Interested candidates should send an e-mail with the subject line ‘Project Manager (Marine)’ and attach their CV and a cover letter describing their interest in and qualifications for this position to the Country Director, WCS Bangladesh (e-mail: wcsbangladesh@wcs.org). Please submit your application by 25 August 2025.
Position: Project Manager (Marine)
Reports to: Manager, Marine Conservation Program
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Organization Background:
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), established in the United States in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, is a US-based, private, nonprofit conservation organization that saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. With long-term presence in about 50 countries and experience helping to establish, expand or manage over 550 protected areas across the globe, WCS applies its biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and partner governments, that knowledge is applied to address threats to species, habitats, ecosystem services, and issues critical to improving the quality of life of local people. WCS has identified a global portfolio of Nature’s Strongholds, representing landscapes and seascapes with exceptional biodiversity and the highest ecosystem integrity.
Bangladesh Program Overview:
WCS has been actively engaged in Bangladesh since 2004, aiming to save wildlife and wild places through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. We currently have Terrestrial and Marine Conservation Programs that are supported through Educational Outreach and Finance Programs. WCS Bangladesh works closely with government and community partners to advance science-based and community-informed marine conservation solutions that optimize the protection of threatened marine wildlife and their priority habitats and sustain coastal fisheries and livelihoods.
Project Overview:
The project “Sustho Sagor (Healthy Ocean) - Sharing responsibilities and benefits from well managed MPAs for a healthy ocean and thriving communities in Bangladesh”, funded by the Blue Action Fund, aims to strengthen the network of ecologically representative MPAs or OECMs across priority habitats in Bangladesh’s seascape. Major objectives of this project are to:
- Improve the management of the Swatch of No-Ground and Nijhum Dwip MPAs, expand the SoNG MPA area coverage, and develop a new Blue Belt OECM linking these two MPAs.
- Establish frameworks for MPA governance and build capacity within the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) and the Department of Fisheries (DoF) to manage these areas in collaboration with each other and other relevant government agencies.
- Empower fishers and their communities as key stakeholders in effective MPAs to have their rights respected and voices heard in MPA/OECM decision making processes, and to benefit from compliant, sustainable fishing practices and improved access to financial and social support services.
- Build livelihood diversification capacity among men and women living in MPA-impacted coastal fishing communities.
Job Summary:
The Project Manager will oversee implementation of the Sustho Sagor project grant which aims to strengthen the network of ecologically representative Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) across priority habitats in Bangladesh’s seascape, to safeguard globally threatened marine wildlife and sustain coastal livelihoods, including those reliant on coastal small-scale fisheries. The Project Manager will be responsible for general project management to facilitate timely and quality achievement of deliverables and for donor reporting, with the support of the WCS Country Director and Finance Director.
Major Responsibilities:
- Maintaining up to date project management systems to enable timely reminders to field teams for upcoming activities and deliverables;
- Updating project work plans for each six-monthly work period;
- Prepare six-monthly and annual reports as per donor requirements, ensuring all financial, narrative, and programmatic data is accurately presented;
- Work with the project’s implementation partner, WorldFish for work planning, activity implementation and reporting;
- Provide regular updates on project progress to the project’s government partners, Bangladesh Forest Department and Department of Fisheries;
- Work with the Finance Director to manage project funds, ensuring all expenditure is inline with the donor procurement guidelines;
- Regularly communicating with field team leads to coordinate project delivery;
- Ensuring standardized monitoring protocols to enable consistent reporting against the donor results framework;
- Collating and maintaining records of information from field teams on project achievements and challenges;
- Work with the projects Environmental and Social Safeguards Coordinator in monitoring the projects environmental and social framework and preparing narrative and social and environmental safeguard reports for the donor;
- Overseeing the process of institutional ethics clearance for surveys involving human subjects;
- Preparing internal and external communications, including developing a communications plan, regarding project progress.
Minimum Requirements:
- Masters with bachelor’s degree in marine conservation science, marine fisheries, fisheries management, natural resource management, environmental science with some social science and analytical skills preferred.
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience with project management associated with natural resource management programs.
- Knowledge and experience in protected areas, fisheries, community livelihoods.
- Proven ability and experience to manage projects and set and meet multiple deadlines.
- Proven ability to manage, guide and support local staff of different capacities.
- Experience with donor reporting requirements, particularly from European donors.
- Ability to make sound decisions based on analysis, consultation with others, experience, and judgment. Decisions may affect organization’s public image, positively or negatively, as well as impacting the work of many throughout the organization.
- Good communication and presentation skills; ability to persuasively convey the mission of WCS to diverse groups, especially local stakeholders and constituents who are critical to the organization’s overall prosperity.
- Must demonstrate strong verbal and written skills in Bengali and English to international standards.
- Willingness and ability to travel to field sites and spend time in local communities, including traveling by boat to remote areas when necessary.
Salary: USD 1,200-1,400 Per month
Compensation and Benefits: Phone Bill, Insurance, 2 Festival Bonus and Yearly Salary Review.