Education and Outreach Coordinator - C.A.R.E. Baboon Sanctuary
Samantha Dewhirst
Location: C.A.R.E. The Centre for Animal Rehabilitation and Education
Position: Education & Outreach Coordinator
Minimum Stay Required: 1 year;
Start Date: July or August 2024
Other: Unpaid staff role where all meals / accommodation / wifi and laundry is provided
Background
C.A.R.E. is a rehabilitation centre located within a Big 5 Nature Reserve, in the Hoedspruit area of Limpopo, South Africa. The centre itself is situated on the banks of the Olifants River and specialises in the rescue and rehabilitation of chacma baboons, since 1989.
Despite one priority focus of C.A.R.E. being the care of the orphaned primates, we have established an Education and Outreach program to address the causes leading to the high number of orphans at the sanctuary. We have an Education Centre onsite and relationships externally with lodges, schools and other organisations in which we provide education and outreach since 2016.
Presently, one of C.A.R.E.’s major and most critical objectives of the program is the development and maintenance of these programs and relationships (whilst still developing our new site and providing top welfare to our animals). The C.A.R.E. Education and Outreach programs are responsible for conducting social research locally to understand our target audiences, as well as raising awareness and providing education both onsite to local people and international volunteers and in rural areas / in local schools / communities, to stakeholders, government officials and others. Education is also provided through media engagement (including educational social media posts, website blogs).
Onsite education is also provided to our volunteers (International Volunteer Program) to ensure their understanding of baboons / behaviour and need for protection and to develop and coach ambassadors which will leave the centre and still provide support; through sharing our social media posts / representing C.A.R.E. at Universities or organising fundraisers.
C.A.R.E. has taken a leap forward last year and now has a second site which is a priority for development of semi-wild enclosures and a second Education Centre; which is closer to the community. We are looking for someone that can assist us with this also.
The Position
The Education Coordinator will work for 2+ weeks as a care-giver at the centre as part of a training program to understand the centre, how things work, the husbandry, the animals. From there, full training on established education will be provided to help you to then lead the education yourself. You will present / host and facilitate education for;
Onsite staff, volunteers and visiting schools / lodges, rural schools, social sites.
You will work with a close team and also bear in mind our tight budget constraints.
Ideally you have a driving liscence to enable off-site education to be more easily organised, however, we can provide a driver who can assist with education translation also if needed.
Education Coordinator – Main Responsibilities;
Provide onsite education to all volunteers as part of their initiation / orientation and seek to create an ambassador program. Present education includes (this can be developed);
Orientation tour, safety rules
Phase 1 Rehabilitation; the quarantine nursery; how to behave / what to expect and how to care for orphaned baboons
Baboon Behaviour Presentation; teach volunteers about baboon behaviour / understanding / interpretation
Parasite Presentation
Presenting various videos
Troop Clean Presentation
Provide educational tours to local lodges; explaining C.A.R.E.’s mission, about the baboons, reasons they need help, conflict resolution
Host and present to local schools which come every Friday and engage with more schools to come to the site and visit schools externally providing different education based on ages / level of learning / cultural differences
Host and present the online education program which is provided to Swedish Schools learning about animal care (the content is already established, it requires facilitation and some presenting)
Re-develop the online course to be available to general members of the public
Content Development – use existing content and develop additional content for the different outreach projects
Monitoring and Evaluation – assist the team in developing a monitoring and evaluation plan for all Education Projects
Data analysis & entry – analyse and enter data collected at schools, communities and other education interventions;
Office Administration – assist the Management team with financial planning, funding opportunities, invoicing, record keeping, marketing, personnel and logistics for education projects;
Capacity Building – conduct regular capacity building and training sessions for the outreach /onsite staff to improve the skills of the team; including providing education to the onsite team to brush up their skills on safety / welfare / hygiene;
Volunteer Education Coordination – assist with the coordination and supervision of outreach education interns and volunteers alongside the Management team;
Report writing and submission of project progress reports to donors and funders;
Project Management - Lead the planning, development, and execution of the education
Grant Proposals – Develop grant proposals and funding applications when needed;
Communications – work with communications team to develop articles, blogs, social media posts, radio discussion points, etc
Assist the team wherever else needed; if you are eager to spend time with the baboons you can be asked to participate in some animal husbandry and assist with orphaned baby care (if there are any in Phase 1 Rehabilitation) and do daily monitoring etc. if you are needed, whilst not busy with providing education / admin tasks
Education Coordinator Person Specification (Essential)
· Ability to work independently and as part of a team
· Proactive
· Good problem-solving skills and ability to be adaptive
· Excellent communication skills
· Fluent in English (verbal & written)
· Computer literacy, including google docs/sheets/slides, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
· Ability to live and work closely with the rest of the team, comprising both International and National Staff
· Ability to live in remote a remote reserve with challenging logistics and very limited budget
· Analytical and critical thinking skills
· Patience and a willingness to work to different cultural values
· Experience working in a developing country - an advantage.
· Experience with livelihood implementation – an advantage
· Experience with socio-economic research – an advantage
· Experience with teaching – an advantage
· Suitable candidates must be able to commit for a minimum of 1 year
Requirements
Degree in biology, ecology, conservation, community development, education, conservation education or related subjects.
Experience
Ideal but not essential driving liscence
Contract
- This is a full-time, six (6) day a week position for a minimum of 6 months (prefer 1 year - 3 year however, visas are presently challenging to obtain quickly / if at all).
- On-site accommodation is provided (may be shared), all meals are provided, onsite WiFi access is provided, laundry service is provided
- The chosen candidate must provide evidence of personal health insurance, negative TB test.
- The chosen candidate must cover their own medications, luxury food items and travel to C.A.R.E., visa costs, medical costs
To apply
Please send CV and cover letter to conserve...@gmail.com, please visit our website www.primatecare.org for more information on our organisation