Government Partnerships & Capacity Development Specialist, Africa

About GFW

Global Fishing Watch is an international, nonprofit organization committed to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency. We create and publicly share knowledge about human activity at sea to enable fair and sustainable use of our ocean. Founded in 2015 through a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth, and Google, GFW became an independent non-profit organization in June 2017. 

Using cutting-edge technology, we create and publicly share map visualizations, data and analysis tools to enable scientific research and drive a transformation in how we manage our ocean. Our major focus is on commercial fishing because it is the most widespread human activity at sea, the most impactful on ocean health, and the most crucial for global livelihoods and food security. By 2030, we aim to monitor and visualize the impact of ocean-going vessels, both industrial and small-scale, that are responsible for the vast majority of the global seafood catch. We believe human activity at sea should be common knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean commons for the common good of all. 

About the Role

The capacity development program officer will be responsible for the development and delivery of training for national and regional partners in Africa as it relates to the following themes: 

1. Reduction of Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing
2. Biodiversity 
3. Small scale fisheries

The Officer will work in close collaboration within the Global Practice team, as well as the Africa regional team to ensure excellence in Global Fishing Watch’s capacity development and training interventions. Themes of transparency, open data and data handling and analysis will be common across all three lines of work and in some instances standalone capacity development initiatives on these topics may be delivered.

Principal duties and responsibilities

Contextualize and deliver high quality capacity development work packages

With the support of the Global Practice team (head, overall training manager and compliance training manager) who will oversee the work plan design, the Officer will:

• Together with the Senior Manager, Africa, lead the successful execution of Africa regional and core country capacity development work
• Monitor, report, and cohere various work plans and implementation of capacity development interventions in Africa
• Adapt centralized training content to tailor it to specific country partners and stakeholders
• Cultivate genuine and high quality GFW partnerships with target stakeholders of our capacity building interventions
• Maintain an expert level of awareness of the GFW external datasets 
• Systematically engage and communicate clearly with the Senior Manager, Africa, the Head and Manager of Capacity Development and external partners and ensure cohesion across various capacity development efforts in the region
• Coordinate training delivery and support logistics
• Co-develop and roll out MEL indicators as it relates to capacity development in Africa

Document learning, reporting and the sharing of practice

Working collaboratively with the Global Practice training manager, the compliance manager and wider regional teams, the Officer will:

• Prioritise Global Practice efforts to document and share learning, supporting a culture of cross regional sharing throughout the delivery of the capacity development work plans
• Support regional teams in their capacity development interventions as tasked 
• Prepare outreach materials and other appropriate knowledge and communications content as required
• Represent Global Fishing Watch at meetings, conferences and other events nationally and internationally to communicate our work
• Together with the Senior Manager, Africa Act as one of the primary contacts for external donors and partners that are supporting the capacity development efforts in the region

Candidate Profile

Required

• University degree in a relevant field
• Minimum five years of relevant fisheries experience
• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Genuine interest in learning from and developing others through the delivery of engaging and needs-driven capacity development work packages specific to each country
• Experience in capacity development and/or education and developing training materials
• Demonstrated training, mentoring, and facilitation skills
• Excellent communication skills and ability to cultivate partnerships remotely across cultures
• Strong interpersonal skills and excellent ability to establish relationships of trust and influence with partners
• Experience working with governments in African countries 
• Experience in developing and maintaining systematic and transparent records and version control in order to keep track of training package development, delivery and maintenance through learning cycles
• Basic technical ability, and familiarity with Slack, Google Suite
• Readiness to fully embrace electronic tools for remote work and collaboration

Preferred

• Master's degree in a relevant area or equivalent experience
• Familiarity with data and information needs for fisheries compliance and monitoring, with willingness to keep up to date with datasets and new technologies as required for training delivery
• Working knowledge of French and / or another national or regional language spoken in Africa
• Experience working in Senegal, Madagascar or Gabon
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of projects

Even if you do not meet all of the required criteria we encourage you to apply. We consider candidates a good fit if:

• You align with our organisational mission and values
• You are highly self-motivated and proactive with the ability to be flexible and work in a fast paced environment with dynamic priorities
• You are committed to learning and improving work iteratively
• You enjoy collaborating, have strong team building skills and want to work as part of a multidisciplinary and multicultural team
• You are comfortable with uncertainty and are able to move forward, make decisions and finalise details quickly once information becomes available
• You are comfortable with moderate regional/international travel

Hiring Process: A cover letter along with a CV will be requested to see how your experience and interest connect to the position. We expect the cover letter to allow applicants an opportunity to explain details on how their skill set aligns with the role and provide a better understanding of their suitability for the position. If selected for consideration, the hiring process for this position will include an initial call with our Talent Acquisition team, followed by a formal 45 minute interview with 1-3 team members. Candidates advancing beyond this round will be asked to take a technical assessment and/or submit a representative code sample. Lastly, a final interview with 2-4 teams members to review your assessment and assess functional skills.

Compensation: Compensation is commensurate with experience and will vary depending on the hired candidate’s country of residence, in accordance with local laws and regulations. For reference, this position would be enumerated at approximately XOF 25,000,000 to XOF 35,000,000 per year for fixed-term employment for a candidate based in Senegal. GFW offers pension/retirement, health and other benefits commensurate with similar level GFW employees in the country of employment. The position may be a GFW employee or consultant, depending on the country of residence.  

Working Hours: Global Fishing Watch supports flexible working, so the pattern of hours may vary according to operational and personal needs. The position will be part of a global team spanning many different time zones and so the candidate must be able to accommodate regular early/late meetings to be able to work effectively. Weekend work may be required on occasion. The post holder may be required to undertake regional and international travel.

Location: This is a remote role, but candidates must live and be authorized to work in role is open to anyone based in Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, or Senegal

Equal Opportunities​: GFW is an equal opportunities employer. We hire and promote qualified professionals without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We believe that our mission is best advanced when welcoming the contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all employees of GFW and our partners, vendors, suppliers and contractors.