Marine Support Officer

This position is suited to a dedicated conservationist who would like to contribute meaningfully to the conservation of biodiversity through marine protected area management, law enforcement, environmental awareness, and stakeholder relations within the Marine and Coast Operations component.

**RESPONSIBILITIES**:
**KRA 1: To enhance biodiversity resilience through targeted ecosystem conservation and restoration initiatives.**
- This includes planning, implementation, and monitoring of conservation efforts to protect and conserve functioning coastal, estuary, and marine ecosystems, the associated species; in particular, but not exclusive to, CapeNature managed areas.
- Participate in the coordination of disaster management strategy and responses at a regional/landscape level.
- Development and implementation of organizational planning systems, innovative decision support tools, and technologies; mainstreamed and fully integrated at a landscape level.

**KRA 2: Contribute and support marine and coastal conservation in ways that address biodiversity loss.**
- This implies that marine and coastal ecosystems and key indicator species are prioritized, thereby contributing to protected area management, including PA expansion targets where identified.
- To ensure full integration with landscape teams (integrating both Conservation Operations and Biodiversity Capabilities components) to promote and implement solution-based conservation-orientated interventions.
- Ensure applied research (internal and external) related to marine and coastal ecosystems, is mainstreamed to influence planning and decision-making processes.

**KRA 3: To assist in risk management, governance, compliance monitoring, and effective enforcement operations in the region.**
- Assist with predicting, minimizing, and mitigating risks due to unnatural and natural disasters.
- Ensuring that governance, risk management, compliance monitoring, and enforcement operations are effective in achieving the objectives of associated legislation, policies, agreements, and management plans,
- Support the coordination of landscape-level agency partnerships, especially with regards to law enforcement and compliance monitoring.
- Advocate for behavioral change and promote voluntary compliance.
- Integrating innovation and technologies

**KRA 4: Contribute to marine and coastal conservation in promoting the biodiversity economy and enhancing biodiversity access and sustainable use.**
- This includes the co-development, co-operative governance, and implementation of a network of strategic and local partnerships, alongside Landscape Management teams; aimed at marine and coastal ecosystems and species conservation in the broad sense as well as directly supporting site-specific conservation, eco-tourism, access, and stakeholder learning operations.
- Identifying informed and sustainable non-extractive economic opportunities, aligned to the entity’s directive to enhance access and socio-economic opportunities.
- Support for the implementation of targeted biodiversity economic activities to promote job creation, work opportunities, and livelihood support in marine and coastal environments.
- Supporting initiatives that promote access to protected areas (marine and coastal areas) for recreational, educational, and traditional purposes (ecotourism offering and access to communities).
- Contribute to stakeholder engagement and learning, from a marine and coastal perspective.

**KRA 5: Contribute and assist to advance knowledge exchanges, peer learning, capacity building, and mentorship.**
- Developing, coordinating, and implementing an effective Marine and Coastal Management program, incorporating coaching, mentorship, and capacity building of landscape operations teams, and junior staff on issues, and trends related to marine and coastal management.
- Research, development, and implementation of innovative technologies or decision-support tools.
- Facilitating knowledge exchanges and peer learning opportunities, with full integration at a landscape level

**MINIMUM

**REQUIREMENTS**:

- National Diploma in Nature Conservation or similar tertiary qualification
- At least 5 years of job-related experience with an emphasis on marine protected area management and enforcement.
- Good working knowledge of the Marine Living Resources Act, Protected Areas Act, the

Criminal Procedures Act as well as other relevant legislation.
- Good knowledge of procedures relating to arrests and criminal dockets.
- A valid EB driver’s licen
- 15-Nautical Mile Skipper license with at least 3 years of proven experience
- Appointed as EMI 2.
- Bilingualism in two of the three official languages of the Western Cape.
- No criminal record.

**RECOMMENDATIONS**:

- A relevant Tertiary Diploma in Conservation Management
- Peace Officer qualification.
- Appointed Fisheries Control Officer
- Marine Radio operator qualification.

**COMPETENCIES**:

- Willingness to work irregular hours, after-hours,