Position Title: Field Operations Manager

Reports to: Park Manager

Location: Kafue National Park

Background

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 20 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 17 million hectares in: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Primary Purpose

To manage and/or oversee all internal park operations in the assigned section , including infrastructure development & maintenance, fleet (vehicle / aircraft / boats / etc) management, logistics, law enforcement implementation and limited refresher training and conservation activities. 

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in developing and implement a Sector Workplan & budget aligned with the park strategy and 5-year business plan;
• Monitor and revise the plan as required;
• Oversee assigned infrastructure development projects and maintenance programmes including to ensure effective budget management and cost control;
• Ensure adherence to procurement procedures (tenders, contracts); to ensure contractors/general staff execute all projects according to contracted terms.
• Oversee fleet management (vehicles / aircraft / boats / etc) including to ensure all relevant licenses / permits for all in place;
• Ensure Sector fleet is serviced, maintained according to a preventative maintenance schedule and operated to reduce cost and risk;
• Ensure fleet management team adequately equipped;
• Promote culture of safety in fleet management team;
• Ensure adequate stocks of spares, fuel and oil including the logistical arrangements thereof.
• Oversee all logistics, procurement, and stock control activities including sourcing suppliers & negotiating favourable terms and ensuring effective stock control and storage management system in place;
• Supporting the effective management, development and motivation of all law enforcement personnel and ensure necessary logistical support in place to enable LE function;
• Ensure LE team adequately equipped and all materials are regularly upgraded according to AP SOP’s;

• Ensure LE team adequately trained with external refresher, advanced and inhouse training as appropriate and in collaboration with the LE Advisor;
• Play a supportive and/or coordinating role in wildlife translocation projects as appropriate;
• Fly park aircraft for conservation, LE and other field operations;
• Provide field support to research partners, film crews, etc;
• Manage fire strategy as it pertains to the sector and ensure all equipment is well maintained in a state of readiness and staff is well trained and motivated to carry out fire management tasks;
• Ensure the Operations team is adequately resourced (financial, people, equipment, etc) to effectively meet their day-to-day operational requirements and ensure all Operations activities conducted in accordance with African Parks policies and

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s);

• Build a strong values-based team culture in the Operations function;
• Provide accurate and meaningful reports on all park operations activities to the Park Manager within stipulated timeframes.

 Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification, for park operations/conservation/wildlife management or equivalent experience.
• 5-10 years working experience preferably in Protected Area Management, Construction, Logistics and Project management;
• Strong Law Enforcement background (security, operational and training) and understanding of current law enforcement practices;
• Pilot’s license is an advantage though not a requirement. A willingness to do this training would be advantageous;
• Experience in non-profit and/or parastatal organizations an advantage;
• Knowledge and experience of working in a rural, remote and multi-cultural environment;
• Fluent in English, written and spoken with strong report writing skills;
• Good communication skills – both upstream and downstream;
• Strong financial management skills and ability to budget effectively;
• Strong project management skills managing several teams at once with limited resources;
• Stakeholder relationship management skills – both towards local communities, tourism and business stakeholders and government partners;
• Adaptable to a complex working environment with multiple pressure points.
• Good physical fitness and an inclination towards field work;
• Trusted and disciplined person, able to work independently and showing a high level of respect for his staff with a demonstrated team approach to staff management;
• Appropriate tactical judgment in difficult situations;
• Mastery of communication tools and orientation (GPS, VHF digital, InReach);
• IT – Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.