Policy and Advocacy Officer

Overview

The East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) prides itself as the voice of conservation in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for over 60 years. We are one of the oldest membership-based, public benefit conservation organisation in East Africa having been established in 1961 through a merger of the Kenyan and Tanzanian Wildlife Societies (both formed in 1956) and wildlife lovers from Uganda. We strive to promote the protection of our natural heritage, threatened species and habitats through policy advocacy, conservation education and conservation programmes.

We take a lead role in facilitating and contributing to the formulation and implementation of policies and laws on natural resource management with a view to safeguarding ecosystems and the biodiversity therein for the socioeconomic welfare of the people of East Africa. We focus our conservation programmes on four main thematic areas: Wildlife, Forests, Wetlands and Marine Life. EAWLS, in its new Strategic Plan, seeks to combat biodiversity loss and degradation by addressing five strategic issues including climate change, deforestation,
environmental pollution, weak environmental governance and infrastructure development. In order to effectively address the aforementioned issues, advocacy has been identified as a key approach.

To complement our conservation agenda, we host Kenya Forests Working Group (KFWG) and Kenya Wetlands Forum (KWF), which provide vital avenues to deliver on our core mandate of environmental advocacy.

The East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) seeks to recruit an innovative, creative and proactive individual to support the implementation of its advocacy agenda including coordinating the activities Kenya Forests Working Group (KFWG) and Kenya Wetlands Forum (KWF) as well as support the implementation of various conservation projects and programmes. Reporting to Programmes & Advocacy Manager and working closely with EAWLS Communications team;

Responsibilities

Tasks and Responsibilities
1) Coordinating the activities of KFWG and KWF on research, advocacy, capacity building and networking;
2) Assisting in building a relationship between policy makers, opinion formers, relevant institutions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other relevant partners to promote EAWLS advocacy agenda;
3) Supporting the implementation of the KFWG and KWF Strategic Plans;
4) Updating and revising the KFWG and KWF work plans based on formal platforms discussions and periodically report on activities against the work plans;
5) Media monitoring for opportunities relevant to EAWLS and its conservation forums and communicating the identified opportunities to members regularly;
6) Ensure that periodic meetings are convened and minutes recorded and circulated promptly;
7) Regularly updates the membership registry and mailing lists for the forums;
8) Support in mobilizing resources through donation appeals, partnership building and seeking unsolicited and unrestricted funding for the implementation of EAWLS and its conservation forums’ advocacy initiatives;
9) Supporting the implementation of advocacy grants strictly in line with organisational and donor policies and standards;
10) Initiating and supporting the implementation of environmental advocacy campaigns on contemporary issues aligned to EAWLS strategic issues including weak environmental governance, deforestation, climate change, environmental pollution and infrastructure development;
11) Keeping track of natural resource conservation-related issues and sending regular updates to members;
12) Maintain constant communication with platforms members to ensure synergies between their individual organization activities and those of the conservation forums;
13) Assist in developing advocacy strategies, campaigns and action plans on case-to-case basis aligned to EAWLS strategic issues
14) Assist in developing content for assorted advocacy materials including Op’Eds, policy briefs, press releases, petitions, information briefs and memoranda, among others;
15) Participate in regional conservation dialogues and forums to promote cross-border collaboration with Uganda and Tanzania in environmental advocacy and natural resource management to increase EAWLS in country presence
16) Representing EAWLS in forums’ official occasions and functions, including workshops & conferences to ensure EAWLS’ work is recognised and to develop key partnerships;
17) Providing fresh and regular content for EAWLS’ and forums’ websites and social media platforms;
18) Tracking ongoing conservation policy processes at county, national and regional levels to enable EAWLS to proactively and meaningfully engage in the processes;
19) Undertaking other duties as may be assigned by your supervisor.

Additional education

• The applicant must possess at least Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies, Forestry, Agroforestry, Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, Environmental Policy, Fisheries and Aquatic Science and any other relevant courses.
• Masters Degree will be an added advantage

Experience

Additional experience

• At least three (3) years’ relevant experience in coordinating consortium, forums, working groups or in project management;
• Knowledgeable on contemporary issues in the natural resource sector;
• Highly organised and able to engage multiple stakeholders including the private sector, donors, governments, non-state actors and the general public;
• Capability in writing policy briefs, reports, commissioning policy reports and lobbying decision-makers is desirable;
• Motivated and inspired to take concrete actions for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Good oral and written communications and facilitation skills, and demonstrated research abilities and interest;

Additional skills

• Creative, innovative, aggressive and keen on details;
• Internet proficiency especially on e-platforms for webinars such as miro, zoom, etc as well as proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint) is desirable;
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in policy processes.
• Commitment to organizational and legal compliance, and responsible management of donorfunds;
• Team player, with ability to seek out views of others and build positive working relationships.

Terms and conditions

How to apply

• Applications, consisting of a covering letter explaining why you feel you should be considered for this role and a full CV (tailored to the role and should contain contact details for at least two professional referees) should be sent as a single
  PDF document to info@eawildlife.org.
• Please mark your application Policy and Advocacy Officer
• The closing date for applications is 24th January 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• The applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The East African Wild Life Society is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not charge for anyapplication orrecruitment