Coastal Climate Adaptation Intern – Washington, DC/Vancouver, Canada

Organization: World Wildlife Fund

Position Title: Coastal Climate Adaptation

Location: Washington, DC/Vancouver, CA

Hours & Compensation: Minimum 10 hours/week. Paid.

Position Dates: April – November 2013 (with possible extension to Spring 2014)

Application Deadline: March 8, 2013

Posted On: February 28, 2013

Organization Overview:

The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.

Description:

WWF Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) is seeking an intern to support its coastal climate adaptation work. The intern will primarily be responsible for coordinating activities of the Adaptation to Climate Change for Marine Turtles (ACT) project, while the project coordinator is on maternity leave. WWF’s ACT project has been working in the Wider Caribbean since 2007 to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on sea turtles and coastal ecosystems and to build capacity on climate change adaptation (http://www.panda.org/lac/marineturtles/act). The ACT project focuses on providing:

• capacity-building workshops to provide the background information, resources and training that conservation practitioners and resource managers need to start taking action on climate adaptation;

• technical support for projects carrying out monitoring of climate impacts, vulnerability assessments and identification, prioritization and implementation of adaptation measures;

• development of tools and resources, including manuals, technical summaries, outreach and awareness materials and case studies; and

• a forum for those taking action at the local level to share lessons learned to inform activities at other sites.

Responsibilities:

• Act as primary contact for the ACT project, responding to requests for assistance and materials;
• Update WWF offices and the project website with relevant new literature, resources and opportunities as they become available;
• Liaise with the Global Cetacean and Marine Turtle Manager and provide support to WWF network offices in relation to climate adaptation activities;
• Maintain a discussion forum to facilitate information exchange and network sharing;
• Identify adaptation practitioners and work with them to develop short case studies about lessons learned from their work and share these case studies on the project website;
• Assist in identifying funding opportunities and the development of funding proposals for the expansion of the ACT initiative;
• Complete reports to funders;
• Provide support to WWF LAC’s coastal climate adaptation work more broadly as requested.

There may also be opportunities to carry out research related to climate change and marine turtles/coastal ecosystems.

Qualifications:

Education/Experience:

• Minimum BSc in Biology, Conservation, Environmental Sciences, Climate Change or related degree PLUS relevant experience in coastal ecology/climate adaptation required.
• Student pursuing a graduate degree in related field preferred.

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Understanding of coastal-marine ecology and management and climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems
• Understanding of climate adaptation
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently
• Ability to develop and move projects forward
• Fluent in English
• Strong written and spoken communication skills
• Strong research/analytical skills and attention to detail
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with sea turtles/familiarity with sea turtle biology
• Working knowledge of Spanish
• Experience with websites and social networking

How to Apply: Please email a resume and cover letter with the subject line “Internship Application” to Marianne Fish at [email protected].  Please reference Internship Number IN-13054.

Contact Information:

Marianne Fish, [email protected]

Job URL: http://worldwildlife.org/internships/in-13054-coastal-climate-adaptation-intern