Manager Marine Program - Karachi (WWF Pakistan) Closing date /2021-11-15

Manager Marine Program - Karachi

Introduction

Contract type: Manager Marine - Long-term position (desk-based and fieldwork) – Grade D2

The long-term employee position is being offered as a full-time position to be based in Karachi, Pakistan to supervise WWF-Pakistan’s marine programme, and engage primarily in the areas of strategic planning, programme management, conducting scientific research, coordination and networking within WWF network as well as the northern Indian Ocean countries including Government of Pakistan and work through practical and hands-on exposure and involvement in WWF-Pakistan’s development projects in the coastal areas of Pakistan.

Background

Pakistan has a coastline of 1,050 Km, and an EEZ of approximately 290,000 sq. Km with the territorial waters covering an area of 24,000 Km2. It borders the productive North Arabian Sea and is famous for its upwelling phenomenon. The continental shelf of Balochistan only measures 15-40 Km, which makes it dynamic in the fisheries sense and provides livelihood opportunities for fishers residing along the coast of Pakistan. The coast of Balochistan is comprised of sandy beaches, whereas the Sindh coast is comprised of creeks and the continental shelf is shallow, unlike Balochistan which is steep. Both the coastlines support a wide variety of marine species. The Balochistan and Karachi coasts are famous for nesting sites of green turtles, where around 140 species of elasmobranchs (Sharks, rays, skates, and guitarfishes) and 19 species of cetaceans have been recorded from Pakistan’s waters. This showcases the rich marine resources of Pakistan and its potential of supporting livelihoods of around 1 million. 

Fisheries are the major economic resource and comprise around 1% of GDP of Pakistan. It is being exploited unsustainably and has severe pressure, with increasing vessel numbers operating in the Northern Arabian Sea and resource practices it is important to put a cap on the exploitation of these resources. Although Pakistan’s fishing fleets are mostly small-scale in nature, yet there is no regulation and the stakes of artisanal fishers are at risk. In order to better understand the nature of artisanal fishers and their use of bait in fisheries, it is important to encompass knowledge and management efforts to secure the vested interests of artisanal fishers.

Major Functions:

The goals of WWF are to ensure that marine fisheries and the ocean ecosystems surrounding the Arabian Sea are sustainably managed to ensure the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity and supporting livelihoods of natural resource-dependent communities in the Northern Indian Ocean. WWF-Pakistan has identified the following meta-goals to be achieved by the Manager Marine Programme:

Goal: By 2030, marine fisheries and the ocean ecosystems are sustainably managed to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and supporting livelihoods of natural resource-dependent communities in the Northern Indian Ocean WWF-Pakistan has also developed mid-term goals guiding to achieve the results by 2030, these are for reducing bycatch and habitat protection which are as follows:

Bycatch: By 2030, reduce 25% of bycatch in tuna gillnet fisheries in the Northern Indian Ocean through the development of the national and regional plan of action for sharks and rays;

Habitat Protection: By 2025, notification of two new Marine Protected Areas in Pakistan is achieved covering at least an area of 300 Km2 in the Arabian Sea providing refugia for endangered, threatened, and protected species;

Fisheries Improvement: By 2030, five fisheries improvement projects (FIPs) are underway leading to MSC certification in small-scale to large-scale fisheries in Pakistan and NIO region.

WWF-Pakistan strongly believes in order to do so, it needs to work together with provincial and federal fisheries departments at the national level, regional governments, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, CITES, CMS, IOSEA turtle MoU among other multilateral agreements (such as CBD), NGOs/CSOs and industry stakeholders to achieve these goals.

In this capacity, WWF-Pakistan is looking for a ‘Manager Marine Programme’ to engage its efforts on networking and coordination, program management and development, research and feeding the science into management and policy while working at the ground level and ensuring consistency across a diversity of approaches (i.e. ecosystem-based fisheries management, government relationships, fisheries improvement projects, tuna RMFO engagement in addition to CITES, CMS among others). Moreover, responsibly guiding the project team and supporting the ongoing programmes of WWFPakistan at a broader strategic level.

The position is responsible for maintaining momentum and garnering further support from key stakeholders on priority areas of work i.e. tuna fisheries and bycatch mitigation, fisheries improvements, habitat management, project development, building and strengthening WWF-Pakistan as an integral partner of the wider WWF network, while also evolving the work on fisheries with broad-based science approach networking and aligning the work with WWF’s Ocean strategy. The Manager will be part of WWF-Pakistan’s marine programme and will perform among other functions the following:

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY:

The position is responsible to develop, implement and sustain small, medium, and large-size projects and related activities of WWF-PAKISTAN. The position will ensure compliance with the technical & financial conditions of the said projects and facilitate/execute the related monitoring plans. He / She will build linkages and viable partnerships through networking with relevant stakeholders, within and outside WWF network and guarantee sustained conservation work in the Arabian Sea by securing continued funding.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Lead WWF-Pakistan’s marine team in programme planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting through periodical review of technical and financial reports, work plans, monitoring plans and ensure deliverables are met at desired quality within project timeframes;
• Develop partnerships with local and regional governments, international fisheries experts on tuna and tuna-like species, sea turtles, cetaceans, sharks and rays for research, recovery and mitigation of bycatch among other species, including other areas of work;
• Offer leadership to WWF Network from the NIO region for networking and coordination for ACAIs and Network initiatives, develop collaboration with ongoing projects in the region, donors, regional partners and other WWF offices where appropriate;
• Liaise with WWF network offices to ensure communication, coordination, collaboration, and consultation on project activities, develop and share communication materials, stories from the field, case studies keeping them abreast of work undertaken by WWF-Pakistan;
• Support Government of Pakistan and facilitate the development of policy and strategic documents i.e., national plan of action for sharks, IUU plan of action, and regional plan of action for sharks in the NIO among other ETP species;
• Develop scientific publications and reports, with a marine team, where appropriate to provide management advice to the fisheries organizations i.e., Indian Ocean Tuna Commission among other intergovernmental organizations like RFMOs;
• Supervise planning and implementation of all ongoing and future marine projects, assess and evaluate further course of action and provide advice to senior management in WWF assisting them in shaping the outlook of the marine programme;
• Assist the project team in establishing monitoring systems on the impacts of large-scale fishing on the marine ecosystem;
• Build and strengthen regional alliances, conduct dialogues, facilitate discussions and provide platform and capacity building opportunities for key stakeholders;
• Develop a list of all network partners to include on distribution lists for communication materials consultations and updates and newsletters;
• Maintain and update the Oceans practice webpage on the WWF website (wwfpak.org)
• Seek funding opportunities for the programme of work identified by WWF-Pakistan, coordinate grants, donors, and project agreements for submission of high-quality project/ concept notes and proposals;
• Identification of regional collaborative research and/or conservation opportunities and assistance with coordination of project implementation;
• Advise project teams on agenda preparation, content, and discussions for regional technical meetings and capacity building workshops;
• Communicate efficiently and effectively within the programme and the WWF network and external stakeholders and keep the Director / Regional Head (Sindh and Balochistan) and Ocean Practice focal point (Pakistan) informed;
• Provide support to and regularly communicate with the WWF offices in order to ensure WWF’s interventions are in line with regional and global initiatives.
• Other tasks, if any, are assigned by Director / Regional Head to meet organizational objectives.

FINANCIAL & ADMINISTRATIVE:

• Provide administrative support to the marine projects in Arabian Sea under his/her supervision;
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of monthly financial data/reports as per organizational and donors requirements;
• Verify and endorse project expenditures in the field as approved in the annual project budget by the competent authority;
• Ensure the proper implementation of financial and administrative guidelines issued from time to time, and guarantee compliance with the financial terms & conditions of the projects under his / her supervision;
• Facilitate Finance and Administration Department in conducting internal and external audits;
• Sanction leaves to all staff under his or her supervision under intimation to Administration Department as per laid down procedure; and
• Operate related bank account(s) of WWF-Pakistan as co-signatory as, when and where required.

Key Targets for Marine Manager:

• Ensure sufficient funds to support the marine team and Oceans practice with a minimum of 1,000,000 USD per annum;
• Support Regional Head (Sindh and Balochistan) in developing relationships and engage at least two strategic partners including international institutions/organizations in field visits and introduction to programme of work of the Oceans practice in Pakistan while being able to support fundraising and/or building capacity of WWF staff;
• Secure funding for the continuation of the Marine and Coastal Program Advisory Committee (MCPAC) for strategic guidance and cooperation;
• Develop linkages and strengthen partnerships with government agencies in Pakistan and regionally for developing large-scale proposals for fisheries management in the NIO region;
• Develop and implement at least ONE research project that cross-cuts Oceans, Wildlife and other practices;
• Support the WWF-Network (global shark and ray initiative and oceans practices) for improved coordination, lobbying, and advocacy with regional countries;
• Ensure endorsement of NPOA Sharks and develop strong linkages with provincial and federal fisheries departments, GOP for implementation of the NPOA;
• Continue to share program success stories at least TWO International forums and develop articles/blogs for media outreach;
• Facilitate strong national and global visibility of WWF-Pakistan (activities) across the Oceans Practice by engaging as a core team member, lead on various platforms and support WWF Global leaders in sharks and rays, tuna HIIs and IUU fishing in the NIO and IO regions;
• Develop at least two strong professionals in the team as a legacy for marine programme;
• Secure additional funding and support implementation of at least TWO FIP action plans in the NIO;
• Pilot bycatch reduction techniques in at least TWO countries in the NIO region;
• Ensure effective implementation (planning, monitoring and reporting) of on-going projects and timely submission of technical and financial reports to donor/s as per requirements in the project agreements signed;
• Develop partnerships with at least two countries in the Northern Indian Ocean with 1 formal signing of MoU (Srilanka, Oman, Somalia, India, Iran etc);
• Formulate informal group at NIO region and support bycatch work through IOSEA, IUCN Shark Specialist Group, ISTS among others;
• Showcase WWF-Pakistan as a strong player at and international forums by engaging in multinational agreements and becoming part of the official government delegation in conferences of parties (COPs) such as CMS/CITES/CBD and even with t-RFMOs (IOTC).

 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

• A proven personal commitment to nature conservation;
• A strong aptitude for team work;
• Willingness to work in harsh conditions and physical fitness to work for extended periods in a challenging physical and social environment;
• Excellent report-writing and computer skills;
• Working knowledge of Sindhi and Balochi languages preferred; and
• Age not exceeding 40 years on the day of submitting application for this job.

 

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

• Proven problem-solving skills and results orientation;
• Multi-tasking;
• Good English language reading, writing and speaking skills;
• Demonstrated interpersonal communication and advocacy skills;
• Sensitivity to gender and other current social issues in countries such as Pakistan;
• A vibrant and amicable personality.

 

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE

• Minimum qualifications equivalent to a master in Natural Sciences – a qualification in marine sciences will be an asset;
• Minimum 07 years of relevant work experience;
• Working Knowledge:

• Excellent understanding and knowledge of marine conservation and fisheries-related issues;
• Experience in project/programme development and management;
• Experience in working with fisher communities on management, policy, and governance-related issues; Expertise in writing quality proposals, monitoring frameworks, technical reports, research articles, media blogs and policy briefs;
• Familiarity with Arabian Sea/ sea-scape level conservation work;
• Experience in fund-raising for projects and programmes;
• Knowledge about the dynamics associated with coastal, offshore, and high seas biodiversity conservation, fisheries development, and livelihood issues in Pakistan;
• Knowledge of subject matter from fisheries ecology, and coral reef management, and working at provincial and federal government departments will be considered an advantage.

Closing date /2021-11-15

To view the complete job description and apply to this position, click "Apply Now" below.

APPLY NOW OFFICIAL LINK