Program Manager / Marine Biologist

Program Manager | Marine Biologist

JOB OFFER - START DECEMBER 2024

Full-time position

We are The Coral Planters and will be happy to have you joining our

crew to launch our new coral restoration project in Mozambique!

The Coral Planters, a French non-profit organization, works to protect marine ecosystems and the Ocean by focusing on 2 areas: raising awareness and restoring coral reefs.

Our aim is to develop further reef restoration projects by expanding our expertise worldwide and to continue raising awareness and educational initiatives. By propagating corals and building reef projects, we restore coral reefs in degraded areas. The transplantation process involves attaching coral fragments onto a coral frame to boost existing reef habitats and/or generate new ones. To date, we have planted 30,000 coral fragments, thanks to our field partners Reefscapers, based in the Maldives and Bluer Ocean Project, based on Rodrigues Island.

Context of the mission

Coral population is in severe decline due to degrading fishing practices and global sea water temperature rise. The Coral Planters is seeking an experienced Marine Biologist to lead and oversee the implementation of a brand-new coral nursery and reef restoration program in Nacala Bay, Mozambique. Our project will take place inside a marine protected area, called Mulala Marine Sanctuary.

Missions:

1. Program Manager

• Train, develop and manage staff members and volunteers involved in coral restoration & marine conservation activities.
• Engage and develop further programs together with the local communities.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to promote marine conservation awareness and education.
• Work with local partners to ensure they have a long-term positive impact in the communities they work in.
• Connect and liaise with in-country partners to build and maintain relationships.

2. Marine / Coral Biology

• Design, manage & maintain all the aspects of the coral restoration project at Mulala Sanctuary.
• Conduct coral frames building, maintenance, photography, monitoring and wider research studies.
• Establish and conduct regular underwater surveys within the Marine Protected Area.
• Additional activities may be added in time to suit overall objectives such as marine mammal observation, megafauna identification and data collection.

3. Public Relation

• Communicate conservation activities to the team based at The Coral Planters headquarter in France.
• Write monthly illustrated and scientific reports of the projects.
• Take regular photographs and videos of the project for communication purposes with our community and partners.
• Conduct lectures for the local communities, schools and participate in online workshops.

Work & personal qualifications:

• Passionate about marine life and conservation - strong knowledge about marine ecology, coral reef ecosystems, and conservation principles in alignment with The Coral Planters’ approach.
• Graduate in a relevant discipline (Marine Biology, Environmental Science).
• Experience in tropical marine conservation / coral biology.
• Experience in coral reef restoration is mandatory.
• Confident swimmer and freediver (5m deep).
• SCUBA certification (Minimum Advanced Open Water, Divemaster preferred).
• Experience in managing a project.
• Experience in managing a small team.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to function in a multicultural environment.
• Experience working closely with community partners, ideally in remote locations.
• Excellent standard of spoken and written English.
• Strong autonomy, adaptability and versatility.
• Good writing skills.
• Ability to work long hours in harsh tropical environments with a positive attitude.
• Health and safety trained.
• Car driving license.
• Boat driving license.
• Basic knowledge of Portuguese with a strong will to learn the language would be a bonus.

Job details

• Starting date: December 2024.
• Location: Mulala Marine Sanctuary, Nacala, Mozambique.
• 1-year renewable contract.
• Salary: 1000 USD per month + commission.
• Working 6 days a week (one day off).
• 30 days’ vacation (5 weeks) + public holidays.
• Benefits: Food & accommodation provided in a comfortable individual house on site.
• Return flight + Visa + Insurance.
• At disposal: office, training room, wifi, car, boat, kayak, dive tanks.

To apply:

If you feel that you are the right candidate for the job, please send your application before the 29 of November as follows to those 2 emails:

Mail subject: Coral - Mozambique 2024.

Attachments:

• CV_FirstName_LastName
• Letter_FirstName_LastName

Regrettably, due to limited resources and high numbers of applications, we only contact short-listed candidates. If you do not hear from us within 3 weeks, please assume that your application has not been successful.

Let's plant tomorrow's corals!