Job Description
: The Wildlife Conservation Society seeks to employ a Southern Cone Counter Wildlife Trafficking Coordinator to manage a growing portfolio of projects that address this challenge and to provide expertise to country programs in the areas of policy, law enforcement, and the dismantling of trafficking networks.
Division: Global Conservation – Southern Cone Program
Report to: Regional Director, Southern Cone & Patagonia Program
Coordinates with: Executive Director of Counter Wildlife Trafficking (CWT); CWT Global Program Manager; Regional Program Manager, Southern Cone & Patagonia Program; Country Program Directors, Conservation/Scientific Directors and CWT Coordinators from Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay.
Location: Southern Cone, in one of WCS’s country offices in the region
Start date: Immediate, pending selection of candidate
Duration: Position funded for two years but contract extendable depending on performance and funding
Deadline date to apply: Position open while posted
About the Organization
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is an international conservation NGO headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City working to save wildlife and wild places and to meet global conservation challenges in over 60 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The Americas program works in a diversity of places, from the Arctic coasts and seas of Alaska to the forests of North America & Mesoamerica to the Amazon Basin to the coasts of Patagonia, with over 300 staff in 15 countries.
WCS is committed to conserving the most important intact habitats in the Southern Cone, through our work in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. These including the subpolar, temperate, and Mediterranean forests, peatlands and wetlands along the Andes Mountain range, the vast temperate grasslands in the Steppe, and the productive coasts and seas of Patagonia, as well as the wetlands, grasslands and forests of the Pampas, Espinal and the Gran Chaco, and the unique high-altitude dry grasslands of the Puna. Trade in wildlife, their parts, and subproducts is a growing threat to species and habitat conservation in the Southern Cone, the local communities in and around these habitats, and it exacerbates corruption, and undermines the rule of law. WCS is responding to this threat in Latin America and the Caribbean by monitoring wildlife trade at markets, supporting development of government anti-trafficking strategies and actions, increasing public awareness, and providing education, and in limited cases supporting law enforcement responses. The organization is seeking to strengthen its response to the conservation threat posed by wildlife trafficking by recruiting a Southern Cone regional expert to coordinate these efforts, build on them, expand our impact regionally, and influence policy within the region. Currently, Southern Cone regional program operates with dedicated WCS Country Programs in Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay, and through local partners in Uruguay.
Position Objective
The objective of this position is to support the long-term conservation of wildlife species through strengthening WCS’s response in the Southern Cone to the trafficking of wildlife and wildlife products. The Southern Cone Regional CWT Coordinator will lead the building and implementation of CWT strategies across the Southern Cone, establishing robust and effective partnerships with key actors, assisting with the development and implementation of international policy strategies, providing program management support to existing projects, and building donor relationships to strengthen and grow our efforts in the region. The coordinator will also provide technical expertise, especially by facilitating training and capacity-building throughout the Southern Cone.
Responsibilities
The position will be responsible for building and coordinating a strategic regional CWT program, which will require the following:
• Work with regional staff, country directors and relevant in-country staff in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Global CWT staff to address regional wildlife trafficking priorities and develop strategies for addressing this growing challenge.
• Coordinate the implementation of and provide project management support to existing CWT projects, ensuring solid performance.
• Train and mentor WCS field staff in developing comprehensive responses to wildlife trafficking.
• Support country programs to deliver technical assistance to government partners, including by providing expertise and expert training as appropriate.
• Ensure that staff working on CWT are aware of the risks and manage them effectively within the region.
• Lead the development and implementation of Southern Cone-specific CWT policy recommendations and contribute to the development and implementation of WCS’s global wildlife trafficking strategy.
• Oversee the preparation of informational on wildlife trafficking in the Southern Cone for use by country programs and governmental partners, such as briefings and presentations, situation reports, information sheets, infographics, etc., and support activities to raise public awareness about wildlife trafficking in the region.
• In coordination with the regional program leadership, country directors, Latin America’s Wildlife Trafficking Coordinator, other regional programs in the Americas Program, and WCS’s extended team of wildlife trafficking experts, improve engagement on CWT issues with governmental and inter-governmental partners regionally, through representation at relevant national, regional and global events and meetings, particularly those directly related to trade and crime such as ROAVIS, INTERPOL, UNODC, CITES, WCO, SudWEN, and various host country and USG agencies in the Southern Cone.
• Lead fund-raising efforts for WCS’s CWT programs in the Southern Cone, identifying and enhancing support from existing and new sources, coordinating development of proposals and reports, building relationships with funders, in collaboration with Global Resources, Program Development, and the Southern Cone staff and country programs.
• Serve as the focal point for the Southern Cone Program’s CWT efforts to the rest of the institution and join the Global CWT Core Group.
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Qualification Requirements
Qualification Requirements:
The successful candidate must have strong understanding of the global, regional, and national context of wildlife trafficking and experience interacting with diverse stakeholders implementing projects. A solid technical background in a relevant field and a suite of strong interpersonal, leadership, and coordination skills. The candidate must have excellent written and oral communication skills and be comfortable participating both as an effective contributor, leader, and listener in group settings. The candidate must be well organized, self-motivated, resourceful, effective, and efficient at coordinating multiple tasks to get things done with attention to detail. Proven management experience, including sizable and complex projects at the local and regional level.
• Preferably graduate degree or equivalent demonstrable experience in conservation, wildlife trade, crime science, international relations, and environmental law.
• At least five years of work experience in criminal justice, law enforcement, law, policy, or related fields, preferably with a focus on environmental crime or other forms of trafficking, money laundering and corruption,
• Demonstrated knowledge of methods and challenges for CWT at the national or regional levels.
• Project or program management experience, including demonstrated capacity in reporting on project activities and results.
• Proactive, competent, able to work independently, able to build relationships with partners and able to meet and work with deadlines.
• Knowledge in conservation of species and legal and illegal trade of wildlife.
• Knowledge of international trade flows.
• Experience in technical assistance provision and capacity building.
• Excellence in Spanish and English (both written and oral).
• Location in the Southern Cone or willingness to relocate.
• Sincere interest and commitment to wildlife anti-trafficking.
• Geographical knowledge of and relevant professional contact network in the Southern Cone.
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Salary Range
Competitive salary commensurate with experience
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