VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
1. Overview
Founded 125 years ago, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is one of the world’s preeminent field-based conservation organizations, operating more than 500 field conservation programs and offices in 65 countries, including in Rwanda and 14 other African countries. WCS headquarters is in the Bronx, New York, and globally, has more than 4,000 staff. With its country program office located in Kigali, WCS has been supporting research and conservation projects in Rwanda for 50 years.
WCS has submitted a bid to the Ministry of Environment for a seven-month contract to help develop MoE’s funding proposal to the Green Climate Fund. The proposal is for a project entitled Building Resilience of Vulnerable Communities to Climate Variability in Rwanda’s Congo Nile Divide Through Forest and Landscape Restoration to increase climate resilience of vulnerable rural communities in the Congo-Nile Divide, reduce CO2 emissions, build capacity for integrated spatial planning, and increase the extent and integrity of forest ecosystems.
If successful in its bid, WCS anticipates hiring a Project Assistant for the duration of the seven-month proposal development contract with the possibility of extension for further program-related phases of work. The project team will consist of approximately 20 WCS staff and consultants located in Rwanda and internationally, working simultaneously on various proposal components including online/desk research and data analysis, field research, stakeholder consultation (meetings, workshops, focus groups, or virtual meetings as required), budget development, and report-writing.
- Application details
Positions to be filled: Project Assistant
Position Summary:
The Project Assistant will be responsible for providing a wide range of administrative and logistical support for both internal and external stakeholder meetings, team and stakeholder travel, project communications, report development, filing, and minute-taking.
Major duties
- Coordination and smooth functioning of all project activities, including maintenance of relevant documentation and databases, communication with Government and NGO partners, and timely reporting to MoE and WCS;
- Supporting internal planning meetings and team coordination, communication
- Coordinating external meetings with government officials, NGO representatives, rural communities
- Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Required qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in communications, project management, international or sustainable development, conservation, or similar field OR at least five years of relevant experience in a professional setting;
- Strong command of Microsoft Office, OneDrive/Sharepoint and/or Google Drive, internet, and virtual meeting platforms (Skype, Zoom, Teams, etc);
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with English fluency, written and spoken, required
- Superior planning and organizational skills with a proven ability to meet tight deadlines
- Experience working with large, dispersed, and diverse teams
- Experience and comfort communicating with government officials as well as rural communities
- Strong work ethic with attention to detail
Submission details and deadline:
The interested candidates are required to submit their applications (Cover letter and CV) by email to wcsrwanda@wcs.org before 25/02/2021 at 5:00 pm. The subject of the email should be “Application to the position of Project Assistant”.
- Terms of reference
Detailed duties and responsibilities include:
- Coordinate high-level meetings with government officials (national and district), NGO and private sector representatives, academic institutions, and project team members, including scheduling, arranging venues, refreshments, and transport as needed—in-person or virtually, as required
- Coordinate field visits, meetings, and focus groups with rural communities
- Write invitations, track RSVPs, and maintain records of meeting participants
- Attend meetings and taking detailed minutes
- Support compilation of reports and deliverables, as required
- Develop and maintain a cloud-based filing system for project data, reports, time tracking, and other records
- Work closely with WCS Rwanda Country Director and finance team to track consultant inputs, invoices, and payments
- Maintain regular communications with project leads and team members both in Rwanda and internationally, including scheduling meetings involving multiple time zones
- Support travel logistics for international staff and consultants
- Other duties as assigned
This position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda, with some travel throughout the project area (Congo-Nile Divide, as needed), and report to the national and international project co-leaders. The position will also work closely with the WCS Rwanda Country Director. This role does not have supervisory responsibility.
