Overview

Located in southwestern Gabon, central Africa, the Projet Gorille Fernan-Vaz (PGFV) is a PASA-accredited Gabonese non-governmental western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) rescue center for gorilla victims of the ongoing bushmeat trade in Gabon. The project’s mandate is to provide a secure future for gorillas rescued from the bushmeat trade and its mission is to help protect great apes and their habitat.

The project consists of a forested enclosure (termed the sanctuary) where adult gorillas are provided lifetime care since they cannot be reintroduced back into their natural environment. The project consists also of a rehabilitation center where younger orphaned gorillas are managed separately in order to maintain their reintroduction potential.

Responsibilities:

1. Ensure the daily monitoring of gorilla husbandry and care including gorilla integrations (as needed) as per the PGFV Operations Manual and PASA manual;

2. Supervise the gorilla caretakers

3. Oversee and update (as needed) the implementation of:

  • The gorilla nutritional program;
  • The gorilla enrichment program;
  • The daily, weekly and monthly gorilla monitoring program including data collection and entry into a dataset shared on Google Drive

4. Oversee the rehabilitation and possible integration of a 4-year old female gorilla into a group of 9 gorillas with support from an advisory committee.

5. Oversee the ongoing training of local staff;

6. Strengthen local capacity by oversee the training of a local candidate for the position of assistant primate care supervisor

7. Communicate daily with the Program manager on the status of the program

8. Support the Program manager with the preparation and distribution of a quarterly report that summarizes all on-ground activities of the program to various external collaborators

Qualifications/experience:

  1. At least 25 years-old;
  2. At least 6 months of hands-on experience with primates (gorilla experience preferred);
  3. At least 6 months of experience working with local staff in a developing country;
  4. Experience in primate care
  5. French-speaking a must (fluency in English an asset);
  6. Bachelor’s degree (a minimum requirement);
  7. Proven communication and leadership skills;
  8. Ability and willingness to live in isolation in a remote area.

Salary/funding:

  • monthly stipend: based on qualifications and experience
  • health insurance
  • cost of visa
  • one yearly return-airfare
  • food, basic accommodation and transportation (in-country)

Terms of appointment:

One-year contract with an initial 3-month probation period. Possibility for contract renewal contingent upon performance.