Career Opportunity /  19 March 2023

WILDLABS Conservation Technology Intern, Kenya

FFI is offering a paid internship with the WILDLABS Programme for a 12 month period from March 2023-Feb 2024. This internship will grow and support the WILDLABS East Africa regional community in our global conservation technology network. Closing date: 19th March, 2023

Deadline: 19 March 2023 - the deadline has passed.
Nairobi - Kenya

The Opportunity

FFI is offering a paid internship for a 12 month period from March 2023-Feb 2024. This internship will grow and support the East Africa regional community in our global conservation technology network. In this internship, a promising conservation leader will map out and grow their understanding of the conservation technology landscape in their local region, connecting with key practitioners in the local conservation technology sector as well as identifying needs, opportunities, and challenges to conservation technology uptake. Building on earlier research from the Sat4Wildlife project and the work under a previous CLP Internship in 2021-22, the intern will facilitate knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the development of resources to support the effective use of conservation technology. In addition, you will develop a product (e.g., report, tool, publication) or event (e.g., virtual lecture series, workshop, conference) aimed at increasing the integration, use, and adoption of conservation technology in East Africa.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and pro-active individuals with proven interest in the following areas: 

  • Conservation technology
  • Learning and knowledge exchange via a community of practice 
  • Capacity building 

We require team players with ability also to work on their own initiative. They will have strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to liaise across teams and cultures. 

Terms and Conditions
  • Start Date: 1 April 2023 (or as soon as possible thereafter)
  • Duration of Contract: 12 months
  • Probation Period: One month
  • Monthly Stipend: KES 45,000
  • Location: Fauna & Flora Offices in Nairobi, Kenya, with travel as required
  • Benefits: 25 working days’ annual leave entitlement plus national public holidays observed in Kenya
  • Hours of Work: This is a full-time position, working 40 hours per week Monday to Friday inclusive. These hours may vary depending on the requirements of the job in the field.
Role Summary

The internship will be with the WILDLABS Programme at Fauna & Flora International, managed by FFI Kenya. 

As the facilitator of the recently establish East Africa regional conservation technology  network, the internship will be tasked to identify knowledge gaps and barriers to conservation tech use, create content and resources to engage and support the conservation tech community, and plan and coordinate a product (such as ‘best practices’ documentation or technology guides) or event (such as networking and knowledge exchange workshops or a virtual lecture series) to facilitate knowledge exchange between regional conservation and technology actors, and the global conservation technology community.  

As a result of engaging in these activities, you will work hand-in-hand with key stakeholders in the conservation technology realm, including NGOs, wildlife practitioners, technologists, and donors. You will receive foundational training in community building, fundraising, and communication as well as strengthening your understanding of current and emerging conservation tools. Critically, you will establish yourself as a trusted knowledge and relationship broker about local conservation tech applications and projects, and become a central figure guiding the development of our new East Africa regional conservation technology network. 

These baseline activities are essential to developing regional conservation technology centres, creating an invaluable resource for local practitioners looking to further their conservation effect and a furthering WILDLABS’ and FFI’s regional and global impact. 

Specific Duties: 

  1. Identify and engage key technology and conservation technology stakeholders and practitioners in the region; organise meetings to identify knowledge and innovation gaps , develop an engagement strategy and determine training priorities for the identified stakeholders and practitioners to support the use of conservation technology. 
  2. Deliver an updated regional ‘best practices’ survey to assess regional current use of conservation technology use as well as identifying local needs and barriers to the uptake of conservation technology. This includes distributing the survey to appropriate partners, analysing resulting data, formatting report, and disseminating survey results. The aim of this project is to understand recent progress, key constraints, and critical opportunities for growth in leveraging technology for conservation, producing valuable insight to target future capacity building efforts. 
  3. Develop and deliver a capacity building or engagement activity Coordinate and plan appropriate workshops or capacity building initiatives that responds to knowledge exchange and training priorities identified through stakeholder engagement and the regional State of Conservation Technology Survey. This could include in-person or virtual training/lecture series, development of best practices guidance, workshops to promote knowledge exchange or technology uptake, or similar. This activity should be specific to East African environments and challenges, while supporting exchange between regional conservation and technology actors and the global community on WILDLABS. All activities will aim for equal representation in gender in terms of speakers and participants. 

The intern will also work with the WILDLABS team to support the research and engage global conservation technology community as required.