Location:

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, MP

About MOVE-MP

MOVE-MP (Monitoring and Understanding Vital Elephant Movement in Madhya Pradesh) is a partnership between the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) and the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (MPFD) to address the state’s human-elephant (HEC) conflict across Umaria, Shahdol, Anuppur, Sidhi, and Satna districts and the buffer zones of Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Tiger Reserves. The project runs the Gajrakshak elephant monitoring platform, a dedicated Elephant Monitoring Cell (EMC), satellite telemetry, and frontline capacity-building, with the goal of transform HEC response from reactive to predictive.

Position Summary

The Project Lead will drive execution of MOVE-MP’s Year-2 work plan on the ground — turning the monitoring infrastructure built in Year-1 into an operating early warning and conflict-response system. This is a hands-on delivery and coordination role based at the Bandhavgarh EMC hub, with substantial field travel across all seven project districts.

Key Responsibilities

1. Project Management & Delivery

    • Own the Year-2 activity timeline [Early Warning System (EWS) upgrade, collar deployment, EMC reporting, field surveys, capacity building, and policy brief] and track progress against milestones.
    • Proactively flag delays or risks in a timely manner and coordinate mitigation — e.g., disruption in the system due to monsoon, collar deployment delays, or vendor timelines.
    • Manage the project budget in coordination with WCT finance team, ensuring tracking spends against the approved Year-2 budget.

    2. Technical Coordination

    • Liaise with the EWS software development partner to keep the predictive alert module on schedule and aligned with field requirements.
    • Coordinate satellite collar deployment logistics with MPFD’s veterinary team and WCT experts including individual identification, permissions, and field scheduling.
    • Ensure telemetry, field report, and hotspot data flow correctly into the EMC analytical pipeline.
    • Oversee the existing farmer alert-call system (6,000 registered farmers, 5 km radius) and coordinate its expansion and precision improvements.

    3. Elephant Monitoring Cell (EMC) Oversight

    • Directly supervise the two EMC biologists and their monthly output: HEC intelligence summaries, conflict hotspot maps, and movement pattern analysis.
    • Ensure that weekly and monthly reports reach all seven Divisional Forest Offices and MPFD headquarters on schedule.
      Coordinate with the Chhattisgarh Forest Department through MPFD on interstate herd/individual movements.

    4. MPFD & Stakeholder Liaison

    • Serve as WCT’s primary point of contact for MPFD Field Directors, DFOs, and RFOs across the seven districts.
    • Represent MOVE-MP at MPFD review meetings, including the annual wildlife management review.
    • Coordinate community engagement for HEC deterrent pilots, ensuring gramsabha consent and community buy-in before any pilot takes-off.

    5. Field Operations

    • Oversee field survey teams conducting individual/herd identification, agricultural-usage mapping, and village-level conflict interviews.
    • Support advanced capacity-building workshops for the 40 selected frontline staff.
    • Conduct regular field visits across all seven districts, including during monsoon.

    6. Reporting & Documentation

    • Prepare and submit monthly HEC intelligence summaries and bi-annual progress reports to WCT and the donor.
    • Contribute to the Year-2 policy brief and HEC management operational guidelines for MPFD.
    • Maintain accurate project records to support the annual technical report and audited fund utilisation certificate.

    7. Contribution to Year-3 Continuation Planning

    • Work with WCT’s staff to retrain and fine-tune the movement-prediction and alert-generation model using the accumulated two-year dataset.
    • Lay groundwork for scaling telemetry to additional identified conflict individuals and expanding the farmer alert system to cover all affected districts.
    • Support early-stage coordination on an interstate MoU with the Chhattisgarh Forest Department and on linking EMC data to MPFD’s compensation process.
    • Translate learnings from Year-2 delivery into the Year-3 continuation plan and donor conversations.

    Qualifications & Experience

    • Master’s degree in Wildlife Science, Wildlife Biology, Forestry, Ecology, Environmental Science, or Veterinary Science.
    • 5–8 years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years managing field-based conservation or wildlife management projects. Candidates with past experience of managing/monitoring/studying elephants will be preferred.
    • Demonstrable experience of working with a state forest department or comparable government partner.
    • Familiarity with GPS telemetry, GIS/mapping tools, or conservation monitoring platforms.
    • Prior experience in human-wildlife conflict management, especially involving elephants, is preferred.

    Desired Skills

    • Strong organisational and people-management skills; able to direct a small multidisciplinary team.
    • Comfortable working across government, NGO, and technology-vendor simultaneously.
    • Written communication in English, for donor and policy-facing reporting.
    • Fluency in Hindi, at least in speaking.
    • Willingness to travel extensively and work in remote field conditions, including monsoon season.

    How to Apply

    Interested candidates should submit a CV and a cover letter outlining relevant experience to careers@wctindia.org, with the subject line “Application: Project Lead – MOVE-MP.” Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview.