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Post Description:     Intern Opportunity

                                      8th Pacific Nature Conservation Conference Coordinator

Background

Applications are invited from nationals of Pacific Island countries and territories for the above position with SPREP in Apia, Samoa.  Internship is for a period of 12 months starting in December 2006.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is an independent intergovernmental agency that provides assistance and technical advisory services to Pacific Island countries, territories and administrations in the protection and management of their environment to ensure they achieve sustainable development for present and future generations.  SPREP’s membership comprises 21 Pacific Island countries and territories and 4 developed countries 1

In 2007, SPREP will work with other organisations within the Roundtable for Nature Conservation to organise the 8th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in Papua New Guinea. This is the region’s premier nature conservation conference and is held every five years.

1 American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Sates of America, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will work closely with the Action Strategy Advisor and the Island Ecosystems Programme team , to undertake the following roles and responsibilities to support the efforts of SPREP in organising the conference :

Pre-conference

The Conference Coordinator will work with the Action Strategy Adviser and relevant staff on:

• conference communications – branding, promotion and communications activities to promote the conference and its outcomes.

• Conference documentation –

•  coordinate the production of required conference documentation and reports, and contribute to the compilation of a number of these as determined by the Action Strategy Adviser.

•  liaise with the SPREP Publications Unit and the appointed translators to ensure that documentation requiring translation to French and other conference documents are completed and distributed in time.

• Conference communication and logistics:

  •  Coordinate conference communication and correspondences with all interested parties for nominations, calls for papers and paper presentations.

  •  Liaise closely with the responsible agency or entity of the Government of Papua New Guinea, particularly the Department of Environment and Conservation and the National Events Council over all in country logistical arrangements.

• Conference funding and fund management:

•  Assist the Action Strategy Adviser with fund raising including the development of funding proposals, liaison with potential and interested donors and as well other members of the Roundtable for Nature Conservation interested in contributing to the Conference funding.

•  Liaise close with the Finance Section re the management of incoming conference funds, and provide updates as necessary on expenditures and funding commitments made, and of available funds.

•  In collaboration with the Finance Section, assist the AS Adviser in the preparation of financial reports for conference donors.

• Conference Outputs:

•  Assist with the timely compilation and distribution of conference proceedings and other required written outputs.

•  Liaise closely with the SPREP publication staff regarding the outputs editing and printing.

•  Ensure that all conference papers, presentations, speeches, working group notes etc. essential for the compilation of the Conference reports are collated and recorded in an orderly fashion to facilitate conference reports preparations.

•  Assist with updating the 2003-2007 Action Strategy for Nature Conservation based on the Conference outputs.

Requirements

This is an exceptional opportunity for a young professional interested in working in a regional context in the Pacific. The successful candidate must have the following:

• minimum academic qualification of Diploma in environmental science, communications or related field;
• demonstrated knowledge and experience in coordination of events, organizational skills, preferably in the environmental field; and
• good written and oral communication and interpersonal skills.

Terms and Conditions

Applications

Applications must address selection criteria and be accompanied by a detailed curriculum vitae containing full personal details (birthdate, sex, nationality, marital status, number of dependents and age/s, health status, home address, and full contact numbers); qualifications and experience relevant for the position; previous and current appointments with salaries, names and contact addresses/numbers/E-mail of three professional referees who are prepared to provide testimonials. References, if available, are to accompany your application from three recent employers and/or supervisors. In addition, application should include copies of academic qualifications. Application should also indicate how soon you are available to start if successful, and must be addressed to:

The Director
SPREP                      Telephone: (685) 21 929
PO Box 240                Fax: (685) 20 231
Apia, Samoa               E-mail: SPREP@sprep.org

Closing Date: Friday, 10 November 2006. Late applications will not be considered.