About the Organisation
African Parks (AP) is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on responsibility for the long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities. AP manages 22 protected areas in 12 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The AP vision is to achieve ecological, financial, and socio-political sustainability of protected areas for the benefit of people and wildlife. The benefits to people include socio-economic development that drives improvements on key needs such as access to water, literacy, and food security. These efforts to alleviate poverty must be implemented in a manner that is compatible with conservation in order to ensure sustainability. For local communities around protected areas, development projects also enable sustainable livelihoods that reduce dependence on natural resources. AP contributes to socio-economic development in support of efforts by national governments, and by other stakeholders in the landscape.
About the Job
The Programme Manager: Socio-Economic Development (SED) will design and support implementation of programmes that deliver social and economic benefits at scale to local communities around AP-managed protected areas. The selected programmes will address relevant local needs, and capitalise on income-generating opportunities that are aligned to conservation. Projects will be developed with a view to long-term viability and sustainability driven by community ownership and participation.
Key Responsibilities
Supporting parks in defining custom park plans that are aligned to AP strategy and local needs (Engagement, Education, Economy, Plus);
Building team capacity to improve execution of activities in park plans (e.g. project management, participatory processes);
Designing and supporting implementation of income-generating activities (IGAs), and financially-viable projects to commercialise non-timber forest products (NTFPs);
Codifying best practice for existing development activities and IGAs, to support scaling up and roll out to other locations (e.g. transhumant pastoralism, aquaculture);
Supporting the integration of development programmes in grant proposals to secure funding and technical partners.
Managing socio-economic studies to build understanding of communities, and to establish baselines for monitoring.
Requirements
Post-graduate qualification in Social Sciences/International Development/Conservation/ Development Economics or a related field.
Must have experience in corporate environment or managing a commercial business venture.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience, including execution of income-generating activities with rural communities in Africa. Experience with cooperative management or social enterprise development is a plus.
Excellent communication and presentation skills in English. French and/or Portuguese fluency is a plus.
Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with ability to work across cultures and to foster collaboration.
Affinity with conservation and social development in Africa.
Willingness to travel to remote rural settings.
To apply
In order to apply, email your application by Friday 30th May 2025 to melissa@actionappointments.co.za - send your completed AA bio form, letter of motivation and updated CV (all in MS Word format).
