Bilingual Project Manager - CRAFT-Sustainable Development

Contract type: Fixed Term (60 months)

Would you like to be part of an exciting new research project to understand how the rainforests of the Congo Basin are changing, and help deliver that knowledge to increase forest protection and improve local livelihoods? Do you have a background in project management with strong organisational and communication skills needed to support researchers and co-ordinate key activities? Do you have excellent French language communication skills? 

This is a new role which will provide project management and other support to the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI) and its first major affiliated project, CRAFT-Sustainable Development (Congo Rainforest Alliance for Forest Training for Sustainable Development). CRAFT-Sustainable Development is funded by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), as part of its Congo Basin Forest Action Programme. 

CBSI and CRAFT are co-led by the Ecology and Global Change Cluster in the School of Geography, University of Leeds, and the Congo Basin Water Resources Centre, University of Kinshasa. You will work closely with leading scientists and early career researchers in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, the UK, and elsewhere in the world. 

CRAFT will implement part of the CBSI Science and Capacity Building Plan. The project will support 12 leading scientific research groups in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, plus six groups in the UK. This will include 20 new PhD studentships and 12 MSc/MRes studentships for early career scientists from the region. The project will produce a step-change in both the scientific understanding of the region and the scientific capacity, and then deliver this new knowledge to policy makers and civil society.   

As a Bilingual Project Manager, you will lead on the project management and co-ordination of activities associated with CRAFT and CBSI, including strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation to ensure that project commitments and deliverables are achieved in a timely manner; reporting on spending, monitoring and reporting progress against objectives; organising and engaging in project meetings, including one large conference each year in central Africa; coordinating logistics for overseas travel for meetings and fieldwork; liaising with the project partners, including in French; overseeing the production of content for the project, its website, and social media channels; and supporting the day-to-day project management needs.

Please note that this post may be suitable for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route but first-time applicants might need to qualify for salary concessions. For more information please visit: www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

For research and academic posts, we will consider eligibility under the Global Talent visa. For more information please visit: www.gov.uk/global-talent

What we offer in return

• 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
• Generous pension scheme plus life assurance– the University contributes 14.5% of salary
• Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
• Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team.
• Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more!  

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Simon Lewis

Email: s.l.lewis@leeds.ac.uk

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