Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR) is a local NGO created mainly by young people dedicated to advocate for biodiversity conservation, ecotourism promotion, community health, environmental management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.  The BIOCOOR headquarters is in Nyamagabe district of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The organization’s geographical focus is five districts near the Nyungwe National Park. It integrates conservation projects and sustainable economic development for the communities surrounding Nyungwe National Park. The organization has started in 2012 as a social enterprise called BIOCOOP and recently in June 2020 has shifted to a local NGO’s current BIOCOOR but keeping the same focus. Its mission is to build a nation that is environmentally and socio-economically stable through its resources and skills.

A Field Officer role has arisen to lead the implementation of a 4-year biodiversity conservation project.

BIOCOOR will support rural, poor communities living around the Nyungwe National Park in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts, to become empowered to assess, plan, and sustainably manage their land and common natural resources leading to more environmentally and economically sustainable and resilient communities. The project will do this through a unique partnership approach in which livelihoods, biodiversity and agroecology expertise is being combined with knowledge of- and acceptance by- the communities where the project will work.

The project will be implemented by 3 partners including BIOCOOR and coordinated by Trócaire Rwanda.

Reporting to:

BIOCOOR Coordinator

Managing: (Individuals/Team)

N/A

Contract Type:

Fixed-term

Contract Duration:

2 years with a possibility for extension and with a probation period of 3 months.  Probation may be extended to 6 months in line with the labor law in Rwanda.

Grade and Scale:

Field Officer Scale

Based in Nyamagabe, with frequent travel to the targeted villages and sectors in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts plus Kigali and other potential areas as required and/or identified for learning and project coordination.

This post will lead to the implementation of activities for the 4-year project to ensure that rural, poor communities living around the Nyungwe National Park are empowered to assess, plan, and sustainably manage their land and common natural resources leading to more environmentally and economically sustainable and resilient communities.

Apart from day to day activity implementation, the role will be responsible for the implementation of donor-specific requirements such as reporting, adhering to visibility, and procurement requirements.

BIOCOOR is committed to Safeguarding people within our programmes from Exploitation and Abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behavior and responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organizational representatives.

Any candidate offered a job with BIOCOOR would be expected to sign BIOCOOR Safeguarding Policies and the Code of Conduct within a month of joining BIOCOOR as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

BIOCOOR is very sensitive to fraud and any allegation will be taken seriously. Candidates will be encouraged also to use the complaints handling mechanisms in place and to ensure the data protection for the organization and for the project beneficiaries is fully respected.

Project Implementation:

• Take leadership on the implementation of all activities in line with the approved work plan and budget
• Actively collaborate and participate in project activities planning, shaping strategies, and thinking in areas such as baseline development, activities implementation, monitoring, documentation, research, peer learning, and evaluation.
• Participate in monthly technical meetings with other project staff and partners to discuss project implementation, progress, and work plans
• Ensure that the project activities are implemented in accordance with internal BIOCOOR policy and guidelines as well as donor guidelines and regulations
• Coordinate, plan, implement and monitor activities under the project in line with the established work plan, targets, and available budget;
• Act as a focal person for the project coordination and implementation and liaise with the project coordinator that is based with Trócaire Rwanda in Kigali for further technical support;
• Development of subsequent work plans and budgets in collaboration with BIOCOOR  management ;
• Support the targeted communities to implement their activities in line with the project deliverables;
• Collaborate with the local structures to ensure collaboration and support.

Reporting and Communication:

• Preparing consolidated and timely and quality reports;
• Ensure visibility strategy is respected and applied as appropriate;
• Provide regular updates including case studies and learning materials

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Participate and roll out M&E activities under the project such as surveys, mid-term evaluations, and end-line evaluations;
• Carry out weekly field visits to all project sites and participate in joint field visits with other project partners and stakeholders
• Work with the Project Coordinator to ensure recommendations from evaluations are timely implemented;

Stakeholder engagement and Representation:

• Support the BIOCOOR management to build and maintain professional relations with relevant organizations at field level including Rwanda Development Board (RDB) office in Kitabi and local authorities;
• Collaborate with ICRAF & UNICOOPAGI toward the delivery of the project objectives;
• Participate in coordination meetings at field level including JADF when necessary and other stakeholder meetings and provide timely feedback to the BIOCOOR management and to Trocaire through the project coordinator on outputs and decisions reached in such meetings.
• Accompany visitors to project sites and carry out promotional or media work including stories of change and stories of need as required.

Administration, Financial Management & Reporting

• Work closely with BIOCOOR management  respect financial and logistical procedures; to monitor budget spending and to ensure activities are implemented in line with budgets, MoU and work plan

Teamwork & Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with colleagues in the project from the different partner organizations

Person Specification – Essential Requirements (E)

(E) Qualification

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources Management, Environment protection, Biodiversity conservation, Conservation Agriculture, agroforestry, or related fields.

(E) Experience

• Natural Resources Management & Working with local communities (3 years minimum);
• Climate change adaptation and DRR approaches;
• Income sources strengthening approaches;
• Community-based planning processes and facilitation;
• Biodiversity management practices
• Working experience with Civil society organizations;
• Experience of a partnership approach and Capacity Building.

(E) Skills

• Public speaking skills;
• Project management skills;
• Report writing skills;
• Basic skills in Budget tracking;
• Knowledge of Gender and disability mainstreaming approaches;
• Knowledge of participatory methodologies and techniques (e.g. Participatory Rural Appraisal –PRA or Community Monitoring and Advocacy (CMA)
• Good IT skills, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint
• Good communication skills using a variety of media
• Fluent in English/French and Kinyarwanda both spoken & written.
• Driving license cat A with 2 years of experience

(E) Qualities

• Commitment to BIOCOOR Vision, Mission and Values and an understanding of the partnership approach to development;
• Able to work to deadlines;
• Flexible and adaptable;
• Accuracy and attention to detail;
• Able to learn from experience and apply to future work;
• Commitment to support the teamwork.

(E) Knowledge

Good knowledge of Rwanda Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity conservation and Agriculture context, and the Impact of Climate Change and Variability.