Project Manager, Congo Basin CEMP Project – Republic of the Congo (RoC)

Introduction:

Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA is an international non-governmental organization that continues Dr. Jane Goodall’s pioneering work on chimpanzee behavior and conservation. Its mission is to understand and protect chimpanzees, other apes, and their habitats, and to work towards creating an informed and compassionate citizenry who will help to create a better world for people, other animals and our shared environment. The breadth of JGI’s mission reflects Dr. Goodall’s personal philosophy that the survival of all species, whether chimpanzees or human, depends upon the collaboration of all people.

Background:

Creating, Expanding & Managing Protected Areas in the Congo Basin (Congo Basin CEMP Project)

With the support of the Bezos Earth Fund, the Jane Goodall Institute will scale-up its evidence-based sustainable conservation of forests and biodiversity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Republic of Congo, building on 30 years of experience in the Congo Basin. JGI will apply its community-led conservation approach, Tacare, and associated community mapping solutions and apps as part of the JGI Science Platform to achieve conservation targets in a sustainable, equitable manner that empowers local and indigenous communities who are the stewards of these landscapes.

In RoC, the project aims to support the reorientation of socioeconomic activities to authorized zones through developing and diversifying livelihoods within the legally designated peripheral zones; thus relieving anthropogentic pressure on the forests, Blue Carbon Ecosystems and White Sands Ecosystems, while ensuring that local communities maintain their rights and benefits of the land. JGI will work to achieve this through a multifaceted approach of (1) promoting advantages of authorized lands to improve livelihood outcomes and quality of life, (2) translating ecological conservation into tangible benefit for local communities, (3) providing practical and culturally relevant livelihood training and (4) supporting associated infrastructural development for sustainable diversification of livelihoods. To that end, in areas where JGI will support expansion or establishment of new protected areas, JGI will engage with local communities to identify their needs, ensure their free and prior informed consent, and engage them as key stakeholders in this process. JGI will also provide support to Noé, the management partner of Conkouati-Douli National Park, and the Ministry of Forest Economy by (1) augmenting the number of eco-guards to offset the number of illegal actors/activities in the mandrill and chimpanzee reintroduction areas of that park specifically, and (2) improving technical and scientific capacities of their eco-guards through structured training and improved access to new information and tools.

Given JGI’s reach, actions and partnerships across multiple Protected Areas (Pas) in RoC, JGI will also deploy a coordinated environmental monitoring system leveraging its Science Platform that crosscuts various technologies into a centralized database of compatible and shareable data. Among the priorities included within the monitoring, reporting and verification system, is to establish measurement baselines and monitoring tools for carbon storage and biological sequestration across Tchimpounga Nature Reserve, Dimonika Biosphere Reserve, Loango Bay Marine Reserve and Ntombo Forest Reserve.

Position Summary:

JGI is looking for a Project Manager to work in the Congo Basin CEMP Project – RoC . The incumbent will plan, organize, coordinate, manage and implement activities within the scope of the project and ensure that activities and tasks meet deadlines. This is a Full-time position in which the Project Manager will develop and maintain a project management structure with standard operating procedures, and manage budgets. The position will work collaboratively with various department heads, partners, and stakeholders, while directly managing a team of support staff delegated from various departments.

Requirements

Reporting authority: The Project Manager for the CB CEMP reports to the following two staff members : 1) Tchimpounga Nature Reserve Manager, and 2) Chief Monitoring, Evaluations and Communications Officer.

Essential Functions:

· Plan, organize, coordinate, manage and implement activities within the scope of the project.

· Develop and maintain a project management structure to assign responsibility and track progress.

· Identify and coordinate all necessary resources to achieve project objectives.

· Track project activities and resources devoted to each activity and ensure timely completion.

· Formulate and design working p