JOB DETAILS:

United Nations Environment Programme Wildlife Data Specialist (1 post) Switzerland UNEP Jobs 2024

United Nations Environment Programme looking for “Wildlife Data Specialist (1 post)”. Applicants with an Advanced degree may apply on or before 17-Jul-24.

The United Nations Environment Programme has published a job vacancy announcement on 27-Jun-24 for qualified applicants to fill in the vacant post of Wildlife Data Specialist (1 post) to be based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more jobs, please visit https://unjoblink.org

Company Name: United Nations Environment Programme

Job Title: Wildlife Data Specialist (1 post)

Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland

Country: Switzerland

Application Deadline: 17-Jul-24

Responsibilities:

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between States. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival (www.cites.org). The CITES Secretariat is administered by UN Environment and is located at the Geneva duty station. This assignment is part of the CITES Secretariat’s work under the Outreach and Projects Unit, Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme. The MIKE programme incorporates the system established by the CITES Conference of the Parties to monitor levels of illegal killing of elephants at more than 90 conservation areas spread across 45 elephant range States in Africa and Asia, with the goal of providing reliable information and building capacity for the management of elephant populations. Under the overall supervision of Chief, Outreach and Projects Unit, and in close consultation with the Programme Management Officers of the MIKE Programme team, the Wildlife Data Analysis Specialist will study the different MIKE data collection methodologies, and analysis processes to assess the feasibility of (1) expanding the application of the same data collection methodologies to other wildlife species in Africa, and (2) enhancing and augment the current MIKE datasets to enable its use in decision-making on other environmental issues such as climate change and human-wildlife conflicts. Minimising the Illegal Killing of Elephants and Other Endangered Species (MIKES) is a project funded by the European Union and implemented under the MIKE programme. It provides support for generating data on the status and trends in African elephant populations, illegal killing and illegal trade in ivory, as well as for activities to strengthen the capacity of wildlife law enforcement agencies at the national level and in focal sites to reduce the impacts of poaching and illegal wildlife trade. The second phase of the project is currently underway which commenced in 2019 and is concluding in 2025. Following the successful implementation of the previous MIKES projects and taking into account the new strategic framework of the current programmatic cycle of the European Commission, the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA) agreed for the CITES Secretariat to develop a third phase of the project for financing by the European Development Fund. This consultancy is intended to support the Secretariat in considering the feasibility of additional applications of the MIKE methodology and datasets, with a view to attracting new and innovating funding sources. Key responsibilities include: 1. Assessment of MIKE Data Collection Methodology: a. Review the current MIKE data collection and analysis processes, including aerial, mortality, and dung surveys through desk studies and discussions/interviews with the CITES MIKE data officers, IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group experts, and others. b. Evaluate each of the methodologies through a SWOT (or similar) analysis. 2. Feasibility to Other Wildlife Species: a. Conduct a desk study on data collection methodologies for other wildlife species, such as African Lions, rhinoceroses, etc. b. Consult/interview the members of the African Carnivores Initiative (ACI), MIKE Technical Advisory Group (TAG), and other relevant experts to investigate the applicability of the MIKE methodologies for other species. c. Identify potential target species and conservation areas that may be used for further testing of expanded data collection efforts. 3. Enhancement of MIKE Data: a. Conduct a study on the applicability of using MIKE-related data to support decision-making on other environmental issues other than poaching trend analysis, such as human-elephant conflicts, drought, etc. b. Identify enabling conditions and enhancement needs for the current MIKE data methodologies that would allow such applications. c. Consult relevant stakeholders to investigate the feasibility of integrating additional data points and analysis metrics. 4. Report preparation: a. Prepare detailed report(s) outlining findings, recommendations, and implementation plans. b. Seek inputs from the CITES Secretariat, MIKE TAG members, ACI members and donors to revise the report. c. Propose additional human resource, expertise and funds needed for implementing the proposed expansion/enhancements. 5. Perform other duties related to the above, as required.