Project Head/OiC - Species Recovery & Protected Area Recovery

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Masters Degree in Natural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Ecological Sciences and aligned courses.

2. Minimum 7 years of experience (leadership and project running roles preferred)

3. Should be proficient in Ecological data collection and analysis.

4. Should have understanding of social dimensions of wildlife and nature conservation.

5. Should have leadership skills and ability to manage projects and teams.

6. Should be fluent in Hindi language (mandatory)

7. Should have demonstrated experience in report writing and technical publications.

Role Context: The Project Head is in-charge of implementation the Gharial Recovery Project & Valmiki Recovery Project which intends to enhance abundance and distribution of Gharial contributing towards downgrading its threat level through appropriate social and ecological (in-situ & ex-situ) methods. The project head is a managerial position who will be responsible for achievement of the Outcomes and Outputs of the project as per the approved Plan of the project. The position seeks to steer the Valmiki Recovery Project having two major components: Habitat Restoration & Human-Carnivore Conflict Mitigation.

The Project Head will ensure the completion of all activities envisaged under the project, production of all outputs planned and achievement of all outcomes under the project. This would be achieved by managing the human resources, managing budgets and liaising with the government and non-government stakeholders, including the forest department and the district council.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Project planning and implementation with the active involvement of team members.

2. Assessing development needs of the project to achieve project impact and initiate writing concept note / project proposal drafts.

3. Develop draft of progress and final reports

4. Manage the budget as per the approved Project Plan

5. Ideate new components in the project to achieve the impact

6. Be a point person to ensure high quality in implementation of activities in the project

7. Be a point person to collate and manage project related data in a proper format and share it with team members

8. Ensure maintenance of field station and field camps, proper use, maintenance and inventory of project equipment and assets.

9. Liaise with government department officials, local NGOs and key stakeholders

10. Ensure statutory compliance relevant to the project, in coordination with the state facilitator and HQ team

11. Manage human resources of the project

1. Project Planning, management and monitoring

a) Conduct situation analysis and Theory of Change to develop outline of the plan and Logical Framework (new project / new triennium)

b) Prepare the draft of the project plan and work plan of the Project Plan in consultation with the team members

c) Review team members’ target every month and report to PI and DH on quarterly basis

d) Participate and present monthly progress of the project in the monthly review meetings

e) Conduct self-review of the project plan on quarterly basis and share the review with the project staff and DH to facilitate quarterly review of the project

2. Fund & Financial Management

a) Responsible for budget management and booking of expenditure under appropriate activity head for each donor

b) Ensure that the funds are utilized judiciously for achieving the anticipated outcome by implementing appropriate activities

c) Approve the cash-flow and expenditure of the team members as per the policy and procedures of WTI

d) Maintain records of expenditure of the project and share with the team in review meetings

e) Make timely budget change request to the CFO, PI and DH for approval and mid-term corrections in the project plan

f) Ensure that travel, accommodation and subsistence expenditures by team members are in accordance with their entitlement. Take prior approvals from CFO and DH in case of any deviation due to emergent reasons.

3. Donor Co-ordination

a) Coordinate with specified donors, if assigned the role of Donor/s Point Person by the organization.

b) Provide timely update to the Donor Point Person/s of the project for reporting project progress and deliverables to the donor

4. External Communication / Co-ordination

a) Interact with media on project related communication, prepare press notes / release on project events, and represent the organization at appropriate forum.

b) Liaison with forest department, line departments, non-government organizations, academic institutions etc. to facilitate project implementation and associated matters.

5. MIS & Reports

a) Responsible for collection of quality data (both quantitative and qualitative) by the project team for analysis and monitoring, validation of the primary data of the project, and maintaining and sharing of the data on shared drive with team members and HQ.

b) Ensure that the project data is updated on monthly basis and shared with the team.

c) Ensure that the record of primary data collector is maintained in the data base for future credit sharing

d) Organize donor reports keeping in mind the donor (CSR, Charities and Foundation, Public funds) with appropriate primary analysis, and maps and figures.

e) Draft donor report as per the donor format, or standard format of a technical report and submit to the DH well in advance for timely submission.

f) Ensure that the periodic reports and other regular updates, and photographs and video footages of the project are shared with the Communication Division for appropriate communication and branding needs of the project.

g) Ensure the preparation and publication of project outcomes and achievements, including conference presentations, following the approval process for ideas, analysis, and journal selection involving the Principal Investigator, Division Head, Chief of Species, and Chief Ecologist.

6. Human resources management

a) Ensure PMRs of all team members are done meticulously on time

b) Approve leave of absence of all staff in reporting relation

c) Organize regular meetings with the staff to record grievances and issues related to the project

d) Motivate teams to give quality results by promoting activities that encourage team building

e) Scope and facilitate skill development of team members