Maldives, one of only four atoll nations in the world, is globally recognised for its rich marine biodiversity, which underpins its tourism- and fisheries-based economy. Its coral reef ecosystems are not only central to livelihoods but also play a critical role in climate resilience, protecting the country’s low-lying islands from storm surges and coastal flooding. Despite its middle-income status, the Maldives faces considerable challenges in safeguarding these ecosystems and in effectively integrating species and ecosystem conservation into national planning frameworks.

To strengthen biodiversity protection, the Maldives National Red List of Threatened Species was developed by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The assessment process applies the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species criteria to evaluate extinction risk and inform national conservation, management, and policy decisions for threatened species. In parallel, the Government of Maldives has initiated the classification of its ecosystems using the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (GET). Application of the GET framework has revealed that many identified ecosystem types in the Maldives remain insufficiently studied and are therefore poorly understood.

Together, these instruments provide scientifically robust assessments of species and ecosystem status and serve as essential tools for setting conservation priorities. Integrating species-level data into broader ecosystem-based management frameworks will enable the Maldives to adopt a more comprehensive and adaptive conservation strategy—one that addresses threats at both the habitat and species levels while strengthening long-term ecological resilience.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Project Officer, Species and Ecosystems will provide technical and operational support to IUCN Maldives’ efforts to conduct species and ecosystem assessments, produce management plans, habitat classification and natural capital accounting activities, working closely with government counterparts, local councils, implementing partners, and communities to support effective project delivery.
The position will contribute to Improved Biodiversity Management Project to support a Blue Economy in the Maldives funded by the European Union.

A. Technical Support

• Coordinate and support the adoption, implementation and utilisation of IUCN tools (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN Red List of Ecosystems [AR2.1][NR2.2]and IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology. [AR3.1]
• Support, plan and execute species and habitat assessments, natural capital accounting, habitat mapping, management plans, delivery of technical training, field logistics and manpower requirements.
• Assist with capacity building activities for government institutions and stakeholders to further species and habitat conservation efforts, as required.
• Assist in the collection, organisation, and preliminary analysis of ecological data to support various program outputs and reporting requirements.

B. Project Management and Implementation Support

• Provide technical and operational support to species and habitat program activities through the day-to-day coordination and management to ensure delivery of agreed targets and quality outputs.
• Contribute to the preparation of annual workplans, ensuring alignment with programme and national priorities and support financial planning and budgeting Support financial planning and budgeting by contributing activity-based inputs and cost estimates.
• Assist in determining technical requirements and preparing draft terms of reference for consultants and service providers and support technical quality assurance of deliverables.
• Support preparation of technical reports; recommending appropriate measures for management of natural resources.
• Conduct project field visits and provide technical and operational support to site partners and implementing agencies, as required.

C. Support to Communication

• Support education, awareness, and behaviour change initiatives related to species and ecosystems conservation.
• Support program thematic technical content to meetings, workshops, trainings, and outreach events, as assigned.
• Support donor and institutional reporting requirements by providing technical content and implementation updates.

D. Support to Project Development and Fundraising

• Assist with technical inputs related to species and habitat conservation to support project formulation and proposal development.
• Undertake any other tasks that may be assigned and mutually agreed upon with the line manager.