Fauna & Flora Job Vacancies 2025
At Fauna & Flora, our shared purpose is to protect the diversity of life on Earth, for the survival of the planet and its people. We work closely with local conservation partners around the world to save nature, together. We harness this collective expertise to inspire positive change globally.
São Tomé and Príncipe
With important forest and marine ecosystems and levels of endemism comparable to the Galapagos Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe is recognised worldwide for its high biodiversity, with Príncipe Island designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Fauna & Flora works closely with a consortium of partners across São Tomé and Príncipe, including the NGOs Fundação Príncipe (FP) based on Principe island, as well as Oikos and MARAPA based on Sao Tome island. This consortium is working together to address major threats to the country’s marine ecosystems through establishing the country’s first-ever Marine Protected Area (MPA) network and a range of livelihood-based initiatives to support local fishing communities affected by access restrictions.
Fauna & Flora has worked closely with Fundação Príncipe (FP) since its founding in 2015. Together we strengthen the conservation of both marine and terrestrial biodiversity on Príncipe Island and promote sustainable development, through projects that strongly focus on supporting the local community and building local stakeholder capacity. FP works closely with government to support their commitment to safeguard the island’s natural and cultural heritage. FP’s projects currently focus on sea turtle conservation, establishing and strengthening protected areas (marine and terrestrial), carrying out research on the unique fauna and flora of the island, and promoting community livelihood, ecotourism and environmental sustainability.
Engaging proactively with people is central to our strategy in São Tomé & Príncipe: local support is critical to this work and local people stand to gain the most from the effective conservation of the country’s biodiversity.
The Opportunity
Fauna & Flora is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Technical Officer, Conservation Finance, to support the design and implementation of sustainable financing mechanisms for the management of MPAs in Sao Tome & Principe.
You will be supporting business model development, private sector partnerships, stakeholder engagement, project management, capacity development and communications. You will work closely with our in-country staff and partners based in Sao Tome & Principe working on the ground to deliver conservation impact, as well as our regional programme team and cross-cutting teams based at our head offices in Cambridge, UK.
You will be a highly motivated, resourceful and proactive individual keen to apply and adapt your expertise in business and finance within the field of environmental conservation. You will have an understanding of financial modelling and developing and executing business plans ideally at small-scale and within an international and rural development setting. You will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to liaise with ease across different teams, cultures and sectors, and with proven experience in engaging diverse stakeholders from rural entrepreneurs to corporates and investors. You will enjoy applying your business skills to complex issues and explaining these in plain and accessible language. You will have excellent facilitation, training and coaching skills, and be passionate about supporting others to develop their knowledge and skills while being open to learning and able to quickly pick up new skills.
Fluency in both English and Portuguese is essential and will be tested at interview.
This role will be based in São Tomé city, the capital of São Tomé and seconded within Fundação Príncipe. It will involve close working relationships with in-country Fauna & Flora staff and consortium partners, regular travel in-country, engagement with a wide range of national and international stakeholders, including national government at all levels, and close coordination with staff at Fauna & Flora’s headquarters in Cambridge, UK, in particular Fauna & Flora’s core Eurasia Marine team and the Enterprise & Finance team within People & Nature team.
Terms and Conditions
- Start Date: As soon as possible
- Duration of Contract: Two year fixed-term, with potential to extend subject to business need and funding availability.
- Probation Period: Six months
- Gross Annual Salary: EUR 29,588 per annum
- Location: São Tomé, São Tomé & Príncipe
- Benefits: For international appointments, Fauna & Flora expatriate benefits will apply:
- 25 working days annual leave entitlement
- Medical insurance
- Annual return flight home
- Relocation flight on commencement of employment (if applicable)
- Repatriation flight on termination of employment (if applicable)
- Provision of accommodation
NB: This is an unaccompanied position
Hours of Work: This is a full-time position, working Monday to Friday inclusive. These hours may vary depending on the requirements of the job in the field.
Job Description
- Job Title: Technical Officer, Conservation Finance
- Reporting to: Programme Manager, Seascapes
- Key Relationships:
- Project Officer, Marine (Principe)
- Regional Eurasia Marine team (Cambridge)
- Enterprise and People & Nature teams (Cambridge)
- Key regional partners and stakeholders including Fundação Principe, Marapa and Oikos
The Technical Officer, Conservation Finance will play a central role in the design and implementation of an innovative and integrated approach to financing marine conservation in São Tomé and Príncipe, focusing on mechanisms to finance the costs of eight soon-to-be designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on a long-term basis, and ensuring they take account of and align with national terrestrial protected area finance mechanisms.
In this context, conservation financing for MPAs means the use of innovative and non-traditional funding mechanisms which are designed to continue to operate beyond the project grant cycle. These mechanisms are therefore an essential part of ensuring the long-term funding, operations and intended impact of the MPAs.
The Technical Officer, Conservation Finance will ensure the sustainable finance strategy is developed in alignment with MPA management plans and the project’s political engagement strategy, as well as with donor requirements. They will be responsible for researching and assessing the viability of potential financing mechanisms and overseeing and supporting the delivery of these mechanisms with partners and stakeholders in-country. The post-holder will also contribute their knowledge and expertise to scoping and exploring opportunities to significantly upscale marine finance in conjunction with evolving terrestrial protected area finance mechanisms, and support discussions at the national level with government and other relevant stakeholders.
Main Responsibilities:
Under the line management of the Programme Manager, Seascapes and in coordination with the Eurasia Marine team, Fauna & Flora Enterprise & Finance specialists and consortium partners the Technical Officer, Conservation Finance will be responsible for:
Project Design
- Lead on the development of a São Tomé and Príncipe MPA finance plan that aligns with MPA management plans and confirms management costs.
- Compile relevant (including Regional and other Small Island Developing States) case studies relating to MPA finance mechanisms and MPA contributions to the Blue Economy to inform understanding of most appropriate financing mechanisms for the São Tomé and Príncipe context.
- Lead on the selection process and subsequent development of in-country financing mechanisms ensuring and coordinating inputs from across Fauna & Flora teams, project partners and stakeholders.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Establish and manage key relationships with private sector and government actors in order to maintain support for financing mechanisms and the wider MPA projects.
- Maintain relationships with NGO stakeholders to ensure coordination and collaboration across conservation and development projects on São Tomé and Príncipe.
- Coordinate and facilitate consultation workshops with project partners, community partners, private sector and government actors in order to secure stakeholder buy-in for the validation, design and implementation of MPA finance mechanisms.
Project Implementation
- Oversee the delivery of selected MPA finance mechanisms (e.g. tourism-based fees, voluntary room levies, experiential philanthropy).
- Provide technical support on the various financial mechanisms to consortium partners as needed.
- Embed an iterative testing approach to implementation, ensuring continued stakeholder input (through workshops and meetings) and continual adjustment of the strategy as necessary, leading to eventual establishment of mechanisms.
- Coordinate and support the contracting of legal specialists, to undertake legal assessments of the selected financial mechanisms.
- Assess pathways for scaling up of MPA finance mechanisms in conjunction with other Fauna & Flora conservation finance specialists.
- Develop and deliver an awareness and outreach campaign on opportunities to scale-up sustainable finance for an expanded MPA network, linking to existing national mechanisms in development, Blue Economy CBD commitments and to include involvement in government and private sector briefings.
- Contribute to ongoing capacity building efforts of consortium partners and relevant stakeholders through facilitating and convening knowledge and lesson sharing opportunities where appropriate.
- Periodically revisit the São Tomé and Príncipe seascape assessments, as per iterative testing approach, adjusting according to new information or changed circumstances as necessary and linking this to implementation strategy of financing mechanisms.
- Support the development of the sustainable finance strategy in line with the political engagement strategy and other relevant programme activities.
Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
- Support regional teams in monitoring and evaluation of financing mechanisms including where required inputting into donor reports and providing updates against progress towards project indicators.
- Support project progress presentations to Fauna & Flora and donor meetings as and when required.
Other
- Represent Fauna & Flora locally and if required internationally at conferences, maintaining positive relationships with government, local communities, and other key stakeholders, partners and project donors.
- Maintain regular and clear communications with the Programme Manager, Seascapes, regional teams and in-country partner organisations.
- Support wider internal communications across Fauna & Flora channels including participating in and contributing to Eurasia regional meetings and workshops as required.
- Perform any other tasks that may be requested from time to time that are appropriate to your skills and experience.
Applications should consist of the following:
- Covering letter explaining why you are applying, relating your experience and skills to the role
- Full CV
- Contact details for two referees (who will not be approached without your permission)
- Applications should be submitted to Amy.Ainsworth@fauna-flora.org.
Please mark your application ‘Technical Officer, Conservation Finance’ and indicate in your covering letter where you saw the position advertised.
The closing date for applications is 26 January 2025. Interviews are likely to be held during the week commencing 3 February 2025.
No agencies please.
Regrettably, due to limited resources and the high number of applications we receive, we are only able to contact short-listed candidates. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.
Applicants with Disabilities
Fauna & Flora encourages applications from individuals with a disability who are able to carry out the duties of the post. If you have special needs in relation to your application, please contact Bethan New, People Officer, International on: bethan.new@fauna-flora.org
Fauna & Flora values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity
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