TRAFFIC, Wildlife-TRAPS Project Administrative Officer

TITLE: Wildlife-TRAPS Project Administrative Officer
LOCATION: Pretoria, South Africa
REPORTS TO: Wildlife-TRAPS Project Leader
DURATION: Full time position until July 2016
IUCN GRADE: A3

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 13th September 2013

BACKGROUND

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants is not a threat to the conservation of nature. We actively monitor and investigate wildlife trade and provide information to diverse audiences worldwide as a basis for effective conservation policies and programmes. TRAFFIC is a strategic alliance of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is an international network, organised into eight regional programmes.

TRAFFIC has recently been successful in securing a grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the ‘Wildlife Trafficking, Response, Assessment, Priority Setting’ (Wildlife-TRAPS) initiative. This three year (2012-2015) initiative has approximately ca. USD 1.5m of funding available to tackle the illegal trade of terrestrial and marine wildlife between Africa and Asia. Wildlife TRAPS is likely to focus on achieving a high impact with a tightly focused group of species products (i.e. including ivory and rhino horn) traded between Central and East & Southern Africa and East and South East Asia. 

Activities will be delivered through a three Phase ‘Framework Approach’: Phase I will focus on ‘Assessment and Priority Setting’; activities will include scoping studies, desk based research, semi-structured interviews and stakeholder mapping. Phase II will focus on ‘Collaborative Action Planning’ with Wildlife TRAPS stakeholders in order to identify the trade routes and species products that will be tackled through a suite of ‘non-traditional approaches’ delivered during Phase III.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

• Overall responsibility for ensuring the consistent and efficient administration of the Wildlife TRAPS initiative for TRAFFIC, including creating and maintaining appropriate administrative record keeping systems with respect to both financial and project management material.
• Working closely with the TRAFFIC International finance and administration team and the project administrators at both IUCN and USAID, to ensure adherence to financial and project management and reporting requirements.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

• Coordinating day to day project administration with the Wildlife TRAPS Project Leader, Senior Project Officers and others (including the host organisation’s finance and administration team);
• Providing support with regard to the organisation of and logistics around the compilation and delivery of research and communication materials, workshops and similar deliverables under the project;
• Providing support with regard to scheduling project meetings, writing minutes and agendas and circulating reference materials as required;
• Liaising with the TRAFFIC International finance and administration team regarding the drafting, reviewing and finalising of any necessary project funding arrangements or sub-contracts, including those for consultants and ensuring the timely transfer of funds to contractees;
• Liaising with Project Auditors and arranging any necessary project audits, including preparing and reviewing supporting documentation for external audits as required;
• Provision of information on the project as and when required from the TRAFFIC network;
• Other duties as instructed by the Wildlife TRAPS Project Leader.

REQUIREMENTS

• A university degree or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline (e.g., business management, administration or accountancy).
• A minimum of two years administrative work experience relevant to nature conservation, preferably with experience of USAID funded initiatives and with work experience in at least one African or Asian country.
• Strong project administrative skills including dealing with financial reports, audits, contracts and related documentation.
• Experience supporting and scheduling meetings and travel arrangements.
• Fluency and excellent writing skills in English, with competency in either French or Chinese (Mandarin) an advantage.
• Be able to demonstrate sound financial skills and have strong skills using MS Office software, especially Excel.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills and strong organisational responsibility.
• Be a good team player but also willing to work on own initiative.
• Experience of working abroad (especially Africa or Asia) would be an advantage.
• Experience of working in the not for profit sector would be an advantage

APPLICATIONS

Applicants must be eligible to live and work in South Africa to apply for this position

Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the "Apply" button: https://hrms.iucn.org/iresy/index.cfm?event=vac.show&vacId=640

Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST). 

Please note that this role will be hosted on an IUCN employment contract.
For further information about TRAFFIC, please visit our website athttp://www.traffic.org