Location: Dakar, Senegal

Closing date for applications: January 6, 2025

Contract status: Regional post, full-time

Start date: February 3, 2025

Contract duration: Permanent

Remuneration: Between 20,296,316 to 37,235,620 FCFA gross annually.

We rebuild tropical fisheries with coastal communities

Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organization that puts people first. We support coastal fishers in remote and rural communities to rebuild fisheries, restore ocean life and build lasting pathways to prosperity. Our work began two decades ago in Madagascar’s remote coastal communities and is growing globally. 

Across a dozen countries, we’re partnering with traditional fishers and community organizations to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain fisheries management and conservation at the community level. We bring partners together in networks to advocate for reform and share tools and best practices to support fishing communities worldwide. 

Summary job description

Our Partner Network team is responsible for the scoping, selection, relationship building, and ongoing stewardship of organisations working directly with fishing communities that partner with Blue Ventures globally. Partnership is at the core of Blue Ventures’ strategy to seek out and support community-focused organisations by providing funding and technical assistance that can catalyse, expand, and sustain partners' work in establishing community-based fisheries management and locally managed marine areas.

We are currently recruiting a Head of the Partnership Network to lead the strategic development and expansion of our Partner Network in the West Africa Region. The Head of Partnership Network West Africa is crucial in advancing the organisation's mission, expanding its influence and contributing to impact through effective relationship building across the region. This role involves leading and managing a team of Partnership Coordinators to form and implement partnership growth strategies, nurture relationships, foster collaboration and learning, and ensure the sustained success of the partnership network across the region and its link to the global community of practice supported by Blue Ventures.

Reporting to the Director, Partnership Network, and the West Africa Regional Director, this is a full-time role based in Blue Ventures’ offices in Dakar, Senegal, with regular travel across the West Africa region and globally to work closely with colleagues, partners and communities and other stakeholders.

This job requires extensive travel, including to remote locations that may be weather—and tide-dependent and working across multiple time zones. Therefore, flexibility and adaptability will be key to success in this role.

The successful candidate will be a motivated, proactive, highly organised individual with excellent communication and relationship-building skills. Excellent knowledge of a human rights-based approach to community-based management and conservation, especially in small-scale fisheries and coastal habitat protection, is essential. A demonstrated track record of establishing, maintaining and managing multiple, long-term partnerships with community-based organisations, including review, guidance and support for projects delivered by partners, as well as exceptional written and verbal communication, mediation, troubleshooting and conflict resolution skills.

We are looking for an individual who is open to new ideas, embraces innovation, and demonstrates experience building effective relationships for long-term partnerships in conservation and small-scale fisheries development.

You will thrive in collegiate and ambitious environments and be able to demonstrate experience working independently and with a team to solve complex problems in challenging situations.

To download the full job description, please click here.