Community Development Manager

Duration: Permanent Reporting to: Park Warden Location: Limpopo National Park Region, Province Working condition: Hybrid BACKGROUND Founded in 1997 by President Nelson Mandela, HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Dr Anton Rupert, Peace Parks Foundation is a non-profit organisation pioneering conservation at scale across southern Africa. Working through Transfrontier Conservation Areas that span national borders, Peace Parks connects protected areas, supports biodiversity conservation and ecological resilience, strengthens local economies and promotes regional peace and stability. Its holistic approach is built on three pillars: conservation at scale, community development and conservation finance, ensuring that protected areas deliver long-term ecological and economic value. To date, Peace Parks has supported governments in establishing 780 000 km² of Transfrontier Conservation Areas across southern Africa. It also co-manages eight parks where wildlife populations have rebounded fivefold and supports more than 280 000 people annually through its interventions. With formal government mandates and strong community partnerships, Peace Parks offers a proven model for building resilience for people and nature across southern Africa’s most significant landscapes. The Foundation’s Vision 2050 is to secure 17 fully functional transboundary landscapes spanning 980 000 km², making it one of the world’s largest land-based conservation initiatives. www.peaceparks.org JOB PURPOSE The role will lead the strategic planning, budgeting, and execution of the Park’s community portfolio, providing direct management and oversight to departmental staff and field teams. It will strengthen community organisations (such as Natural Resource Management Councils) to foster transparent governance, drive market-led sustainable livelihood interventions, and lead Human Wildlife Coexistence initiatives that protect critical transboundary ecological linkages and wildlife corridors. Ultimately, the position will maximize the sustainable enhancement of community benefits to improve household standards of living, directly bridging socioeconomic development with the long-term conservation of biodiversity. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic & Operational Departmental Management Develop and implement Community Development Programme annual work plans and budget in line with the overall community development strategy and buffer zone management plan. Supervise, mentor, performance manage, and evaluate department staff to ensure operational efficiency, productivity, disciplined resource use, and strict document/financial control. Ensure effective management, security, and use of department assets and resources. Compile and submit technical reports to the Park Warden and Head of Operations and Development. Implement and report on key donor programmes which relate to community development. Support the effective capturing and closing out of grievances in compliance with the park grievance procedure. Ensure the development, approval and implementation of approved community livelihood programmes, ensuring the financial and technical sustainability of such programmes. Community governance and capacity development Establish and strengthen inclusive community governance structures, specifically Natural Resource Management Councils. Facilitate structured participatory planning and baseline assessments with local government, community leaders, and members to co-develop inclusive community development plans. Deliver targeted capacity-building workshops and leadership training, with a focus on gender-strengthening, women’s empowerment, and inclusive decision-making protocols. Equip and support local communities to take active responsibility for sustainable natural resource management. Implement environmental education programmes and messaging. Community safety, security and wellbeing Facilitate the provision of essential community infrastructure, including multi-use solar water systems (boreholes and treadle pumps), clean energy solutions (e.g. fuel-efficient cookstoves), and sustainable sanitation and waste removal services. Support access to essential social services and human capital development by upgrading local educational facilities and implementing community health, reproductive health, family planning, and targeted skills development initiatives. Establish rural development nodes and incentive frameworks to support, sensitize, and enable families to voluntarily relocate out of core conservation areas into buffer zones. Equip communities with technical tools and awareness training to proactively promote Human-Wildlife Coexistence. Safeguard local socioeconomic development nodes. Community resilience and socio-economic development Establish climate-smart and sustainable primary production initiatives, including conservation and irrigation agriculture, improved livestock management, and responsible artisanal fishing practices. Support the implementation of Herding for Health programmes Drive income generation and rural entrepreneurship by creating sustainable livelihood opportunities, facilitating local Small and Medium Enterprise development, and promoting direct market access for community producers. Expand local employment and social safety nets through park-led rural development projects and targeted cash-for-work opportunities (eco-jobs). Identify, integrate, and deploy affordable, accessible technologies to enhance field productivity and facilitate community-aligned land conservation and carbon credit programmes (such as REDD+). MEL & Quality Assurance Implement the departmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework in direct coordination with the MEL team to measure long-term project impacts. Undertake rigorous socio-economic baseline assessments for every project and community before field implementation to anchor data-driven decision-making. Maintain and update the park’s centralized community database, verifying field data accuracy regarding crop harvest volumes and commercialized metrics. Execute any other reasonable field or administrative tasks as required by the park.