The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS currently works in more than 60 countries and has a long track record of achieving innovative, impactful results at scale. We host on-the-ground teams of scientists, researchers, and conservationists working to save some of the world’s most magnificent natural treasures.

WCS’s office for the Southeast Asian Archipelago (SEAA) region is based in Singapore and is responsible for WCS conservation programs in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. The SEAA region contains the third largest expanse of tropical rainforests, and the majority of the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine biodiversity. The region includes over 25,000 islands, and comprises the world’s second, third, and sixth largest islands (New Guinea, Borneo and Sumatra). Our current efforts focus on protecting 4.2 million hectares of landscapes, including the Leuser Ecosystem and Endau Rompin landscape, and over 2 million hectares of the region’s most important coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses and tidal wetlands including in North Sulawesi, North Maluku, Aceh, West Nusa Tenggara, and Sarawak.

Within the SEAA region, WCS has operated for many years in Indonesia and Malaysia. In the Philippines, WCS has a historical project-based legacy, and is now, together with local partners, designing a conservation program that will complement the many ongoing terrestrial and marine efforts in the Philippines. WCS initial focus is on a marine conservation project focused on the MPAs and small-scale fisheries of the Bohol Sea, and, importantly, to build a small team, develop partnerships, and build out the knowledge base to inform WCS’s broader conservation strategy and approach in the Philippines. Within the Bohol Sea, WCS will focus implementation on Siquijor province, adopting an integrated approach to conservation. The work will be implemented through a partnership with local organisation Community Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF), and delivered in close coordination with government agencies.

The early stages of WCS engagement in the Philippines are twofold and require the appointment of a Country Representative (Consultant) to initiate, lead and work with regional leadership to identify opportunities for the design of a conservation program in the Philippines, as well as ensure existing WCS project commitments are delivered to a high standard. As such, WCS is now seeking an experienced and energetic individual with a strong background in coastal conservation implementation and organisational development in the Philippines to help the delivery of this new initiative.

Overall Objectives:

1.      Strategic assessment and potential development of a long-term WCS program in Philippines. Seek to understand, and potentially establish, the program, it’s strategy, priorities, and approaches; determine WCS optimal operating model (e.g. determine the legal, financial, HR aspects of various operating models); develop and implement partnerships and projects; facilitate smooth and efficient communication with the WCS Regional and New York offices.
2.     Initiate WCS’s Bohol Sea Project, in partnership with CCEF and other consultants, that will include a specific focus on the Bohol Sea and will develop new management arrangements and scientific inputs for improved fisheries and MPAs. Within the Bohol Sea, WCS will have an implementation focus on Siquijor province.

This consultancy will primarily be responsible for representing WCS, exploring strategic developments across a range of conservation themes, and determining the optimal organisational model for WCS in Philippines. The selected consultant will coordinate WCS institutional efforts to research and potentially establish a country program, and forge important new relationships and partnerships, particularly with relevant ministries. The consultant will also lead the day-to-day, site-level delivery of WCS’s Bohol Sea project. The consulant will work closely with WCS regional leadership and WCS marine associate director (both in WCS SEAA office) and coordinate a small team (including members from WCS, CCEF and consultants) that delivers technical assistance to government and community partners, in order to improve the management of marine and coastal resources in the Bohol Sea.

Additional materials related to WCS’s plans for the project in the Bohol Sea are available upon request at the email addresses below.

It is anticipated that the initial consultancy, dependent on the outcomes of objective 1, could lead to employment with WCS. Therefore, we are seeking candidates with strong conservation management experience, which can include understanding of both marine and terrestrial approaches, and who are willing to commit to potential longer term engagement and a career with WCS.

Major Responsibilities:

• Represent WCS in the Philippines and build relationships with government, NGO, community and private sector partners.
• Develop with WCS SEAA regional staff, a potential operational model that seeks to build out a conservation program for WCS in the Philippines.
• Identify and help to develop new strategic conservation opportunities and partnerships in the Philippines.
  • Facilitate WCS’s engagement with relevant organisations and management bodies to enhance coordination of conservation in the Bohol Sea region, including representing WCS and the project in Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 9 governance processes.
  • Help to initiate WCS’s provincial and municipal level initiatives in Siquijor, including fisheries co-management pilots and MPA learning sites.
  • Help to manage the development of a project Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), with WCS SEAA regional staff and consultants.
    • Communicate internally with WCS experts and communities of practice, and contribute to relevant global WCS strategies, as requested.
    • Contribute to project reporting and new proposal development, as requested.

Deliverables:

• Report describing possible operational model(s) for a conservation program for WCS in the Philippines
• Brief report of potential conservation opportunities and partnerships relevant to the project in the Bohol Sea
• Bi-weekly reports (written and/or oral) on progress of conservation activities and ESMF processes
• Inputs to semi-annual donor report
• Proposal inputs, as requested
• Bachelor or post-graduate degree in conservation, marine sciences, species / fisheries management, geography, policy or other relevant field/s
• Minimum of eight years’ experience with non-profit, government or private sectors working on conservation, fisheries management, philanthropy and fundraising, climate change, community development or related field/s in the Philippines
• Demonstrated ability to independently establish and drive new organisations, programs and initiatives
• Strong ability to build relationships with relevant national authorities such as conservation agencies and financial institutions
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a variety of partners and stakeholders, and to collaborate on solving complex issues that involve multiple actors and/or interest areas
• Demonstrated ability to apply gender sensitive approaches to projects and programs
• Demonstrated strong project management and reporting experience
• Good working knowledge in the field of protected areas, ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM), and other relevant conservation approaches; knowledge of environmental and social safeguards processes a plus
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written Filipino and English
• Commitment to WCS’s values of respect, accountability and transparency, innovation, diversity and inclusion, collaboration, and integrity.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills Required:

Interested Applicants must submit the following to: lyong@wcs.org and cc ematthews@wcs.org Please use subject line: Philippines Country Representative.

OR, to submit application via https://www.jobstreet.com.my/en/job/4557446/sources/2

• Signed CV and Cover Letter including details of the applicant and contact details;
  • 2-3 page proposal describing their understanding of the RFP and how the deliverables will be achieved;
  • Service Fees; and
  • References may be requested.

ONLY SHORTLISTED APPLICANTS WILL BE NOTIFIED.