Assistant Manager of the Limbe Wildlife Center

Job Vacancy at the Limbe Wildlife Centre 

Position:                                  Assistant Manager 

Recruiting organization:        Pandrillus Foundation 

Reports to:                             Project Manager 

Start date:                              March 2009   

Application dead line:            15^th December 2008  

Project Mission:  The Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation project situated in Southwest Cameroon, and area with one of the highest biodiversity levels in Africa.  Cameroon is home to two subspecies of gorillas and chimpanzees and possesses the second highest primate diversity in Africa.  As such, the LWC is of critical importance in its work supporting wildlife law enforcement and advocacy, and as a national resource for conservation education.  The project is mandated to accept all wild animal species native to Cameroon, including mammals, birds and reptiles, but the majority of animals are primates (chimpanzees, gorillas, drill monkeys, guenons, mangabeys, etc.).  

Project Context: The LWC was created in 1993, and is a partnership between the NGO Pandrillus Foundation (www.pandrillus.org) and the Ministry of Forests & Fauna (MINFOF) of the Government of Cameroon.  Day to day management of the centre is a cooperative effort between Pandrillus personnel and civil servants representing the Ministry.  The lead Pandrillus staff is the Project Manager whose national counterpart is the Conservator.  The Assistant Manager’s counterpart is the Assistant Conservator.  

Major functions of the Assistant Manager: 

To manage the daily operations of the LWC in support of the Project Manager and the Conservator. This involves overseeing the health and welfare of over 180 animals (including enclosure design and construction, environmental enrichment and nutritional care), developing and implementing conservation education programs and working in close collaboration with the Govt. of Cameroon to implement national wildlife laws.  The Project Manager and Asst. Manager are responsible for supervising 35 staff. 

 Overall this is an excellent opportunity for the right candidate to become integrally involved in a dynamic and exciting wildlife conservation project in Cameroon. 
 

Main Responsibilities: 

      ·        Overseeing health and welfare of all animals resident at the project

·        Developing new, and maintaining existing, funding relationships with international and national donor agencies

·        Developing and implementing other fund-raising initiatives

·        Report writing

·        Coordinating the development of the conservation education program

·        Accounting and bookkeeping

·        Maintaining the LWC website

·        Assisting the veterinary staff with medical procedures

·        Managing the LWC’s volunteer program

  Profile: Required qualifications, skills and competencies 

Preferably, a university degree in a biological science (conservation biology, zoology etc.). 

The position would be suitable for a veterinary surgeon wishing to work in project management (the LWC employs a full-time Cameroonian veterinary surgeon and a veterinary nurse/technician, who would benefit from the experience that another vet may bring).

However, a university degree is not a pre-requisite for the position and experience working in the following areas is also desirable:

• captive care and/or wildlife management
• animal keeping/handling, preferably zoo or wild animal
• laboratory diagnostics
• administration and accounting
• fundraising and proposal writing
• conservation education
• website design/maintenance
• building/construction
• vehicle mechanics
• developing country experience

This list is not exhaustive and we do not expect candidates to have previous experience in all of these areas, but the job will involve working in all aspects of the project and so a broad range of abilities is sought. 

Strong leadership skills, flexibility and adaptability, energetic yet calm, knowledge of wildlife, welfare and conservation issues (particularly with respect to African primates).  The ability to follow direction, and the spirit of teamwork are important.  Ideally, the successful candidate will have experience working in a developing country.  The spoken language of the region is English, although knowledge of French is very desirable.

This is a voluntary position but all living costs (food and accommodation) are provided by the project.  However, travel to Cameroon plus medical insurance will need to be paid for by the volunteer.  Volunteers are expected to commit to a minimum of 12 months.  Thereafter, should the candidate commit to staying longer, a return flight home and other benefits will be awarded.

Minimum 1 year (subject to a three-month performance review)

Applications (a covering letter describing why you wish to take up this position, a CV, and the details of at least 2 referees) are accepted via email to the address listed below.  A personal interview with a Pandrillus staff or representative may be required for short-listed candidates.

The LWC collaborates with many international, national and regional partners. 

• Internal: The LWC project is collaboration between the Pandrillus Foundation and the Govt. of Cameroon and as such the management work closely with the Ministry of Forests and Fauna (MINFOF).  Pandrillus staff in Cameroon are answerable to the Pandrillus directors.

• External: The LWC is a member of the Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA).  The institution and Pandrillus work closely with other NGOs active in conservation locally and regionally, as well as NGOs and other bodies working internationally for wildlife conservation and animal welfare.

Felix Lankester & Simone de Vries      

Limbe Wildlife Centre  

P.O. Box 878              

Limbe SWP Cameroon           

Tel: + 237 99266278

Email: lwc@limbewildlife.org

Please visit our web site at www.limbewildlife.org for more details of the project.