Conservation Career-Booster

CONSERVATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT & DESIGN

Gain key skills in managing and designing conservation projects using the Conservation Standards – the leading approach within the sector.

Officially Rated as 'Excellent'​

“Each step of the Conservation Standards process is very thorough, with detailed explanations and excellent examples and images”.

“Felix is a great teacher, with a nice, relaxed, conversational style, and his passion for the subject is clear. Thank you for this high-quality work!”

Marcia Brown | On behalf of the Conservation Measures Partnership Guidance Committee, 2024

What are Conservation Career-Boosters?

Conservation Career-Boosters are a growing range of online training programmes designed to start, switch or speed up your career as a professional wildlife conservationist. To date, we’ve shared more than 45,000 conservation jobs, and identified the top skills that are sought after by conservation employers across the globe. 

The goal of each Conservation Career-Booster is to learn highly applicable knowledge which can be applied to a broad range of conservation jobs. Each programme focuses on a key skill, proven to make you more employable, competitive and effective in your career.

The content is produced following a detailed analysis of exactly what employers are looking for, and following international best-practice. Covering the essential ‘need-to-know’ knowledge, they are designed to be quick and easy to follow, including examples and tasks to reinforce your learning.

Finally, each Conservation Career-Booster is taught by a hand-picked industry expert, who explains clearly and simply how things are done in practice within the conservation industry. They don’t teach idealistic theory, but focus on practical and actionable skills which you can readily apply in your work and showcase to employers.

Rated as 'Excellent' by the Conservation Measures Partnership!

Why Is Project Management & Design Important In Your Career?

A key to success within conservation is the ability to design and implement projects to better protect species, habitats and sites. But only a small proportion of professional conservationists are formally trained in these essential skills.

A well-designed and adaptively managed project can make a huge impact for wildlife and the people involved. Setting clear goals, understanding the problems, testing assumptions, adapting, learning and sharing your knowledge. Conversely, a poorly-designed project can lead to wasted time and money, and even cause detrimental impacts on the wildlife and people you’re trying to help. 

It’s no surprise, therefore, that project management and design are the most valued skills within the industry, with 55% of all jobs listed on our site to date explicitly requesting them.

If you want to succeed as a professional conservationist, you need project management and design skills.

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... Conservation Jobs Analyzed
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... require Project Design or Management Skills!

The Conservation Standards | World-Class Conservation Projects

The Conservation Standards are a widely adopted set of principles and best practices that combine common concepts, approaches, and terminology for conservation project design, management, monitoring and evaluation. 

They have been developed by some of the leading conservation organizations of the world. They are currently stewarded by the Conservation Measures Partnership, a partnership including the World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, Traffic, Durrell, US Fisheries and Wildlife Services and many more.

The Conservation Standards have become widely recognised as best practices within the industry.

Introducing | Conservation Project Management & Design

Conservation Project Management & Design is an online training programme brought to you by the team at Conservation Careers which follows the best-in-class Conservation Standards methodology. It is being taught by Certified Conservation Standards Coach, Facilitator and Coach Trainer Felix Cybulla (more below). 

The training covers the following steps in the Conservation Standards cycle:

  • Assess | Learn how to identify threats, opportunities, and key stakeholders.
  • Plan | Learn how to define and develop your project’s goals, strategies, objectives and assumptions.
  • Implement | Learn how to develop and implement work plans including sufficient resources, capacity, and partners.
  • Analyze & Adapt | Learn the importance of analyzing your results and then adapting your work plan as necessary.
  • Share | Learn the importance of sharing lessons and promoting a learning culture within an organisation. 

After completing this training you’ll understand the foundations of how to design and manage a conservation project using the widely-recognised Conservation Standards methodology. Making you more employable and impactful as an aspiring or professional conservationist.

Inside | Conservation Project Management & Design

Step-by-Step Modules to attack at your own pace. You’ll learn how to design and manage conservation projects, as part of your duties as a wildlife professional.

Support from the experts. You’ll have support from us via email, Zoom, and in our private CC Pro community. We’ll be with you every step of the way. 

Go at your own pace. With our self-paced flexibility, you’ll have access to the course for a full year. You can work entirely at your own pace and around your busy life and work commitments. You don’t need to stick to a schedule. 

CC Pro community. You’ll be welcomed into our new private online community for a whole year. Get answers to burning questions, enjoy regular live events, participate in growth challenges, share your coursework, celebrate your successes and more.

Certificate. Everyone who completes the course receives a certificate.

Rock-solid guarantee. Try it for 14 days. Not happy for whatever reason? We will refund 100% of your money.

Your Trainer | Felix Cybulla

Felix has trained teams from over 45 countries in the Conservation Standards and has been working as an independent consultant for conservation management for over a decade. In 2018, he received the Conservation Coaches Network (CCNet) Award for his engagement and continuous work efforts with the Conservation Standards and for the Conservation Coaches Network.

He has worked with conservation organisations from around the world, advising them on strategic planning and general conservation management challenges. His clients include the WWF Arctic Programme, WWF Laos, Denver Zoo, University of Wisconsin Madison, The Conservation Measures Partnership, WWF Kenya, UNDP, WWF Zambia, The European Green Belt Initiative, WWF Chile, EuroNatur, WWF Mozambique, WWF Bolivia, WWF Paraguay, WWF Brazil, WWF UK, The International Fund for Animal Welfare, WWF International and many more.

He is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Ivakale.org and has a background in Global Change Management and International Forest Ecosystem Management. He’s also a passionate wildlife photographer.

Felix Cybulla

Certified Conservation Standards Coach, Facilitator and Coach Trainer

Training Outline

Step 1 | Assess

This step in the Conservation Standards cycle involves specifying the basic parameters for your project and assessing your overall context. 

This module will cover:

  • Stakeholder & Team, Scope & Vision
  • Situation Analysis & Conceptual Models
  • Conservation Targets
  • Target Viability Analysis
  • Direct Threats
  • Threat Rating
  • Opportunities
  • Contributing Factors

Module outcome | Learn how to make sense of your project’s context, including identifying targets, threats, drivers, opportunities, and key stakeholders.

Step 2 | Plan

This step in the Conservation Standards cycle involves planning your project’s goals, strategies, and objectives and assumptions.

This module will cover:
  • Theory of Change
  • Goals
  • Strategies
  • Objectives and Indicators
  • Monitoring Plans
Module outcome | Learn how to define and develop your project’s goals, strategies, and objectives, and identify your team’s assumptions about how you believe your strategies will achieve your project’s goals.

Step 3 | Implement

In many respects, this is one of the most important step in the entire conservation process. It is where you put all of the planning efforts you conducted in the previous steps into action. This step involves developing and implementing specific work plans while ensuring sufficient resources, capacity, and partners.

This module will cover:

  • Work Plan
  • Team Communication & alignment
  • Budget
  • Implement

Module outcome | Learn how to develop and implement work plans while ensuring sufficient resources, capacity, and partners.

Step 4 | Analyze & Adapt

This step of the Conservation Standards involves managing your data as they come in and creating a culture within your organisation or work to regularly analyse your data to convert them into useful information and knowledge.  

This module will cover:

  • Prepare Data
  • Analyse Results
  • Adapt Plans

Module outcome | Understand the importance of analysing your project’s results, core assumptions, key uncertainties, and relevant operational and financial data, and then adapting your work plan as necessary.

Step 5 | Share

This final step in the Conservation Standards cycle involves sharing lessons and formal products with key internal and external audiences. It also involves giving and receiving feedback and promoting a learning culture. 

This module will focus on:

  • Document Learning
  • Share Learning
  • Foster Learning

Module outcome | Understand the importance of sharing lessons and formal products with key internal and external audiences.

Step 6 | Certificate of Completion

Included in the training is a Certificate in Conservation Project Management & Design (Foundation).

Throughout the training, your knowledge will be tested using quizzes, to allow you to move from one module to another. 

At the end of the training, you’ll have the opportunity to test your knowledge and gain a certificate to showcase to employers on your CV or Resume. 

Who is the programme for?

Man-overlooking-ocean-ponders-how-to-switch-careers-into-conservation

Career Switchers

Have you always had a passion for wildlife and want to work in conservation, but don’t know where to start? You might be working in a totally unrelated field right now, and want to gain skills to increase your employability and impact. We’re here to provide you with the key project design and management skills sought after by conservation employers.

Students

Are you currently at university or college, and planning to try and find work in the conservation sector when you finish? There’s no better time to start building the key skills which employers are looking for in the sector, so you can hit the ground running on your graduation day.

Niall McCann - Conservation Director of National Park Rescue.

Professional Conservationists

Are you working as a professional conservationist, and wanting to improve your project management skills, be better in your role and improve your career prospects? Through the programme, you'll learn how to successfully plan and manage projects using the Conservation Standards.

Job Seekers

Are you currently hunting for a conservation job but struggling? The programme will help you to stand out from the crowd better, by learning key skills sought after by 55% of conservation employers.

Support | CC Pro Private Community

The training is a work-at-your-own pace programme. You can go as fast as you want, or you can take your time. But what happens when you have a question?

You’ll be welcomed into our private CC Pro community for a full year. Get answers to burning questions, enjoy regular live events, participate in growth challenges, share your coursework, celebrate your successes, chat with your coursemates and more. 

You’re not alone in this.

Private Community

Monthly challenges that encourage, support, and reward member growth. Private channels for focused discussions among member cohorts. Private 1:1 messaging between community members. It’s a safe space.

Regular Events

You’ll get access to our growing list of recorded webinars and workshops, plus an events calendar which you can subscribe to and come along to, such as Q&As, Ask us Anything, hotseats & more. Hang out with us.

Coursework Feedback

Submit your tasks directly into CC Pro for feedback from your course guides, ask questions, and ensure you’re getting the most out of the course. Stay on track.

Direct Access to CC Team

We’re here to help, guide, encourage and support you all the way to career success in the sector. You’re not alone.

We’ve helped some of the biggest names in conservation

We work with hundreds of conservation employers from across the globe to find new staff. We are also teaching career-planning and employability skills at over 40 universities and higher-education institutions. 

FAQs

The foundation of success within conservation is the ability to design and implement projects to better protect species, habitats and sites. But only a small proportion of professional conservationists are formally trained in these essential skills.

A well-designed and managed project can make a huge impact for wildlife and the people involved. Setting clear goals, understanding the problems, testing assumptions, adapting, learning and sharing your knowledge. Conversely, a poorly-designed project can lead to wasted time and money, and even cause detrimental impacts on the wildlife and people you’re trying to help. 

It’s no surprise, therefore, that project management and design are the most valued skills within the industry, with 55% of all jobs listed on our site to date explicitly requesting them.

If you want to succeed as a professional conservationist you need project management and design skills.

Conservation projects are the building blocks of action within the sector. They use focused activities which seek to achieve a certain goal within a certain time and budget. When combined together over a longer period of time, they can work together to form a programme of work. For example, a three-year study of Polar Bear movements (project) might be one of 10 projects working to improve the biodiversity of the Antarctic region (programme).

The Conservation Standards are a widely adopted set of principles and practices that combine common concepts, approaches, and terminology for conservation project design, management, and monitoring. They have been developed by the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP) and endorsed by the WWF Network, the Conservation Standards have become widely recognised as best practice within the industry.

At the core of the Conservation Standards is a principle that projects need to be able to adapt as conditions change or new information comes to light. This ability to learn and adapt is vital to successful conservation projects and is often termed Adaptive Management.

This is an online training programme brought to you by the team at Conservation Careers and follows the best-in-class Conservation Standards methodology.

After completing this training you’ll understand how to design and manage a conservation project using the widely-recognised Conservation Standards methodology. Making you more employable and impactful as an aspiring or professional conservationist.

This is a foundation-level programme. Our programmes are categorised as:

  • Introduction – Learn what’s important to know, in terms of the theory behind the course content, to get a good overview of the subject.
  • Foundation – Learn how to implement the theory in the real world, using easy-to-follow methods and techniques. For 80% of aspiring and professional conservationists, this level of knowledge is ideal to get going quickly and create more impact.
  • Advanced – Learn a detailed understanding of how to implement all the steps involved as a practitioner, trainer or coach.

The total commitment is around 12-15 hours and you can choose to work entirely at your own pace over the course of a year. It’s totally flexible. We’ve worked hard to fast-track your learnings and condense everything into just what you need to know. You can go entirely at your own pace, and have a year’s access to the units.

You have access to the programme videos for the full year of your membership to the site, so you don’t have to do a module a week if it doesn’t suit your schedule for any reason. However, we’ve found it best to try and work through the modules at a similar pace to your course-mates, so you can share your learnings and support one another.

  • Career Switchers | Have you always had a passion for wildlife and want to work in conservation, but don’t know where to start? You might be working in a totally unrelated field right now, and want to gain skills to increase your employability and impact. We’re here to provide you with the key project planning and management skills sought after by conservation employers.

  • Students | Are you currently at university or college, and planning to try and find work in the conservation sector when you finish? There’s no better time to start building the key skills which employers are looking for in the sector, so you can hit the ground running on your graduation day.

  • Professional Conservationists | Are you working as a professional conservationist, and wanting to improve your communications skills, be better in your role and improve your career prospects? Through the course, you’ll learn how to successfully plan and manage projects using the Conservation Standards.

  • Job Seekers | Are you currently hunting for a conservation job but struggling? The course will help you to stand out from the crowd better, by learning key skills sought after by 55% of conservation employers.

Included in the training is a Certificate in Conservation Project Management & Design (Foundation).

Throughout the training, your knowledge will be tested using quizzes, to allow you to move from one module to another. 

At the end of the training, you’ll have the opportunity to test your knowledge and gain a certificate to showcase to employers on your CV or Resume. 

The investment in the training programme is $495 / £375 / €450, including the training and support community for a full year. The programme comes with a 14-day 100% money-back guarantee. If within 14 days, if you are unhappy for whatever reason just email us and you will receive a full refund. No questions asked.

Once you sign up for the course you’ll get a confirmation email with all the details you’ll need in order to get going.

If within 14 days, if you are unhappy for whatever reason just email us and you will receive a full refund.

How much does it cost?

The regular investment in the training programme is $495 / £375 / €450, including the training and support community for a full year.

The programme comes with a 14-day 100% money-back guarantee. If within 14 days, if you are unhappy for whatever reason just email us and you will receive a full refund. No questions asked. 

Are you ready?

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Contact Us

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch by mail@conservation-careers.com.