Facilitator for the Revision of the Great Ape Conservation Action Plan, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

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 humans, depends upon the collaboration of all people. 

Background: 

Through the Ushiriki Consortium (Ushiriki means ‘union’ in Kiswahili), the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), based in Goma, DRC, leads the coordination of over 20 organizations including park management authorities, local and international NGOs, and community-based organizations to reduce the principal threats to the endangered Grauer’s gorilla and the eastern chimpanzee in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (EDRC). Since 2011, JGI has provided thought leadership to the Conservation Action Planning (CAP) process, building an increasing sense of ownership within conservation actors, enhancing local participation, and ensuring that the governance of conservation actions continue to be strengthened. Among great ape conservation action plans in Africa, JGI’s approach and integration of coordination, governance and implementation is unique and explicitly linked to the plan’s measurable impacts on great ape populations. 

The CAP and its impacts continue to increase, bringing proven conservation actions to the entire geographic scope of the plan, an area of 268,000 square kilometers. A four-bodied coordination mechanism reviews and annually updates the threats to the great ape species and modifies the strategy framework and theories of change according to new data and analyses. In the most recent analysis of conservation actions the consortium, through collaborative design and implementation agreed to implement the following strategies:

1. Reduction or transformation of the negative impacts of industrial and artisanal mining; 

1. Increase of climate smart agroforestry to reduce soil infertility and the threat of agricultural expansion to biodiversity; 

1. One-health [The interconnection between healthy people, animals, plants, and environments]; 

1. Sustainable change in human behaviors pertaining to wild meat hunting and commerce;  

1. Community-led governance and management of protected areas; 

1. Investigation, confiscation, and long-term care of rescued great apes. 

Consultancy summary: 

JGI is looking for a Conservation Consultant to facilitate the development of the next 10-year (2025-2035) Great Ape Conservation Action Plan in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The successful candidate will work with JGI-USA and JGI-DRC staff to plan, organize, coordinate, and facilitate the revision of plan, with the principal responsibilities being (1) the facilitation of a five-day workshop in the DRC, of more than 60 participants across 25+ organizations, including national, government authorities, international actors, local NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and (2) the delivery of a completed ten-year Conservation Action Plan (CAP). This short-term consultancy will work collaboratively with various department heads, partners, and stakeholders, while directly supporting and reporting to delegated staff from various departments within JGI.

Term of Consultancy:  

Estimated, 3-month consultancy

Starting Date: September 2025 (1 September – 30 November).

Location:

The consultancy will be a combination of remote and on-location work, with an estimated 2 weeks of work in the Eastern DRC between October and November 2025. Travel insurance shall be provided by JGI while working in DRC.

Requirements

Essential Functions: 

• Review key documents including the 2015-2025 Great Ape Conservation Action Plan in the EDRC, as well as reports and outputs from the Coordination Mechanism (Ushiriki) Consortium responsible for the adaptive management of the plan during the last 10 years;

• Provide a work plan and draft agenda for a strategic review of the conservation action plan for chimpanzee and gorilla conservation in the Eastern DRC;

• Facilitate an experts and stakeholder strategic review/ 5-day workshop as the lead facilitato