Central African Republic: Commercial Development Manager

Mar 7, 2022 | 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 Commercial Development Manager who will be responsible for devising and implementing best-suited, sustainable and efficient revenue streams that are critical to ensure the park’s long-term viability.

Main Roles & Responsibilities:

Tourism

  • Negotiate and supervise all relevant third-parties tourism agreements.
  • Manage, develop and maximize our current partnership with tourism operators in the Central African Republic.
  • Design, set-up and run first tourism products, with a view to target national and niche international market and develop innovative offers, taking inspiration from and capitalize on successful, outstanding offers developed in other APN Parks such as Zakouma, Chad or Akagera).
  • Devise and implement a marketing and communication plan in collaboration with APN Head Office to boost Chinko’s visibility as a top nature and wildlife destination in Central Africa.
  • Coordinate with Operations and Research & Monitoring Departments to scale up existing facilities and co-create gorilla and research related tourism attractions
  • Recruit, train and manage staff, with a focus on local workforce and field-guide development.
  • Build and manage key relationships with tour operators, travel trade partners and other key role players in tourism, while ensuring synergies and economies of scale with other APN parks.
  • Manage and coordinate all guided tourism activities, with a focus on quality, safety and guest satisfaction.
  • Manage and ensure tourist revenue collection as well as associated administrative requirements such as indemnity forms, entry and exit permits etc.
  • Monitor and manage efficiencies within all tourism operations to maximize net revenues
  • Manage and maintain appropriate customer feedback mechanisms and market surveys
  • Maintain and develop key visitor information for the park e.g. newsletter, Facebook page, Trip Advisor, web pages, road signage, and media publications.
  • Report performance (visitor statistics, revenues, P&L, etc.) on a monthly and annual basis

Business Development

  • Implement and manage case studies (in partnership with Research & Monitoring, Community Development and Human Wildlife Conflict departments) to identify the best suited Income Generating Activities to develop throughout the park, focusing on sustainable bush meat, fish harvesting, honey production, small-scale logging and other vegetation exploitation in the eco development zone of the park as well as its periphery.
  • Investigate and, if relevant, implement carbon sales in coordination with APN Head Office Business Development.
  • Identify funding partners as well as private or institutional investors.
  • Design, develop and manage MoAs with implementing partners.
  • Identify and exploit synergies with regional partners (WCS, WWF, etc.) with the objective to develop sustainable value chains at a national level.
  • Ensure and maximize market access and distribution.
  • Ensure quality monthly and annual reporting to Park Manager.

Other Ad-hoc Tasks

  • Be cognizant of the wider implications of the project, working effectively with other African Parks functions in-country and sometimes at regional level.

Key Relationships:

  • Park Manager
  • Heads of Department
  • Regional Operations Manager
  • APN Head Office
  • Fundraising, African Parks
  • Institutional and private donors
  • Public authorities

Education and Experience:

  • 5 years’ experience of business development in Africa with proven outstanding results.
  • Deep understanding of African markets and tourism markets.
  • Strong marketing, managing and administration capacities with successful previous experience(s).
  • Demonstrable experience in project management.
  • Strong analytical and organizational skills.
  • Very good communication skills and ability to defend project.
  • Proven ability to innovate.
  • Result driven with a strong capacity to work autonomously.
  • Team player with capacity to work with multicultural and multi background teams.
  • High adaptability and capacity to work in remote areas.
  • Strong personal integrity and dependability.
  • Computer literate (Excel, PowerPoint).
  • Good report writing.
  • Ability to produce professional written materials both in English and French for promotional and information purposes.
  • Any relevant formal tertiary qualification with relevance to tourism or business management is a plus 

How to apply:

To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to centralafrica.hr@africanparks.org by Monday, 28th February 2022. 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. We thank you for your interest in working for African Parks.