AWF Launches Management-Level Conservation Training Program

New Conservation Management Training Program Will Help Develop Next Generation of Leaders in African Conservation

NAIROBI, Kenya, March 7, 2012 -- In keeping with its history of conservation leadership development, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has launched the Conservation Management Training Program (CMTP), a competitive two-year training and mentorship program for highly qualified candidates.

This 24-month program, comprising six full-time paid positions, will serve to develop tomorrow's leaders in African conservation while also growing AWF's own cadre of expertise. Deadline for application to the program is April 6, 2012, for a July 2 start date.

The CMTP offers recent master's degree graduates the opportunity to learn about all aspects of African conservation under the guidance of AWF's conservation thought leaders. The program has three stages, each of which builds upon the previous phase to provide a complete real-world education in conservation and management:

Stage 1 provides a three-month orientation to AWF's systems and conservation methodologies. Based out of AWF's Nairobi headquarters, trainees complete one or more short desk assignments, with the goal of producing tangible intellectual outputs for AWF while gaining an understanding of the issues within each Heartland (large conservation landscapes where AWF works).

Stage 2 immerses trainees for 18 months in technical conservation and hands-on field work. Trainees are mentored for nine months under one of AWF's senior program staff as well as given a nine-month field assignment in one or more AWF Heartland. Areas of focus and geographic assignments are dependent on trainees' skills and AWF's needs, and may range from conservation biology and ecology, to climate change policy, to community engagement, and more.

Stage 3 is a final three-month period of reflection, documentation, and career planning. CMTP participants work together to produce a holistic report on AWF's operations and challenges, with recommendations on new strategies and best practices for AWF's future work.

"Achieving conservation in Africa requires a range of seemingly divergent skills and expertise, not all of which can be developed during one's course of graduate study," said Jeff Chrisfield, CFO and head of human resources at AWF. "African Wildlife Foundation's Conservation Management Training Program provides tomorrow's conservation leaders the opportunity to learn firsthand how best to implement conservation strategies on a continent that has a distinctive cultural, socioeconomic, and ecological profile."

Participants will come away from the program with an understanding of all aspects of AWF's conservation methodologies, significant exposure to AWF's top management, and training in leadership and management. In addition, successful trainees will receive priority consideration for open positions at AWF.