IUCN’s Science Team, within the Science & Data Centre, represents IUCN’s expertise on conservation science with an emphasis on standards and metrics to assess the status of and risk to biodiversity, and responses to reverse this risk. It generates new and insightful analysis that advances conservation perspectives and raises IUCN’s credibility and profile, while at the same time, provides the necessary support to other teams for the consistent integration of scientifically robust baselines and analysis across the IUCN programme portfolio. The Science Team is globally decentralised with staff in San Jose (Costa Rica), Cambridge (United Kingdom), Gland (Switzerland), and Washington DC (USA). The Science Team works closely with diverse partners including governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and IUCN Commissions to deploy IUCN’s tools and knowledge products in support of global conservation goals.
The Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric was developed by IUCN and designed to support science-based target setting for species conservation (Mair et al. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2021), as part of an overall approach to measurement and delivery of Rapid, High-Integrity, Nature-positive Outcomes (https://www.iucnrhino.org). STAR quantifies the reduction in global species extinction risk that could be achieved through the abatement of threats and restoration of habitat in any given area of interest. A key priority for the Science Team is supporting end-users—including conservation organisations, governments, and businesses—in applying and calibrating STAR for their specific contexts. This requires significant coordination between technical experts, stakeholders, and end-users to confirm species and threat presence, and calculate calibrated STAR scores that can inform conservation target-setting and measure progress.
The Scientific Coordinator will support the execution of the portfolio of projects through the Science Team, with a primary focus on coordination, stakeholder engagement, and project management. Application of IUCN Standard Knowledge Products, such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and derived products like STAR, will be a common theme, and these are expected to be harnessed as appropriate in all projects. Most if not all Science projects will be implemented jointly with the IUCN Commissions and/or with peer conservation science-related institutions and networks, both among the IUCN Membership and beyond it. Most if not all projects will also anticipate written outputs for publication into the peer reviewed literature, either into independent scientific journals or as IUCN publications, as well as presentations in scientific and policy-related conferences and other fora.
The Scientific Coordinator will serve a substantial role in facilitating end-user’s (conservation organisations, governments, businesses) efforts to calibrate STAR analyses at their specific sites through organizing meetings, coordinating between technical experts and stakeholders, supporting the deployment of the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (ibat-alliance.org), and liaising with other Science Team staff, in all cases in support of measurement of Rapid, High-Integrity, Nature-positive Outcomes. The Scientific Coordinator will provide essential project management support including tracking project timelines, organizing stakeholder meetings and workshops, preparing meeting documentation and minutes, coordinating reporting processes, and problem solving.
As the Scientific Coordinator will be based in an African IUCN office, it is anticipated that the Scientific Coordinator will work with regional data and information mobilization, support the preparation of written outputs for publication and assist in data compilation for presentations in fora and conferences in the regional context. For the first year of employment, it is anticipated that 100% of time will be spent on Science Team projects; however, from the second year onwards, up to 15% of the Scientific Coordinator’s time may be supported through engagement in regional projects.
SPECIFIC DUTIES:
• Organize, facilitate, and lead meetings and workshops with end-users and external organizations (typically 5-10 participants) to support their efforts to calibrate STAR in order to guide conservation actions in their areas of interest, including scheduling, preparing agendas, coordinating participant engagement, documenting outcomes, and ensuring follow-up actions are tracked
• Coordinate interactions between end-users, technical experts (e.g., IUCN SSC Members), and IUCN tools and systems, serving as a liaison point for stakeholder communications
• Support the implementation of Science Team projects through project coordination activities including timeline management, meeting organization, event preparation, stakeholder liaison, and coordination with the broader network of partners and contributors
• Facilitate the application of data and knowledge products mobilised against IUCN standards (including but not limited to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Red List of Ecosystems, the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas, and the World Database of Protected Areas including IUCN Green List and World Heritage sites) as appropriate in all projects, including assisting with data compilation and preparation
• Coordinate (and sometimes lead) training sessions and provide guidance to staff, partners, and communities on the use of IUCN tools and systems
• Support dissemination of results, with particular attention to integrating regional data through (a) assisting with the preparation of presentations for scientific and policy-related conferences and other fora and (b) supporting publication processes into the peer reviewed literature, either into independent scientific journals or as IUCN publications, including coordinating author contributions and preparing supporting materials
• Fulfil project coordination responsibilities for tracking and reporting on relevant aspects of the Science Team project portfolio, including maintaining project documentation, coordinating reporting cycles, and liaising with finance team on budget-related matters
• Prepare and maintain comprehensive meeting minutes, action item lists, and project documentation
• Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.