Are you passionate about wildlife and have the skills to lead teams? This is your opportunity to use your expertise to support wildlife rescued from illegal trafficking! Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is looking for a new Director of our Ambue Ari sanctuary, to join our team as soon as possible. The candidate must be highly motivated, with demonstrated experience in managing animals and teams, and be willing and able to live in a remote area of Bolivia.
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is a Bolivian NGO, made up of a team of committed Bolivian professionals, Bolivian and international volunteers. Founded in 1992, CIWY was the pioneer of the environmental movement in Bolivia and is recognised nationally and internationally for founding centres dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife. CIWY currently manages three Wildlife Sanctuaries: Machia (Cochabamba), Ambue Ari (Santa Cruz) and Jacj Cuisi (Rurrenabaque, north of La Paz). Each Sanctuary offers refuge to wild animals rescued from trafficking, offering them a better quality of life.
We are looking for a Director of the Ambue Ari sanctuary. The objective of the Director is to guarantee the sustainability of the sanctuary respecting its policies and ideologies, and contribute to the achievement of the institutional objectives, mission and vision, through the general tasks of:
The candidate must have demonstrated experience in managing people and animals, good communication and organisational skills. You should be prepared to work under pressure, in difficult and physically demanding conditions with few resources. Plus be able to improvise and develop new ideas that benefit the organisation. You need to have an advanced level of English or Spanish, oral and written, and at least an intermediate level in the other. You must be able to manage, communicate and work with people of all ages and cultures, and to adapt and respect Bolivian laws and culture.
CIWY’s three sanctuaries are located in remote areas of Bolivia and conditions vary. You will be living in an international community composed of volunteers and staff from Bolivia and different parts of the world. You can expect to work hard every day. You must be prepared for a work environment that requires great physical effort and demands decisiveness, creativity, ingenuity and adaptability within a context with limited economic and material conditions. You will enjoy the pleasure of taking part in the process of giving a second chance to wildlife rescued from illegal trafficking. Your day to day activities will be focused on maintaining and improving the welfare and quality of life of animals in their process of reintegration into the wild.
The Director should commit to a work period of at least 13 months, one month as a volunteer and twelve with a salary. Two weeks of paid vacations are granted each year, with one day off per week. Once a month you will work a half day extra, but have a half day free the following week as recompense. The Director is the first to arrive and the last to leave work, to ensure the appropriate running of the Centre. You can generally expect to work from 7am to 6pm with two hours of breaks per day.
You will be living within our sanctuary. Housing conditions are basic as most of our resources are invested in the animals. Ambue Ari has limited electricity to supply the office, refrigerators and a charging station for electronic devices. Mobile phone reception is limited; there is only reception in certain places, and only the Entel carrier offers signal. An underground bore supplies the water for the centre and the water for the showers is not heated. The bathrooms are ecological and do not require plumbing. Volunteers sleep in dormitories with bunk beds and have straw mattresses. This position comes with a private room. The bathrooms are shared. Sheets, pillows and mosquito nets are provided, but we recommend that you bring a sleeping bag or blanket because sometimes it’s very cold at night.
CIWY receives no government funding, the only financial support comes from volunteers and donations. Funds are still not available to offer competitive salaries, but the organisation will offer a small salary of 2800 Bs (around $400 US) monthly, negotiable, as well as providing full room and board. Applicants for the position should also take into account visa costs that will be incurred (in the case that you do not already hold Bolivian residency), and travel costs to the sanctuary.
Spanish (good level) and English (intermediate level) required.