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

The West Africa Biodiversity and Low Emissions Development (WABiLED) Program is a four-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with 3 core objectives: combat wildlife trafficking and enhance great ape conservation; reduce deforestation, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss in key transboundary forest landscapes; and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration from land use. WABiLED is implemented by Tetra Tech ARD with five subcontracting partners including TRAFFIC, Born Free USA, Winrock International, Re:wild and Dalberg Associates.

To achieve these ambitious objectives, WABiLED will work with public and private sector partners to strengthen the capacity of national and regional networks and institutions to enforce and prosecute wildlife trafficking laws across the region; implement regional and transboundary cooperation and biodiversity conservation strategies in the key forested countries of Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone; and improve capacity for economic planning and development of low emissions development strategies to reduce West Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions thus contributing to national and global climate commitments.

WABiLED’s activities at the regional, local, and national levels will generate knowledge and information that will ensure that conservation and development best practices can be used to inform laws and policies.

Transport Background

The transport sector often plays a major role in unwittingly facilitating both national and international illegal trade in wildlife products – from timber, meat products and exotic pets to animal-based ingredients for traditional medicines. TRAFFIC has built a significant program of work engaging with the transport sector, including air, courier/logistics firms, freight forwarders and more recently maritime shipping. This includes bespoke capacity building resources developed for airline, airport and courier industries through the USAID-funded ROUTES Partnership (Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species: https://routespartnership.org/ and in collaboration with United for Wildlife).

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

This is a project management role with responsibility for the planning, implementation and reporting function of various activities under the WABiLED project. The Transport Sector Specialist will engage with the many actors, both Government and private sector, involved in the national and international transport of people and freight, to reduce opportunities for wildlife traffickers to exploit transport supply chains in the West Africa region. The role will implement the relevant activities as described and prioritized in the WABiLED annual workplans in close coordination with the WABiLED combatting wildlife trade (CWT) project team.


SPECIFIC DUTIES

• In coordination with the WABiLED CWT team, develop and maintain critical collaborations and partnerships with transport industry associations including, but not limited to: ACI, IATA, FIATA, Borderless Alliance and United for Wildlife, and with government agencies such as Port Authorities, Customs and Excise Departments, Quarantine Bureaus.
• Identify and prioritize transport routes, commercial carriers and hubs in the West Africa region and build networks and engage with the associated trade sectors i.e. air, sea and land carriers that are conduits to IWT, as well as the transport industry’s freight forwarders.
• Conduct sensitization and awareness programs on Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) with target partners
• In preparation for capacity building, conduct needs assessments with target partners within the transport sectors.
• Drawing on resources developed by TRAFFIC for airport, seaport and law enforcement sectors, design and deliver capacity building workshops, and support the adoption of CWT tools for the transport sector, to increase capacity in the detection, interception and prosecution of Illegal Wildlife Trade.
• Develop ‘training of trainers’ curriculum and materials, or adapt existing TRAFFIC resources, to enable transport companies to deliver CWT training to their staff as part of induction trainings and ongoing professional development courses.
• Encourage transport sector firms to sign the United for Wildlife Buckingham Palace Declaration (if not done so already).
• Coordinate with TRAFFIC offices around the globe, and in particular with Central Africa and Asia, to enhance the work on countering Illegal Wildlife Trade along transport supply chains.
• Effectively communicate WABiLED’s mission and the joint work of CWT team to external audiences and work with the WABiLED Communications and Outreach Team to craft products and materials related to the effective implementation of the transport sector work.
• Provide technical inputs to the development of WABiLED annual work plans, budgets and project indicators.
• Manage and track the transport project budget and provide quarterly and annual financial reports on expenditures.
• Produce quarterly and annual narrative reports on project activities and progress against indicators, providing recommendations for adaptive management as necessary.