The Tour du Valat is a private research foundation working for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands. Founded in 1954 by Dr. Luc Hoffmann and based in the Camargue, it is at the cutting edge of multidisciplinary fields of research, building bridges between science, management and public policies, and drawing up management plans. The Tour du Valat has internationally recognized scientific expertise, and provides practical responses to problems regarding the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. The Tour du Valat’s projects are carried out in the Camargue and around the Mediterranean Basin. It employs 80 people, including 10 researchers and about 8 Ph.D. and other students.
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of autonomous, national non-governmental conservation organisations, with a large grassroots membership, in 121 countries and territories. BirdLife works together as a Partnership to conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, by working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. BirdLife is the global authority on the status of bird species, has unparalleled technical expertise in bird and biodiversity assessment, and provides a global outreach through its national Partners and decentralised Secretariat.
For further information on the Tour du Valat (TdV) and BirdLife International (BLI), visit www.tourduvalat.org/en/ [1] and www.birdlife.org [2]
Context
Saltpans are a critical component of many coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin, they support local economy and provide permanent jobs, use renewable resources and when adequately managed, provide an excellent habitat for many common and/or threatened species of birds (both resident and migratory). Unfortunately, Saltpans are often abandoned or mismanaged, and this has immediate and long-term consequences for both humans and birds.
Tour du Valat and BirdLife International, supported by the MAVA Foundation, plan to find common objectives and synergies amongst some of the most threatened saltpans in the Mediterranean and identify a series of conservation and communication actions that deliver concrete, tangible results.
Overall purpose of the Job
The winning applicant will lead the identification, planning and delivery of an international conservation and/or communication project proposal focusing on the conservation of key saltpans in the Mediterranean region.
To do so, it is expected that the winning applicant will:
- Identify, in cooperation with TdV and BLI, the final list of sites/countries who will take part in the project. This will include planning and leading meetings with potential candidates, establishing criteria for site selection and advising on which sites to choose.
- Identify and classify the different donors (EU, non EU, institutional or private) which could potentially fund such project and organise meetings with them so as to assess their suitability for this project.
- Lead the writing of the project proposal, including liaising with the multinational partners, TdV and BLI staff.
- Submit, within the agreed deadline, the abovementioned project.
Essential skills and experience
- Proven record as a successful project writer, ideally within the European Union and/or the Mediterranean region
- Good understanding of the key threats affecting migratory birds or saltpans is highly desirable, but not compulsory.
- Experience in fundraising for LIFE, INTERREG or other EU financial mechanisms highly desirable.
- Proven experience of working at international level, being able to maintain regular contact with a wide range of people, acting with diplomacy and obeying deadlines.
- Excellent written and communication skills and a good mastery of the Microsoft Office package and other similar tools, with special attention to those that allow working in the “cloud”.
- Desirable language:
– A full command of English (both writing and speaking) is compulsory
– A good knowledge of the French language (speaking) is highly advisable.
– Another Mediterranean language (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic) would be an additional asset, but it is not compulsory.
- Able to travel.
Job offer
- Reporting to: Head of Species Department at the Tour du Valat
- Full-time: 35 hours per week
- Salary: 2000 – 2,500 Euros/month
- Contract duration: 6 months.
- Location: Arles, France
- Start and end date: Mid-January 2019 – Mid-July 2019
How to apply ?
To apply for the post, please send by email to [email protected]:
- a letter of application stating very clearly your previous experience in this area, including, if possible, prove of past projects you wrote or helped to submit
- your resume /CV.
- 2 reference person with their detailed contacts, including a recent employer.
Documents must be in English, stated “Wetland Conservation” in the email subject line.
Deadline for the application: 31 December 2018.