Overview

South African couples only

Cousine Island is a 26 hectare privately owned conservation island that supports a wide array of fauna and flora and has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. The Island is managed as a hotel and nature reserve; supporting important terrestrial and seabird populations as well as nesting sea turtles and endemic giant tortoises. Despite the small size, the conservation contribution it makes to the Seychelles is immeasurable.

The Island is seeking a new conservation management couple. You will be responsible for the continuation of the 28 years of conservation and monitoring work, working closely with the Hotel and its clients.

THE JOB

You will work together under your own initiative to ensure the delivery of the conservation work programme. While help may be acquired from other departments for certain tasks, you will generally be expected to work in a self-sufficient manner without supervision.

Key aspects of the job include:

• Coordinating fieldwork for various projects
• Monitoring of endemic land birds, such as the Seychelles magpie-robin
• Monitoring of seabird numbers, as well as breeding success (June to September)
• Nesting sea turtle monitoring and hatchery management (October to April)
• Habitat management
• Invasive species control
• Enforcement of biosecurity protocols
• Internal and governmental reporting
• Liaising with local NGOs and conservation bodies
• Providing educational talks and activities for hotel guests
• Working with the hotel to promote sustainable practices
• Assisting in general island duties as required – Cousine is a small island with a close-knit team and often tasks will require all departments to assist e.g. boat launching and tree felling.

REQUIREMENTS

The position is not a typical 9-5 and you will be expected to conduct fieldwork in a tropical environment and work with paying clients at a high-end hotel, so both candidates must demonstrate the following essential attributes:

• Good physical fitness and the ability to work long days/odd hours in a hot and humid environment
• Positive ‘can-do’ attitude
• Friendly and approachable manner
• Good communication skills

At least one of the candidates must demonstrate the following:

• Minimum Honours in Natural Sciences/Conservation Biology or related field
• Minimum two years post-degree work experience managing conservation/research projects
• Experience working with nesting sea turtles
• Experience working with birds and/or bird handling/ringing experience
• Vegetation monitoring/habitat management
• Experience producing basic scientific reports
• Good working knowledge of MS Office and GIS software e.g. QGIS/ArcGIS
• Proven ability to interpret and analyse large datasets and results
• Practically minded and able to carry out basic maintenance tasks relevant to the conservation programme

Desirable:

• Bird ringing licence
• Experience in or an understanding of bird rehabilitation
• Sea turtle tagging, nest relocation, hatchery management
• Certified SCUBA diver
• Boating experience
• Experience using/maintaining chainsaws
• Experience using/maintaining air-rifle
• Experience in a customer-facing role
• Experience working and living in a remote location
• Experience in managing and/or training staff, interns or volunteers

BENEFITS

• Competitive salary
• Private air conditioned apartment and basic meals provided whilst on the island
• One set of return flights from/to South Africa per year

TO APPLY

Please send a detailed motivational cover letter, plus full CVs of both parties, to brownma@ukzn.ac.za. Please note non-South African applicants will not be corresponded with further. Closing date of applications is 16 October 2020. Skype/Zoom interviews will take place in the first week of November 2020, and the successful couple will be expected to start work in January 2021 (Dependent on working permit approval). Please note, a clean police clearance will be required when applying for work permits.