About this role
Senior Marine Manager - Papua New Guinea
Job Description: Position: Senior Marine Manager - Papua New Guinea Reports to: Conservation Director Supervises: Marine Programme Manager (Administration) and Kimbe Programme Manager, New Ireland Programme Manager, Manus Programme Manager and the Shark and Ray Advisor. Location: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Country Programme/Sector: Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia-Pacific Region Position Type: Full-Time Internal liaison: Within PNG: Conservation Director, Finance Director, Marine Staff, Operations, Legal, Communications Expected travel: Regular travel between PNG programme offices and partner project sites (20-25%); Possible travel overseas
Organisation Background:
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organisation established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organisations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilisation of natural resources.
WCS is the longest established international non-government conservation organisation within Papua New Guinea (PNG), working in key and representative landscapes and seascapes, from the country’s coral islands to its forested highlands. WCS PNG vision is “Gutpela sindaun, gutpela bus, gutpela solwara” (“Empowered people with healthy forests and seas”). WCS began working in PNG in 1977 and officially established a country programme in 1999. From the mid-2000s, the WCS PNG Programme expanded to take a landscape and seascape approach to environmental management across areas identified as important priorities by regional initiatives and the PNG Government. Aligned to our global mission, WCS works to protect areas of high ecological integrity that hold exceptional biodiversity or biomass, collectively represent the range of global ecoregions, and are important for iconic species. Today, through participatory, rights-based approaches with local communities, WCS supports the protection of over 1,700,000 hectares of functionally intact marine ecosystems and around 40,000 hectares of high biodiversity, high carbon forest ecosystems, critical ecosystem services underpinning human well-being. WCS PNG currently has four offices in Goroka (Eastern Highlands), Kavieng (New Ireland Province), Lorengau (Manus Province), and Kimbe (West New Britain Province), and plans to open a Port Moresby Office by the end of 2026.
Job Summary:
The Senior Marine Manager will oversee the implementation of all marine projects, grants and activities across PNG, which includes implementing and scaling up various marine and coastal management approaches towards the national 30x30 targets while delivering co-benefits for marine biodiversity, climate change and human well-being, and ensuring scientific rigor.
More specifically, the Senior Marine Manager will oversee all the WCS PNG Marine Teams based in New Ireland, West New Britain and Manus provinces, which are working alongside more than 100 coastal communities and partners throughout PNG. The role will lead the establishment and implementation of community-led marine spatial management areas, small-scale fisheries management initiatives, and community livelihoods linked to marine protection. The Senior Marine Manager will also support the protection of threatened sharks and rays in the Gulf of Papua, and other marine-focused community-based management and engagement initiatives. The overall objective of this work will be to ensure the long-term sustainability of marine and coastal ecosystems, and the species they support, as well as the improvement of living conditions for the people who depend on them while supporting government and stakeholder coordination.
The Senior Marine Manager will also specifically lead the new Solwara Bilong Yumi Project, funded through the Bezos Earth Fund, with the objective of increasing the proportion of PNG’s Exclusive Economic Zone under effective and active management, while establishing a pathway toward PNG's longer-term marine 30x30 ambitions. In this role, the Senior Marine Manager will work with members of the WCS PNG team to engage the National Oceans Office (NOO), the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), the National Fisheries Authority (NFA), and other agencies and partners to achieve new inshore marine spatial planning and management measures that are legally designated, as well as with appropriate capacity building for communities and partners in PNG. The role will also require working with the National Fisheries Authority to design and achieve offshore marine spatial planning and the designation of PNG’s first offshore marine protections. Furthermore, the role will continue to ensure inshore management effectiveness within established marine protected areas in New Ireland Province, while working with consultants to develop monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) systems for PNG’s inshore and offshore waters. The Senior Marine Manager will ensure close engagement with the PNG Biodiversity and Climate Fund, as well as lead efforts to identify other potential sustainable financing mechanisms for supporting marine conservation in PNG.
The Senior Marine Manager will supervise and collaborate with the Marine Programme (Administration) and Kimbe Programme Manager to be responsible for the overall management of the WCS PNG Marine Programme, including ensuring timely and quality achievement of project objectives and deliverables, and for donor reporting and tracking subgrants and subawards, with the support from the WCS PNG, Regional and Global teams. The position is full-time and will be based in Port Moresby.
Major Responsibilities: • Strategic coordination, technical oversight, and overall management of all PNG Marine projects while serving as primary project manager for the Solwara Bilong Yumi Project to ensure these projects are well implemented, of high quality, and meet intended objectives, timelines and deliverables. This includes: • Overseeing and maintaining up to date project management processes and systems to ensure field teams and partners are delivering activities and expected results on schedule. • Working with the Stakeholder Relations and Policy Manager to lead the new Bezos Earth Fund Project, through engagement with CEPA, NFA and other government agencies and partners to achieve new, legally designated inshore marine spatial planning and management measures, including associated capacity building for communities and partners • The development, management and monitoring of project workplans and indicators to ensure project strategies and activities are implemented with the highest technical standards, to provide strong financial oversight to reduce over/underspending, and ensure compliance with donor and WCS policies and protocols. • Reviewing project outputs and deliverables to ensure timely delivery and high standards of technical quality; • Collating and maintaining records of information from field teams on project achievements and challenges; • Contributing to proposal development and marine strategic planning.
• Supervise and provide regular oversight to WCS PNG field team leads in New Ireland, Manus and West New Britain provinces, the WCS PNG Sharks and Rays Advisor, and marine sub-grantees across PNG to ensure high quality and timely delivery of project activities. This will require frequent travel to marine sites to coordinate within country project delivery. • Maintain inshore management effectiveness within the two established marine protected areas in New Ireland Province, ensuring overall implementation of the management plans, and establishing active and effective monitoring, and compliance measures. • Lead the development of contracts and sub-agreements for partner organisations and consultants, focused on the establishment of marine management initiatives in PNG provinces where WCS does not work, and for establishing offshore marine protection and monitoring, control and surveillance schemes. • Manage and provide oversight to all sub-awards, contracts and project procurement to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of activities and services; • Coordinate with WCS staff and liaise with the Biodiversity and Climate Fund (BCF) to support its successful operationalisation and functioning as the country’s first conservation trust fund, as well as identify other opportunities for sustainable financing mechanisms for marine management at the national level. • Work with the Conservation Director to lead oversight of reporting requirements and ensure standardised community engagement and monitoring protocols are followed to enable consistent community engagement and reporting against the donor results framework; • Ensure coordination with WCS PNG partners who have activities that overlap in community tenure areas where WCS PNG engages. • Represent WCS PNG interests in meetings, conferences, and workshops, both within PNG and overseas where required. • Additionally, as WCS PNG is a flexible organisation, staff members are expected to undertake any other tasks that are allocated to them but which are not part of their regular job description.
Qualification Requirements: Minimum Requirements: • Master’s degree in a relevant field, including though not limited to marine management, marine science, marine policy, marine environmental protection or a degree in other fields with substantial experience working on marine conservation issues. Candidates with a bachelor's degree and extensive relevant experience will also be considered. • Demonstrated experience in spatial and area-based marine management, community-based marine management, marine monitoring, control and surveillance, and/or marine and estuarine species protection. • Extensive project management experience, especially on large and complex projects involving multiple subgrantees. • At least five years of experience working with international marine management organisations or local civil society organisations in Asia or the Pacific. Candidates with experience working in PNG are preferred. • Demonstrated experience in financial and grants management, including budget oversight and subgrant/subaward administration. • Demonstrated experience in problem solving and adherence to institutional and donor policies. • Ability to work sensitively and effectively with people of diverse cultures, value systems, perspectives and levels of education, and to manage and work with staff in these contexts. • Proven ability to manage, guide and support multicultural and geographically dispersed teams and staff of different capacities. Strong cultural competency is a requirement. • Good communication and presentation skills; ability to persuasively convey the mission of WCS to diverse groups, especially to government, local stakeholders and constituents who are critical to the organisation’s overall prosperity. • Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. • Professional proficiency in oral and written English. Candidates with knowledge of Tok Pisin are preferred. • Experience with monitoring and evaluation and safeguards management is preferred. • Willingness to travel extensively within PNG.
WCS is an equal opportunity employer, and the organisation complies with all employment labor laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring, ensuring that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The organisation provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organisation does not discriminate for employment based on age, colour, disability, gender identify, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by laws and regulations