Assistant Manager & OiC

Qualification - M.Sc or Ph.D in Zoology/Wildlife Conservation/Life Sciences or related subjects

Experience - 8-9 years of experience

Role Context: Managing & running the Central India Conflict Mitigation Project in Bandhavgarh & Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. This region in Madhya Pradesh has experienced an increase in human-wildlife interactions in the past few years, especially due to the relatively recent migration of elephants that have now become resident. WTI in collaboration with the MP Forest Department has initiated this project to set up a team and strategy to mitigate the conflict through community engagement, on-ground actions and capacity strengthening of stakeholders. The project aligns with our conflict mitigation Big Idea.

Key Responsibilities -

• Project planning and implementation with the active involvement of team members.
• Assessing development needs of the project to achieve project impact and initiate writing concept note / project proposal drafts.
• Develop draft of progress and annual reports
• Manage the budget as per the approved Project Plan
• Ideate new components in the project to achieve the impact
• Be a point person to ensure high quality in implementation of activities in the project
• Be a point person to collate and manage project related data in a proper format and share it with team members
• Ensure maintenance of field station and field camps, proper use, maintenance and inventory of project equipment and assets.
• Liaise with government department officials, local NGOs and key stakeholders
• Ensure statutory compliance relevant to the project, in coordination with the state facilitator and HQ team
• Manage human resources of the project

Project Planning & Management

• Conduct situation analysis and Theory of Change to develop outline of the plan and Logical Framework (new project / new triennium)
• Prepare the draft of the project plan and work plan of the Project in consultation with the team members
• Review team members’ target every month and report to PI and DH on quarterly basis
• Participate and present monthly progress of the project in the monthly review meetings
• Conduct self-review of the project plan on quarterly basis and share the review with the project staff and DH/PIs to facilitate quarterly review of the project

Fund & Financial Management

• Responsible for budget management and booking of expenditure under appropriate activity head for each donor
• Ensure that the funds are utilized judiciously for achieving the anticipated outcome by implementing appropriate activities
• Approve the cash-flow and expenditure of the team members as per the policy and procedures of WTI
• Maintain records of expenditure of the project and share with the team in review meetings
• Make timely budget change request to the CFO, PI and DH for approval and mid-term corrections in the project plan
• Ensure that travel, accommodation and subsistence expenditures by team members are in accordance with their entitlement. Take prior approvals from CFO and DH in case of any deviation due to emergent reasons.

Donor’s Co-ordination

• Coordinate with specified donors, if assigned the role of Donor/s Point Person by the organization.
• Provide timely update to the Donor Point Person/s of the project for reporting project progress and deliverables to the donor

External Communication / Co-ordination

• Represent WTI & HWCM Division in workshops / conferences /meetings
• Liaison with forest department, line departments, non-government organizations, academic institutions etc. to facilitate project implementation and associated matters.
• Interact with media on project related communication, prepare press notes / release on project events, and represent the organization at appropriate forum.

MIS & Reports

• Responsible for collection of quality data (both quantitative and qualitative) by the project team for analysis and monitoring, validation of the primary data of the project, and maintaining and sharing of the data on shared drive with team members and HQ.
• Ensure that the project data is updated on monthly basis and shared with the team.
• Ensure that the record of primary data collector is maintained in the data base for future credit sharing
• Organize donor reports keeping in mind the donor (CSR, Charities and Foundation, Public funds) with appropriate primary analysis, and maps and figures.
• Draft donor report as per the donor format, or standard format of a technical report and submit to the DH well in advance for timely submission.
• Ensure that the periodic reports and other regular updates, and photographs and video footages of the project are shared with the Communication Division for appropriate communication and branding needs of the project.
• Ensure that the team members prepare manuscripts for scientific publication, conferences following the processes of approval of idea, analysis and selection of journal by the Principal I, Co-PI, C

Human resources management

• Ensure PMRs of all team members are done meticulously on time
• Approve leave of absence of all staff in reporting relation
• Organize regular meetings with the staff to record grievances and issues related to the project
• Motivate teams to give quality results by promoting activities that encourage team building

Preferred Skills - Proven experience in Project Management and Team Management.