POSITION: Technology Officer

ORGANISATION: African Parks, Greater Kafue Landscape Ltd

LOCATION:  Kafue National Park 

REPORTING TO: Special Projects Manager

BACKGROUND

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization founded in 2000 that manages 22 National Parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 17 million hectares. This is achieved through long-term agreements with national governments, putting in place funding solutions and establishing good governance and management to achieve ecological, social and financial sustainability.

Objectives

Under the direct supervision of the Special Projects Manager, the Technology officer will maintain, fix and manage the VHF radio network, LoRa network, Internet management, and solar instillations for the Greater Kafue Landscape LTD.

Key Responsibilities

Hardware instillations and maintenance of

• Ensure that the backbone and all connected equipment is fully operational. This includes power equipment, radio repeaters, LoRa gateways and monitoring devices.
• VHF network management, including repeaters, Motorola, TRBOnet
• LoRa network management, including gateways, devices, server, including the coordination with LE and Field Operations on compliance as regards to the implementation of tracking devices
• Internet connection management to ensure the best possible user experience where work applications are prioritised. This includes site routers, WiFi access points and wired network points.
• Equipment stock /inventory management, including spare equipment
• Management of specialized LE equipment, incl. sat comms, NVG, etc.
• 5-year replacement schedule for all technology equipment/hardware
• Coordination of renewable energy development.
• Ensure fully operational control room hardware and systems.

Software needs

• Anti-virus and Windows update management
• VLAN, Unifi, Mikrotik management
• Manage all radios in radio dispatcher application (TRBOnet)

Important to note: The Prospective Candidate Must:

• Be someone who is physically fit.
• Un afraid of heights as this person will be expected to climb radio towers to repair and replace components.
• Be un afraid of wildlife and be willing to live and at times camp remotely in the wild with no access to running water or bathroom facilities.
• Be a team player
• Experience in the conservation sector will be an advantage

Qualifications

1. Degree in computer science, computer systems administration or similar will be an advantage
2. At least 5 years’ experience in IT and network management
3. Demonstrable experience in IT maintenance and repairs
4. Demonstrable experience on managing networks and PTP antennas
5. Basic knowledge of digital radio systems
6. Basic experience in GIS/Esri will be an advantage
7. Strong personal integrity and dependability
8. Computer Literacy.
9. Fluent in English languages relevant to park operations