African Parks:Field Operations Manager- Kundelungu National Park
African Parks
 2025/11/26    Democratic Republic of Congo

Job Description

POSITION                            : Field Operations Manager

ORGANISATION                : African Parks Congo

LOCATION                          : Kundelungu National Park, the Democratic Republic of Congo

REPORTING TO                : Park Manager

EXPECTED START DATE: 15th January 2026 or sooner

BACKGROUND:

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 24 national parks and protected areas in 13 countries covering over 20 million hectares in: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Kundelungu National Park (KLNP) is part of an ecologically important landscape in Katanga, in the south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Created in 1970, Kundelungu is 8,236 km2, divided into two sections, the western Zone “Annex”, and an eastern section, the Zone Integral, where the HQ at Katwe is situated.

JOB OVERVIEW:

As a new project under the APN Portfolio, the Field Operations Manager will be responsible for setting up all the internal park operations, including infrastructure development & maintenance, fleet (vehicle / aircraft / boats / etc.) management, logistics and some conservation activities.

MAIN ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist in developing and implement an integrated Operations plan & budget aligned with the park strategy, 5-year business plan, and annual activity plan:
• Oversee all infrastructure development projects and maintenance programmes including budget management and cost control; adherence to procurement procedures (tenders, contracts); and ensure contractors/general staff execute all projects according to contracted terms.
• Oversee fleet management (vehicles / aircraft / boats / etc) including: ensuring all relevant licenses / permits for all in place; ensure fleet serviced, maintained according to a preventative maintenance schedule and operated to reduce cost and risk; ensure fleet management team adequately equipped; ensure adequate stocks of spares, fuel and oil including the logistical arrangements thereof; ensure that consumption reports of all vehicles and boats are submitted and reconciled to overall fuel use reports.  These should be able to identify and track discrepancies / losses.
• Oversee all logistics, procurement, and stock control activities including: Source suppliers & negotiate prices and terms; ensure effective stock control and storage management system in place; and oversee infrastructure and fleet management procurement.
• Ensure necessary logistical support in place to enable Law Enforcement function;
• Assist in implementation of park conservation activities including preparation of Park for wildlife introductions in 2028/9:
• Ensure all Operations activities are conducted in accordance with African Parks policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s);
• Ensure that all persons in the departments under your control are evaluated against fit for purpose Key Performance Indicators on a regular basis and in compliance with African Parks guidelines;
• Ensure all departments record and report on the monitoring metrics as laid out in the 5 Year Business Plan and Park Strategy documents.  These metrics must be accurate and reported in a timely manner;
• Ensure the Operations teams are adequately resourced (with finance, people, materials, equipment, etc) to effectively meet their day-to-day operational requirements;
• Build a strong values based team culture in the Operations function;
• Provide accurate and meaningful reports on all park operations activities to the Park Manager.

African Parks: Responsable du Développement Communautaire- Parc national de Kundelungu

Job Requirements

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Relevant tertiary qualification, for park operations / conservation / wildlife management or equivalent experience.
• 5-10 years working experience preferably in Protected Area Management, Construction, Logistics and Project management;
• Experience in non-profit and/or parastatal organizations an advantage;
• Knowledge and experience working in a rural, remote and multi-cultural environment;
• Fluent in French and/or Swahili, written and spoken with strong report writing skills;
• Strong financial management skills and ability to budget effectively;
• Strong project management skills managing several teams at once with limited resources;
• Adaptable to a complex working environment with multiple pressure points.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to kundelungurecruitment@africanparks.org by Monday, 15th December 2025. Please mention the position name in the subject line of the email. All documents to be sent as to PDF.

Please ensure that any attached documents are labelled under the following manner:

Your name_Cover Letter_FOM_Kundelungu)

Your name_Curriculum Vitae_ FOM_Kundelungu)

In case you do not hear from us within two weeks after the closing date, this means that your application was not successful. We thank you for your interest in working for African Parks.