Field Operations Manager African Parks

Job Title: Funding and Reporting Manager

Location of Position: Matusadona National Park

Reports to: Park Manager

African Parks, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, signed a 20year agreement to manage Matusadona National Park on 1^st November 2019.  The Matusadona Conservation Trust has such been established in Zimbabwe as the legal entity managing this Park.  The Matusadona National Park is part of an ecologically diverse landscape in the Zambezian biome. At 1,470 km2, this stunning and unique landscape presents enormous potential for both wildlife and tourism.

The funding and reporting manager is accountable for effective and compliant delivery of the park’s grant portfolio, high-quality reporting for internal and external purposes, and both identifying as well as effectively relaying the park’s funding needs. It is a critical position which links the park’s strategy and operational reality with funders, partners and the teams at APN Headquarters, most notably fundraising. This requires coordination and close collaboration with the park manager, financial controller as well as the other Heads of Department responsible for implementation of park projects, and a thorough understanding of African Parks’ Standard Operating Procedures. Depending on the size and complexity of the park’s funding and reporting requirements, the funding and reporting manager may head up a team including assistant writers and monitoring & evaluation staff, or carry secondary responsibilities tailored to the needs of the park and capacity of the respective candidate, provided these do not impact the implementation of the primary responsibilities.

Primary Responsibility:

• Oversees the park’s grant portfolio, monitoring effective and compliant delivery of respective projects. This includes working closely with the financial controller to ensure correct allocations of donor funding and tracking burn rates, coordinating grant work plans and briefing the heads of department on key deliverables, providing required partner visibility and monitoring risks to grant project components’ delivery. Represents the park in the bi-monthly calls debriefing APN funding and finance teams on grant delivery, key updates and risks.
• Coordinates and collates park reporting, both for internal and external purposes. This includes coordinating with Heads of Departments to ensure AP Reporter data is accurate and up-to-date, park information is accurate on SIMBA as well as the calendar and the monthly and annual reports, operational analytical reports can be compiled and providing timely and high-quality donor reports that reinforce our reputation, in addition to developing general factsheets about the park for external purposes.

Co-ordination and other responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of key strategic documents including but not limited to, five-year business plan, community development plan, regional management plan and annual workplan;
• Assist the Park Manager with various tasks to ensure the continuity of operations;
• Assist the Park Manager in the coordination and support of various departments and the management team, in particular to grow understanding of African Parks’ modus operandi and Standard Operating Procedures;
• Make in-and out-of-country purchases for Matusadona National Park, especially for technical items, uniforms, office equipment etc.;
• Manage the regular reports in conjunction with the Park Manager, such as the monthly reports, AP Reporter and operational reports;
• Coordinate travel arrangements for stakeholders in accordance with African Parks policies and procedures;
• Maintain continuity of work operations by documenting and communicating required actions to management;
• Coordinate workshops, meetings and events as needed and manage a central calendar for Matusadona National Park.

Communications

• Oversees the creation of necessary promotion materials across multiple platforms, including, but not limited to presentations, social content, video, photography, website content, email, external reports, and press releases;
• Manage the IT systems in Matusadona National Park in conjunction with the African Parks IT Manager.

Qualifications, competencies and experience:

• Minimum eight (8) years of experience working in project management or coordination roles, with a preference of five years (5) years with a conservation or non-profit organization;
• Excellent organizational, analytical, oral and written communications skills in English; –           Experience in grant management, report and proposal writing with EU and USAID experience an advantage;
• Communications and/or HR experience is an advantage; – Financial and purchasing/logistics experience an advantage.
• Strong capacity to manage time and competing priorities;
• Strong initiative, perseverance, and resilience;
• Willingness to live in a remote setting and with previous experience living in Africa;