Work in the Amazon jungle: Monkey Coordinator

 Do you have experience with primates? We are seeking a primate manager to work in our wildlife sanctuaries looking after rescued animals.

Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is a Bolivian NGO made up of a dedicated team of volunteers and professionals, both Bolivian and foreign. Founded in 1992, CIWY was a pioneer in the environmental movement in Bolivia and is well known at both a national and international level. CIWY currently has three sanctuaries: Machia (Cochabamba), Ambue Ari (Santa Cruz) and Jacj Cuisi (Rurrenabaque), with each sanctuary housing wild animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, bringing them a better quality of life. 

www.ciwy.org

Role Description

This role requires a person with a lot of passion and commitment to help animals. The successful candidate will have a strong capacity for close observation, and the will to supervise the behaviour of the primate species present in our sanctuaries, and feel comfortable managing them. You must have very good organisational and teamwork skills, all while being able to work independently when necessary and always being adaptable. The role requires the ability to oversee and take charge of daily routines just as a coordinator would, including cleaning, food preparation, caring for the animals as well as general maintenance.

 

All of the monkeys require human supervision to ensure their well-being and the successful candidate will be in charge of this, together with the coordinators. The primate manager is also in charge of introducing, training, supervising and organising the work of the primate coordinators.

 

You should be in good physical and psychological condition and be ready to face tough working conditions, including working in challenging weather conditions and carrying heavy backpacks full of food and other materials to locations which are sometimes far away.

 

Working with wild animals means there is always a risk of accidents occuring (including bites) if safety and security protocols are not adhered to.

Responsibilities

The primate manager will be in charge of the following tasks:

• Working together with biologists, being responsible for keeping animal files and general primate management files up to date. To record observations, births, deaths, illnesses and behavioural changes amongst the primates at our sanctuaries.
• Supervise the work of the coordinators and guide them in their day to day activities.
  
• Monitor the maintenance of the sanctuary infrastructure and the well being of the primates, together with the coordinators, the biologist and the veterinary team.
• Supervise and adapt the diets of the animals according to their nutritional needs and the availability of different foods.
• Administer medicine and treatment to monkeys as required, under the authorisation and supervision of the veterinarians.
• The training, organisation and introduction of new volunteers, coordinators and interns.
  
• Implement strategies to ensure the wellbeing of the animals under your care, as well as that of the volunteers and staff.
• Be in direct communication with the head office and volunteer coordinator to support the coordinators and volunteers with any problem that they might have.
• Work together with the coordinators to plan, carry out and adapt the daily routines according to the requirements of each day.
• Support the coordinators to organise daily activities including the cleaning of animal areas, feeding, enrichment and organising volunteers' days off.
• To attend and participate in park meetings when requested by the Administrator or President, and keep in close contact with them at all times.
• To know and understand the emergency protocols in case of attacks, escapes and accidents and know how to apply them.
  
• Carry out repairs at the animal areas where necessary. 
  

Profile

Candidates should have a strong interest in wild animals, and specifically in primates, their behaviour and wellbeing. You must also have a strong degree of self-management and the willingness to take on a large amount of responsibility. For this reason we require candidates to have previous management and team organisation experience, as well as having worked previously with wild animals, especially primates from the New World. Candidates must also have strong speaking, reading and writing skills in both Spanish and English. 

Conditions

The two CIWY sanctuaries that are home to primates are located in remote parts of Bolivia and the conditions vary. As previously mentioned these sanctuaries are Machia and Jacj Cuisi; therefore you can expect to work in any of our sanctuaries. In Machia there is electricity, WiFi and clean drinking water almost always although some interruptions are possible. Jacj Cuisi, being in the jungle, is more isolated. There is electricity but only to charge electronic devices/equipment. There is no WiFi although a mobile internet signal can be found in various places. There are only cold water showers.

You will be living as part of a community, made up of a mix of both Bolivian workers and volunteers, as well as international volunteers coming from all over the world.

You will be required to work hard, in an environment that requires great physical effort, decisiveness, creativity, ingenuity and adaptability, taking into account the economic restraints and limited resources.

You will have the privilege of working to give animals rescued from the illegal pet trade a second chance in life. The end goal of your day to day activities will be maintaining and improving the quality of life of the animals under your care in a process of reintegration to a wilder life. 

Hours of work

The primate manager will have the responsibility of administering various management areas. Normally our long term workers are the first to arrive and the last to leave their areas of work to ensure that the work is carried out correctly.

You can expect a working day that begins at 7am and ends at 5:30pm, with a one hour break for breakfast and one hour and a half break for lunch.

You will work six days per week, with one day off per week. They will also have a one week holiday after the sixth working month.

Accommodation

The living conditions are basic because the majority of funds are spent directly on the animals under our care. Machia has an accomodation area for volunteers/coordinators/long term workers which consists of bedrooms, a kitchen and a common eating area that is shared by all. The bedrooms are shared by up to four people, the beds have straw mattresses and there are shared bathrooms with hot water. Despite there being permanent electricity and water, outages can occur occasionally (especially during the wet season).

Jacj Cuisi has an accomodation area for coordinators/volunteers/long term workers that consists of shared bedrooms, bathroom and shower. There is a comedor and one kitchen which is only used by the sanctuary cook. The bedrooms are shared by between two and eight people and have straw mattresses.

Sheets and pillows are provided. We also recommend you to bring a sleeping bag for colder nights, a mosquito net and boots, as well as a padlock for the security of your personal possessions. 

Working contract

For this position, the candidate must commit to a minimum of one year following a one month training period. In Machia accommodation, breakfast and lunch are provided while in Jacj Cuisi accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner are included (except on your day off when you go to the town). The position attracts a remuneration package of 200 USD which could be increased depending on the candidate's experience. A financial contribution would also be made to cover the costs related to obtaining a one year visa. However, for this we require candidates to have six months previous experience in management and team leadership, in addition to one year's experience working with wildlife, especially with primates from the New World.

If you are interested, please send your CV plus a cover letter indicating your experience to info@intiwarayassi.org until November 30th.