Community Engagement Coordinator

About the role

The Community Engagement Coordinator will act as IFAW’s primary bridge between the organisation and communities living near Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks in Zambia’s Eastern Province. The position is key to IFAW’s human-wildlife coexistence work, helping local people move from being consulted to becoming active partners in safeguarding the surrounding ecosystems. Reporting to the Field Operations Manager, the coordinator will focus on strengthening trust, enabling dialogue, and turning conservation goals into practical solutions that also support community wellbeing.

This job is part of IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative, which aims to create connected wildlife landscapes across East and Southern Africa. In this setting, the coordinator will help deliver coexistence interventions tailored to local needs, especially where people are regularly affected by human-wildlife conflict. Success in the role depends on strong technical ability, cultural and political awareness, relationship management, and a clear commitment to fairness and inclusion.

The role involves close collaboration with traditional leaders, Community Resource Boards, district authorities, and national partners such as the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). The coordinator will help advance conservation-friendly livelihoods, support social safeguard practices, and strengthen the participation of women and young people in long-term conservation outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the rollout and periodic refinement of IFAW’s community engagement strategy in Eastern Province, ensuring it stays aligned with Room to Roam and Zambia’s conservation priorities, in consultation with the Field Operations Manager.
• Serve as the main day-to-day contact for community engagement work in Eastern Province and bring field insights back to Zambian and programme teams.
• Manage ongoing engagement with communities, traditional leaders, CRBs, and DNPW to shape and deliver effective coexistence activities.
• Develop and maintain working relationships with district leaders and councils so that conservation initiatives receive support and are aligned with district development plans.
• Support IFAW’s involvement in land-use planning at community and district level to protect wildlife corridors, reduce habitat fragmentation, and ensure conservation priorities are reflected in wider development decisions.
• Coordinate Primary Response Teams, including patrol tracking, rapid response deployments, awareness sessions, and inventory oversight.
• Assess community priorities, risks, and needs to guide the design of sustainable livelihoods that work alongside wildlife conservation.
• Plan and oversee community awareness and environmental education activities, including school outreach and local radio messaging.
• Support the introduction of active coexistence measures such as poliwire fencing and climate-smart agriculture, and monitor how well they work.
• Use EarthRanger and participatory tools to record human-wildlife conflict events and observe emerging patterns.
• Contribute ideas and content for project funding proposals and help ensure social safeguards are built into programme design and delivery.
• Provide technical input and logistical coordination for Community Engagement Assistants during trainings, planning sessions, and stakeholder consultations.
• Lead participatory assessments, data gathering, and analysis using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Make sure community engagement work follows IFAW’s social safeguard standards, including informed consent, risk assessments, and meaningful inclusion.
• Work with monitoring, evaluation, and programme teams to apply suitable indicators and measure project outcomes in context.
• Capture lessons, successes, and implementation challenges from field work to support adaptive management.
• Prepare routine reports, briefing notes, and case studies for both internal and external audiences.
• Support communications and visibility activities, including content for newsletters, donor updates, and advocacy materials.

What success looks like

• Communities show stronger ownership of wildlife conservation and take part more actively in CRBs and coexistence efforts.
• The administrative and governance systems of the three CRBs improve, with CRBs playing a more active role in managing wildlife and other natural resources.
• Human-wildlife conflict impacts are reduced and mitigation efforts clearly support livelihoods and community resilience.
• Environmental education reaches more schools and young people across the landscape.
• Conservation-linked small enterprises begin generating income and building wider support for wildlife protection.
• Strong, trusted relationships are maintained with local leaders, government bodies, and partner organisations.

Qualifications and competencies

Applicants should bring at least five years of progressively responsible experience in community engagement, rural development, or natural resource management, with a required specialisation in work with rural communities. The role calls for a proven ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with communities, traditional leaders, and government institutions. Experience working with DNPW, conservation or development NGOs, CRBs, the private sector, and cross-border conservation initiatives is also needed.

Ideal candidates will have practical experience leading participatory planning and implementation processes, along with exposure to social safeguards, FPIC processes, or inclusive programme design. Experience in district- and community-level land-use planning is important, especially where conservation, livelihoods, and infrastructure considerations must be balanced in one plan. Strong English communication skills and fluency in relevant local languages such as Chewa, Nyanja, and Tumbuka are required, along with solid writing, reporting, and learning-documentation skills. A demonstrated commitment to conservation, animal welfare, and equitable community partnerships is essential.

It is an advantage to be familiar with digital field tools for data collection and mapping, such as EarthRanger and KoboToolbox, and to understand small enterprise development and climate-smart agriculture.

Other requirements

The position is based in a remote, field-oriented environment and involves frequent travel across the landscape. Candidates must be willing to work in these conditions. High personal integrity, reliability, and a collaborative mindset are necessary, as is the ability to juggle several responsibilities while meeting tight deadlines.

Equity and inclusion

IFAW is committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the global community it serves and welcomes candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. The organisation actively supports justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in hiring and workplace culture.

Compensation and closing date

The hiring range for this role is ZMK 372,000 to ZMK 465,000. Applications close on 27 July 2026.

Location

Lusaka, Lusaka Province, Zambia. The work is remote and field-based, with regular travel across the project landscape.