ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND

TRAFFIC is the leading non-governmental organization working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

TRAFFIC International is a charity and limited company registered in the UK. TRAFFIC’s head office, based in Cambridge UK, provides worldwide leadership, coordination, cross-regional and corporate functions. TRAFFIC’s local engagement is managed through programme offices operating under the auspices of the UK charity, with staff based in a hub office and at other strategic locations where necessary. Programme offices operate within a geographic area of responsibility focused on one or multiple countries where TRAFFIC aims to help deliver priority programme outcomes. TRAFFIC works in strategic alliance with IUCN and WWF on wildlife trade issues.


PROJECT BACKGROUND

TRAFFIC is pursuing an integrated global approach to improve trade management in wild animals in terms of safety from zoonotic disease risk, together with increased compliance with existing criteria for sustainability and legality. The Wildlife TRAPS Project focuses on three primary use types of wild fauna species: food (meat), medicinal (including informal tonics), and live animals (pets, as well as live specimens traded for medical research).

Combinations of policy and regulatory change, supply chain management and traceability, risk analysis, disease risk mitigation, and Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) will need to be applied to reduce risks at national and sub-national levels. TRAFFIC is developing pilot approaches that incorporate One Health concerns and insights from value chain analysis identifying critical control points for mitigating zoonotic disease risks.

The project seeks to improve transparency and traceability of wildlife supply chains, thus enhancing the identification, assessment, and mitigation of potential zoonotic disease risks associated with wild animal trade. Project interventions will also support targeted remedial action and interdictions by making illegal, unsustainable, and unsafe (from a disease risk perspective) practices easier to detect. These will be supported by piloting social and behaviour change approaches with actors at critical control points in the supply chain to catalyse positive shifts in human behaviour.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

The Project Officer will focus on leading the Wildlife-TRAPS Project’s working components in Vietnam, linking with global activities and relevant project countries, including China, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Project activities at national level will build on existing research and partnerships to design and implement interventions to mitigate potential zoonotic disease risks from wild animal trade. Social and behavioural change research and messaging will also be employed to guide the delivery of actions..


SPECIFIC DUTIES

• Work closely with the Wildlife TRAPS Project Leader, the TRAFFIC Viet Nam programme office team, and the wider Wildlife TRAPS Project team to manage, coordinate, and perform the day-to-day implementation of all project activities in Viet Nam.
• Connect workstreams on policy and regulatory reform, Supply Chain Management, and Traceability with Social and Behaviour Change approaches to actively look for synergies between intervention types.
• Lead the delivery of social and behaviour change (SBC) pilot activities along the selected supply chain, aiming to reduce potential disease risks in tandem with ensuring sustainability and traceability of legal wildlife trade in Vietnam (and by extension, combat illegal, unsustainable and unsafe wildlife trade practices).
• Coordinate working relationships with related wildlife trade and zoonotic-risk projects/interventions and relevant technical groups in Vietnam to leverage co-funded activities and promote coordination.
• Explore opportunities to work with Government, CSOs, private sector, and other international and local NGOs, and organizations/individuals experienced in wildlife conservation, policy and regulatory reform, One Health, and disease risk management.
• Contribute to the Wildlife TRAPS Project work on value chain analysis in Vietnam, using research to identify appropriate risk management interventions.
• Conduct desk research, consult on, and support the collection and analysis of market survey data of project-selected species in Vietnam in coordination with other projects.
• Ensure regular communications and timely delivery of joint or sub-contracted activities, including donor compliance and reporting.
• Provide timely inputs into routine internal and external narrative reporting and other synergistic project development opportunities.
• Play an active role in the TRAFFIC team in Vietnam to regularly exchange and represent TRAFFIC on relevant work, including the Pandemic Prevention Task Force and One Health Partnership and technical working groups.
• Perform other tasks as requested by the Viet Nam Programme Office Director and the Project Leader.