to the Board, APN and other stakeholders as required.

Education and Experience:

• Minimum eight (8) years of experience working in project management or coordination roles, with a preference of five years(5) years with a conservation or non-profit organization;
• Excellent organizational, analytical, oral and written communications skills in English in French;
• Experience in grant management, report and proposal writing with EU experience an advantage;
• A post-graduate degree in biodiversity conservation or other related field of study is an advantage;
• Communications experience is an advantage;
• Strong capacity to manage time and competing priorities;
• Strong initiative, perseverance, and resilience;
• Willingness to live in a remote setting and with previous experience living in Africa;
• Good team player with experience working with multicultural teams.

How to Apply:

To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to hradmin@africanparks.org by Tuesday, 23rd June 2021. Please mention the position name in the subject line of the email. In case you do not hear from us within two weeks after the closing date, this means that your application was not successful.