Global Head - Community-based Fisheries Management at Blue Ventures

Responsibilities

• Provide oversight and leadership for the development and delivery of technical support, guidance, training and mentoring to partners and Blue Ventures’ practitioners focused on community-based fisheries management of coastal tropical fisheries
• Leading a “training and tools” approach by creating training materials, user useful tools and freely available resources that build skills to enable partners to deliver participatory, community based fisheries management approaches
• Working closely with the Data Science team to embed digital fisheries data collection as a central tenet for successful community-based fisheries management with all our partners
• Developing facilitation guides to interpret and use fisheries data to assess the current status of a community’s fishery, identify priorities for management and the options available for management of those species, and evaluate changes occurring through time in the production and value of their fishery.
• Building connections among partners across different geographies, with a particular focus on ensuring information, lessons learned, and best practices are identified and proactively shared
• In close collaboration with the Technical Knowledge team, country teams and regional partners (e.g. NGOs, universities and government agencies), supporting partners to assess and fill their own capacity gaps by providing training programmes and technical guidance to improve their knowledge and practical skills and incorporate approaches and tools into their programming
• Ongoing development of Blue Ventures’ best practice principles for fisheries management and marine habitat conservation (through internal and external consultative processes) and ensuring training and tools are freely available and accessible to all
• Ensuring technical rigour on knowledge products, reports and other external documents relating to small-scale fisheries and conservation and ensuring adaptation and evolution of strategies and approaches where needed
• Championing the documentation and sharing of fisheries and conservation learning internally and externally, to elevate the importance of community-based management as a critical path to safeguard livelihoods and protect coastal ecosystems.
• Championing Blue Ventures’ mission at relevant events and identifying opportunities for partners and colleagues to do so as well
• Cultivating a dynamic and supportive network within the small-scale fisheries and marine conservation sector
• Contributing to Blue Ventures’ organisational development by representing fisheries work and progress with partners and donors

Skills and experience

Required

• A postgraduate-level qualification in fisheries science, marine ecology, conservation or a relevant related field
• Substantive of experience working in a field relating to community-based fisheries management
• Experience of supporting local communities and partner organisations on initiatives such as locally managed marine areas, co-management of small scale fisheries, participation of fishing communities in MPA design and designation or other related themes
• Excellent communication, analytical and technical writing skills as well as an ability to communicate technical information in a clear and concise manner for a general audience
• Knowledge of challenges faced by small-scale fishers, including women, and how these can be practically overcome through community-led participatory processes
• Experience of small-scale fisheries monitoring and ecological monitoring, ideally community-based, and gender-sensitive data analysis and research skills
• Experience providing teaching, coaching or mentoring in technical areas
• Willingness to travel and spend time in remote and challenging environments for work
• Experience working in Blue Ventures’ target regions, including knowledge of marine environmental issues and cultural context
• Fluent oral and written English and desirable to have one additional language spoken in Blue Ventures geographies: French, Malagasy, Swahili, Portuguese, Spanish or Bahasa Indonesia.

We would also love to see

• Adaptability: The successful candidate should be adaptable and able to navigate through diverse and dynamic environments, being open to change, embracing new ideas, and adjusting based on feedback.
• Empathy: The Global Head should have the ability to understand and relate to the challenges and aspirations of local communities, fostering trust and constructive engagement.
• Collaborative Approach: The ideal candidate would demonstrate a collaborative leadership style. Working effectively with a multi-disciplinary, international team and building strong relationships with external partners and stakeholders.
• Visionary Leadership: The role demands a visionary leader who can champion Blue
• Ventures' mission and values passionately. The ideal candidate should inspire and motivate the team and partners towards a shared vision of restoring ocean life, empowering communities, and driving positive change in fisheries management and marine conservation.

You will be a great fit if

• You show a commitment to Blue Ventures’ mission and values, evidenced by a high level of personal and professional integrity, humility and humanity.
• You demonstrate a strong bias for action and comfort with the uncertain; you are motivated to move forward, make decisions, and finalise details quickly once information is available.
• You’ve shown a willingness and ability to challenge the status quo creatively and productively.
• You have an analytical mindset and orientation towards measurement, outcomes and continuous improvement and learning. You value in others, and in yourself, data-driven and consultative decision-making.
• You think critically and put a high value on offering and receiving constructive feedback and criticism.
• You’re a natural relationship builder and have a proven ability to work collaboratively with others in a complex organisation, demonstrating professional curiosity, team building and facilitation skills. You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others.
• You’re a people person who takes pride and pleasure in developing talent and creating safe, happy, productive and engaging workplace cultures and environments for staff at all levels and from varied backgrounds. You crave building teams, finding talent, nurturing relationships, and tackling challenging people-related issues.
• You are a passionate professional who combines strong leadership skills with patience and a humble approach.
• You’re able to engage people’s energies, hearts and minds in service of a mission.
• You use exemplary interpersonal skills to establish relationships of trust and influence
• You’re detail-oriented and compliance-minded; you enjoy dotting i’s and crossing t’s www.blueventures.org
• You demonstrate excellent organisational skills, an ability to marshall resources, and a desire to continually improve systems and processes.
• You show self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment.
• You’re trustworthy in managing sensitive situations and information; you are discrete, professional, and possess excellent judgement
• You are comfortable with a playfully professional workplace culture.