Location: Bengaluru (With travel to field site)
Program/Sector: MPA & Coral Conservation Program of WCS-India
Position Type: 1 Year- Fixed Term employment
Work Experience: 3-5 years
About us: The Wildlife Conservation Society-India works to conserve wildlife, backed by science. We work in partnership with governmental and non-governmental organizations to deal with conservation challenges such as human-wildlife interaction, combating wildlife trafficking, conservation of marine ecosystems and species, conservation of endangered species, livelihood development of local communities, and so on. Committed to wildlife conservation and the ecological worldview that recognizes the inextricable link between human welfare and the protection of wildlife and wild spaces, WCS-India endeavors to inspire positive attitudes in people towards wildlife.
WCS-India is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability.
The WCS-India Marine Program aims to conserve the unique diversity of India’s coastal habitats and seas by working with communities and partner organizations to overcome these challenges through a multidisciplinary approach. The program’s efforts are focused on five broad work streams: (1) strengthening the Marine Protected Area (MPA) / Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM) network of India (2) reducing marine megafauna bycatch (3) curbing the decline of sharks and rays (4) incorporating sustainability into marine-centric tourism and supporting sustainable fisheries and (5) generating awareness on India’s marine biodiversity.
Background: Under MPA & Coral Conservation, we focus on a habitat approach towards conservation, which in turn, ensures and involves various stakeholders including coastal communities. The aim of the MPA component is to identify coastal and marine biodiversity hotspots and facilitate efforts toward according these sites’ protection as MPAs/OECMS by strengthening the capacity of the stakeholders using a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach. We also work towards improving the management of existing MPAs or supporting management efforts by building the capacity of relevant actors at the site.
Responsibilities:
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Design and conduct ecological and socio-economic surveys in the coastal areas of Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka.
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Maintain a data repository, analyze collected data, and draft donor reports, and scientific or popular articles as per project deliverables.
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Liaise with individuals, research institutes, governmental and non-governmental agencies through meetings, stakeholder workshops, etc. to facilitate collaborative efforts, statutory clearances, and compliance.
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Conduct necessary reviews, preliminary site surveys, stakeholder workshops, and outreach activities for relevant stakeholders as per project requirements.
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Contribute to the WCS-India social media and any other outreach activities of the Marine Program.
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Ensure the timely completion of activities and deliverables of the project, in collaboration with Program members.
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Collaborate with members of the Marine Program or WCS-India on research ideas, ancillary projects, and activities such as fundraising.
Qualification & Requirements:
Experience and Knowledge:
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Excellent language and communication skills in English and any one of the coastal languages: Marathi, Konkani, or Kannada.
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Demonstrated experience in drafting scientific and popular articles and reports.
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Demonstrated experience in conducting ecological and socio-economic surveys.
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Ability to work systematically and independently, take initiative, meet deadlines and be willing to work with a team.
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Highly motivated with a good understanding of issues pertaining to marine sciences, conservation, and management.
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Experience in conducting training modules and/or workshops for various stakeholders is desirable.
Education:
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Post-graduate degree, preferably a Master's degree in Wildlife Biology, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Conservation Sciences, or allied subjects.
Technical Skills:
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Inter-disciplinary work experience of 3-5 years in wildlife sciences or marine conservation.
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Experience working with coastal communities in coastal Maharashtra, Goa, or Karnataka.
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Demonstrated ability in curating, analyzing, and visualizing data using GIS platforms and analytical software such as MS-Excel, R, etc.
Compensation: Offered as per the qualification and experience.
It’s time to apply:
To apply, please send together in one file a cover letter and an updated resume. Submit your application using the position title “Project Associate - MPA & Coral Conservation” in the subject line and send us at careers@wcsindia.org latest by August 21, 2022.
Candidates to share three professional references mandatorily.
All applications will be reviewed however only shortlisted candidates will be notified for further process.