The Maldives hosts globally significant marine and coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and associated island ecosystems that underpin the national economy, food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience. However, these ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to multiple and cumulative pressures, including climate change, overexploitation of marine resources, coastal development, and pollution.

In response, conservation and management approaches are evolving beyond a sole focus on threat reduction towards strengthening ecosystem resilience by supporting natural processes that enhance resistance, recovery, and adaptive capacity under changing climatic conditions. This shift underscores the need for effective, science-based, and locally informed conservation actions.

Within this context, IUCN Maldives implements a diverse portfolio of initiatives spanning biodiversity conservation, marine and coastal management, waste management, pollution reduction, and environmental governance.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Project Officer, Marine Conservation will provide technical and operational support to IUCN Maldives’ marine and coastal conservation initiatives, working closely with government counterparts, implementing partners, and project teams to support effective project delivery. The position will contribute to Improved Biodiversity Management to support a Blue Economy in the Maldives Project funded by the European Union.

A. Technical Support

• Provide technical support to the design, execution and application of ecosystem and biodiversity assessments, as well as ecological monitoring to identify conservation priorities and advance marine protected area management.
• Plan and execute the full lifecycle of field surveys and data collection including the formulation of site-specific methodologies, including the delivery of technical training, field logistics and manpower requirements.
• Assist with capacity building activities for government institutions, CSOs, community stakeholders, and private sector partners to support monitoring of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, as required.
• Assist in the collection, organisation, and preliminary analysis of ecological data to support various project outputs and reporting requirements.
• Maintain, manage, and deploy IUCN Maldives field equipment, in accordance with organisational procedures.

B. Project Management and Implementation Support

• Provide technical and operational support to marine and coastal project 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.
• Determine technical requirements and prepare draft terms of reference for consultants and support technical quality assurance of consultant 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 project advocacy and visibility by providing thematic technical content to meetings, workshops, trainings, and other outreach events, as assigned.
• Provide thematic technical inputs for reports, briefs, communication products, and donor and institutional reporting, supporting outreach and knowledge-sharing activities.

D. Support to Project Development and Fundraising

• Assist in technical inputs on marine and coastal conservation context to support project formulation and proposal development.
• Undertake any other tasks that may be assigned and mutually agreed upon with the line manager.