Join Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC): Protect Australia’s Unique Wildlife!

Are you passionate about conservation and making a real difference for Australia’s endangered wildlife? AWC, a global leader in conservation, is looking for operations managers in the stunning Kimberley region at our Mornington - Marion Downs and Charnley River - Artesian Range for 2025.

About AWC:

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a global leader in conservation, providing hope for Australia’s wildlife with a science-informed, land management partnership approach which delivers high impact results. We protect endangered wildlife in iconic regions such as the Kimberley, Cape York, the Top End and Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.  

AWC’s mission - to deliver effective conservation for all native animal species and their habitats - is achieved by:  

• Operations - delivering effective large-scale land management including fire management, feral animal control, weed control and infrastructure management.  

• Science - delivering a nationally-coherent program of ecological surveys with a focus on monitoring key conservation assets and threats, conducting applied research relevant to wildlife conservation, implementing conservation programs including reintroductions, and providing advice on land management.   

• Fundraising - mobilising finance (primarily, tax deductible donations) from the general public and philanthropists including through effective communication of AWC conservation programs.    

OneAWC is defined as ‘a cohesive, engaged, collaborative, high performing group guided by strong, effective leaders. A group of people who all understand AWC’s mission, vision and their role in contributing to the achievement of mission and vision, all connected and working towards a common purpose, guided by a set of shared values’.  The delivery of AWC’s mission is highly reliant on all AWC working collaboratively with each other. 

About the Roles:

In the Kimbereley, AWC protects wildlife and their habitats across 7 properties and partnership areas, covering 4.3 million hectares; Mornington-Marion Downs and Charnley River - Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuaries; in partnership with Yulmbu (Kija), Dambimangari and Wilinggin Traditional Owners, Ranger Groups and their representative Aboriginal Corporations and implements conservation management on Yampi Sound Training Area, in collaboration with Dambimangari people under contract with the Commonwealth Department of Defence. 

The position of Operations Manager reports directly to the Regional Operations Manager and is primarily responsible for managing operations on the sanctuary and AWC partnership areas. The Operations Manager, in collaboration with the respective Senior Ecologists, is responsible for delivering effective conservation against a diverse program of work and deliverables on the given sanctuary and partnership area. 

Success in this position (i.e., effective conservation) will be measured by reference to key metrics which track: 

• The populations (or other metric) of indicator species.  
• The extent to which threatening processes are reduced including: 
• reducing ecological impact, occurrence and extent of wildfires; 
• reducing the density/population of feral animals; and 
• reducing the area of occupancy of invasive weeds.   
• Partner collaboration, satisfaction and engagement 
• The cost at which outcomes are delivered (our aim is to deliver the highest outcomes at the lowest cost). 
• Corporate and program compliance

CRITICAL COMPETENCIES:

1. Getting Things Done: you need exceptional planning and organisational skills, including a demonstrated ability to prioritise and execute a large number of tasks in an efficient manner.
2. Leadership: This is a leadership position - you need excellent people management skills, including proven ability leading, recruiting, developing, managing and coordination of remote teams of staff, rangers, contractors and volunteers.
3. Collaboration: you need good relationship-building, collaborative, communication and interpersonal skills with a diverse range of stakeholders including colleagues, Indigenous partners and communities, pastoralists, Government agencies, scientific community and other conservation and land management organisations.
4. Conservation Land Management: demonstrated knowledge and practical experience developing and delivering land programs, in collaboration with partners, including:
   • Planning and hands-on delivery of planned burning programs and wildfire suppression, as directed by the Regional Fire Manger;
   • Planning and delivery of feral eradication programs across unfenced landscapes;
   • The planning and delivery of weed management programs. 
5. Infrastructure and Asset Management: demonstrated knowledge and practical experience delivering asset management including:
   • The planning and delivery of major remote capital works and infrastructure projects;
   • The planning and delivery of repairs and maintenance works for major infrastructure, plant and equipment;
   • The ability to use a wide range of plant and equipment (generators, pumps, power tools etc) and perform routine repairs, including mechanical, and maintenance – or be willing to undertake training; and
   • 4WD experience in relevant off-road conditions is essential.
6. Financial Management: demonstrated ability to help deliver projects in a cost-effective manner and to manage financial resources including:
   • Developing and operating within an agreed budget and operation plan for the management area;
   • Coding and tracking expenditure; and
   • Preparing written financial and operational reports.
7. Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement: the ability to represent AWC at a variety of local and regional forums. A demonstrated record of building and maintaining a diverse range of partner and stakeholder relationships, fostering strong collaboration and managing expectations.
8. Strong Administration: demonstrated ability to maintain records, manage data, write letters and reports, manage permit/authorization processes and undertake contract management.
9. Resourcefulness: the ability to improvise and ‘problem-solve’, developing practical solutions with limited resources.
10. Living in the Bush: previous experience of working and living in a remote area, and the supervision of teams in geographically diverse locations.
11. Information Technology: ability to use standard business software packages (including Word, email, Excel, MS Project) and GIS. Willingness to lead adoption of new software solutions including Fulcrum, Monday.com and Asset Panda.
12. A Passion for Conservation: a passion for, and strong demonstrated interest in, conservation.
13. Willingness to travel.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Formal qualifications in a relevant discipline would be an advantage, but is less important than strong, practical experience and a good track record of delivering ‘on-ground’ results.
2. Demonstrated experience in delivering ‘on-ground’ results in land management.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES:

1. Valid manual driver’s licence.
2. Valid agricultural machinery licences for machinery such as trucks, tractors and other vehicles/equipment as relevant (or the capacity to readily obtain these licences).
3. Remote Senior first aid certificate (or the capacity to readily obtain).
4. Current Police clearance certificate.
5. Valid firearms license (highly desirable)

Inherent requirements of the role: The execution of tasks associated with the position will involve fieldwork in remote locations and away from an established field base, often in isolated locations and working alone. A significant number of operations and land management activities in the Kimberley are undertaken in light aircraft and helicopters. The working environment will be predominantly outdoors and often in the extremes of weather – hot and wet and/or dry, especially when conducting fire and land management operations. The position can be physically demanding and may require walking and climbing over rough terrain, heavy muscular activity including lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling loads, bending, climbing and driving a variety of vehicles. In addition, the applicant will conduct periods of office work, planning and supervising projects. The successful applicant must be physically capable of performing these activities in the locations required to carry out the inherent role responsibilities. 

PLEASE NOTE: The roles are planned for an early 2025 start in either February or March.