Program Manager-Madagascar

Position: Program Manager
Reports to: Country Director
Location: Antananarivo with frequent travel (at least 30%) to the main Madagascar office field sites; and project sites
Contract Type: Open-ended contract

Organization Background

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources.

About Madagascar Program

The WCS Madagascar Program has been working in Madagascar since 1993 to ensure the long-term conservation of the country’s unique biological diversity with a focus on activities in our priority landscapes and seascapes. The WCS Madagascar Program works to ensure the long-term conservation of the country’s unique biological diversity with a focus on activities in our priority landscape/seascapes. We achieve this through terrestrial and marine protected area management, engagement with local communities to support them to become effective stewards of natural resources, environmental education, and a program of applied conservation science. WCS’s interventions are focused on the MaMaBay (Makira-Masoala-Antongil Bay) landscape/Seascape program in the northeast of Madagascar with interventions in and around Makira Natural Park – where WCS is the delegated manager of the Park, Masoala National Park, and Antongil Bay. We also work in the Southwest and Northwest of the country to support the management of a network of locally managed marine areas, environmental education, community engagement, and research and conservation of marine mammals.

The WCS Madagascar portfolio also includes strategic projects such as the Sustainable Wildlife Management – SWM (funded by the European Union), the Legacy Landscape Fund (funded by KfW), Pêche Côtière Durable (PCD) financed by KfW, SWOIFish, and other grants.

Job Purpose

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Madagascar Office is seeking a dynamic, experienced, and motivated Program Manager to provide technical, administrative and program implementation support to the Madagascar team. The successful candidate will provide programmatic and coordination support to the Country Director.

Candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the necessary experience and skills to work within a challenging, dynamic and complex program. They will need to demonstrate that they can grasp the complexities of situations as they arise and adapt work accordingly. The Program Manager will be part of a rapidly growing WCS program in Madagascar, with the opportunity to interact and exchange experiences with technical support staff in the region.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Working closely with the Country Director, and liaising regularly with the Senior Management team in Madagascar and the Technical Advisor in Kigali, the Program Manager will:

• Support the Deputy Country Director for conservation to develop and implement of a 3-year strategic plan for Madagascar.
• Support the development of annual work plans and budgets aligned with the overall Madagascar strategic plan.
• Oversee and support in the growth of the MEL department in Madagascar.
• Lead coordination between the MEL, Logistics & Procurement and Finance departments to ensure that project activities are developed.
• Support and contribute to donor reporting, program development and proposal preparation as needed.
• Support onboarding assistance for new projects in Madagascar.
• Maintain good project documentation and archives.
• Provide coordination support in the implementation of improved management systems and procedures.
• Provide, with the Deputy Country Director in charge of program development and partnership, oversight and coordination for Madagascar partners and consultants working across the various programs in WCS Madagascar.
• Provide training and mentoring to the Madagascar team – especially in the areas of results-based management, work planning and budgeting, report writing, learning and adaptation, and communications.
• Ensure, with the Deputy Country Director in charge of program development and partnership, that internal and external partners are kept regularly up to date on project activities, deliverables and events.
• Ensure the development and maintenance of an effective grant contract management system for the country program.
• Provide general program support to the Madagascar Country Director as needed.
• Support the Deputy Country Director in charge of program development and partnership, in representing WCS to external donors and stakeholders as appropriate.