Africa Program Officer, East Africa

DEPARTMENT: Global Conservation, Africa Program

JOB TITLE:  Africa Program Officer, East Africa

REPORTS TO:  Deputy Director, administration and finance

HOURS:  Full time

LOCATION: Center for Global Conservation, Bronx Zoo, NYC

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) seeks a dynamic, well-organized, hard-working, and committed Program Officer to assist with the administration of our African field conservation program.  This position provides an opportunity for a keen individual with a strong academic background (BA or higher) or relevant work experience to join a cohesive, effective, diverse team at the Bronx Zoo in New York and in 16 countries in Africa saving some of Africa and the world’s most spectacular wildlife and wild places.

POSITION OBJECTIVES:

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 lands and to meet global conservation challenges in over 60 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.  The Africa Program is the largest of WCS’s field programs, with over 1,000 staff in 16 countries.

WCS’s Africa Program is led, managed, and administered by a small team in New York consisting of a Director, three Deputy Directors, two Program Officers, a Budget Coordinator and a Program Assistant, working closely with field staff and with other WCS departments.  This team’s key roles include managing and supporting Country Directors, fundraising from private and public sources, guiding program strategy and implementation, representing the program internally and externally, and facilitating communication with and support from WCS departments such as Finance, Development, Public Affairs, etc. 

The primary objective of the Africa Program Officer position is to assist in the administration of the WCS’s regional program for Africa, particularly relating to grant management and general support to programs in East Africa. The position is based at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and will work closely with the Deputy Director for administration and finance, as well as with the Deputy Director for the sub-region. The main responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Responsibilities

• Assist in managing workflow process through life of grant for all  program grants- including maintaining grants database; cataloguing relevant files and supporting information;  tracking progress and action points in review, submission and reporting process;  maintaining lines of communication with colleagues contributing to process; and ensuring  timely reporting and donor compliance

• Assist with development and review of grant proposals and reports

• Work closely with Budget Coordinator to ensure strategic budgeting, identify gaps in funding, and ensure grant compliance  

• Work with Deputy Director for administration and finance, and Human Resources, to coordinate recruitment and administration of new hires and contract staff

• Provide support to field staff, including working with Program Administrative Officer to coordinate procurement of field equipment

• Assist with development of communications materials for the field projects

• Help to maintain communication between field projects and other WCS administrative departments and support flow of information and follow up on tasks, including working closely with the Accounting, Financial and Grants Management departments, Development Department, and other cross cutting programmatic departments such as the Species Program.

   

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum requirements are:

• Either 1) a relevant Bachelor’s degree and work experience (project or non-profit administration management, tracking and reporting) or 2) a Masters degree
• Ability to work in a team (which is largely based outside of the NY office).
• Proactive, service oriented and able to react to varied requests in a timely manner.
• Commitment to follow through and quality control.
• 1-2 years of experience desirable.
• Excellent organizational skills, including responsiveness to multiple, simultaneous projects and demands; ability to set and follow priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with an ability to work with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Strong writing skills required. Ability to produce clear and concise email communications.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel.
• Knowledge of Swahili, French, Portuguese a plus
• Sincere understanding of and commitment to WCS’s mission.

This is a New York-based position and applicants must be legally permitted to work in the United States.

All applicants are requested both to apply online at wcs.org  (http://www.wcs.org/about-us/careers) and also to send a cover letter and CV to wcsafrica@wcs.org.  The duel application system helps us to track and assess candidates.