Overview

SEED Madagascar is a British Charity working in partnership with communities in the south east of Madagascar.  We integrate high quality community health, sustainable livelihoods, education infrastructure and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change and add to international best practice through research and publication across all of our programmatic areas.  We are now looking for entry level officers and managers to work alongside national staff and expand our team.

Position Overview:

The role of the Conservation Research Coordinator is, in conjunction with the Team Leader and Research Assistants, to ensure the development and smooth functioning of the conservation research programme. Working with local staff and international volunteers the Coordinator will conduct research on endemic and endangered flora and fauna in the coastal littoral forest fragments in Sainte Luce. The Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of the programme; coordinating field research including maintaining, developing and expanding the current research projects, new project design and methodology, writing of publishable papers and, in conjunction with the Team Leader, Volunteer Coordinator and Research Assistants, the management and care of the short term conservation volunteers.

Contract type:                   Minimum 18 months, extendable

Location:                             Split between field (40%) and office (60%), Anosy Region, Madagascar

Reporting to:                     Director of Programmes and Operations

Salary:                                  The chosen candidate will receive a basic local stipend and up to £1,000 for the costs associated with an annual flight per year, in-country visa extensions and contribution towards insurance

Duties and responsibilities:

  1. Maintain and continue on-going research, ensuring that this follows protocols and is of international standard
  2. Design novel environmental research project(s) that are specific and applicable to the area and provide protocols and training on methodology
  3. In collaboration with the Research Assistants, organise work schedules for volunteers and staff to ensure the standard of data collection for effective applied conservation outputs
  4. Manage, supervise and appraise the team of research assistants
  5. Ensure support and care are provided to maintain the physical and mental welfare of research assistants and volunteers
  6. Ensure successful communication of SEED’s current work across all departments to the volunteers
  7. Provide management, advice and intervention to ensure the research camp is effective and supported
  8. Ensure risk assessments are in place for each activity and these are communicated with the team and volunteers
  9. Interact with volunteers, stakeholders and other researchers in a professional and friendly manner
  10. Work closely with the Head of Volunteering in ensuring the smooth running of the programme
  11. Work closely with the Executive Director of Research and Head of Conservation and Environment in developing a holistic research programme covering both conservation and community projects
  12. Lead in the analysis of data, ensuring high quality data sets
  13. Facilitate, write and secure publication in peer reviewed journals of research
  14. Work closely with the Head of Volunteering and UK staff to manage field and equipment budgets
  15. Work alongside the Project Development Department to secure funding for current and future research projects
  16. Provide quarterly internal and external reports for SEED and any collaborating partners
  17. Work alongside Media volunteers and SEED volunteering staff in producing information for the website and social media
  18. Advise on strategic development of the programme
  19. Maintain and develop respectful relationships in the community where the team is based and ensuring that all staff and volunteers respect the customs and taboos of the area
  20. Any other tasks that the Director of Programmes and Operations sees fit within the broad scope of this job description

Requirements:

The successful applicant will:

  • Have a Masters degree in an environment or conservation field
  • Have at least 12 months successful experience of tropical field research
  • Have proven organisational, time-management and communication skills
  • Have experience of designing and implementing research projects
  • Have had experience with publishing research
  • Have experience of leading research teams of both international and national staff
  • Have experience of either coordinating a volunteer programme or having taken part in a similar extended volunteering scheme
  • Have experience using GPS and a working knowledge of GIS
  • Be fluent in English; ability to speak French or Malagasy is desirable
  • Have a good level of fitness for working in difficult terrain under tropical conditions
  • Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
  • Have the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
  • Have the ability and desire to build capacity and share skills across cultures
  • Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations
  • Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
  • Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard
  • Ability to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures, safeguarding those that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately.
  • Have a flexible and patient attitude
  • Have excellent problem-solving skills
  • Be able to work both independently and as part of a team

Practicalities:

The successful candidate will be equipped with a laptop computer (non-tablet) and field camping equipment.  They must also hold a current First Aid certificate.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining how their skills and experience match the requirements in the role description criteria and detailing why they wish to be considered for this post to Lisa Bass by email on Lisa@seedmadagascar.org. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Long-listed applicants will have an initial informal chat with Madagascar based staff and short listed applicants will then be offered a face-to-face interview with the London team in person. More information on the work of SEED can be found at www.madagascar.co.uk .