The Waitt Institute is seeking to fill 1 position for a Ocean Use Survey Coordinator for full-time 4-month contract role with Noo Raajje, the Blue Prosperity Program for The Maldives. This exciting partnership between the Waitt Institute and the Government of the Maldives focuses on designating at least 20% of The Maldives sovereign waters as fully protected marine protected areas and advancing existing blue economy activities including sustainable fisheries and tourism. Reporting to the Noo Raajje Site Manager – Ocean Use Survey Coordinator will serve as key on-the-ground field staff for the Noo Raajje program coordinating the Ocean Use Survey to understand natural resource use by stakeholders in the Maldives. 

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Background

Ocean use surveys (OUS) are participatory mapping surveys that ask respondents to identify areas in the coastal marine environment that they value or use. Community members are able to select the ocean use sector they associate with, draw shapes in locations they utilize, and assign a point value for each shape. They can also provide general comments to specify why they might value or use a certain area. The responses collected from these surveys are used to produce heat maps that serve as a comprehensive baseline representation of sector-specific interest. 

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Objectives

The objective of this survey is to identify valued ocean spaces for key stakeholder sectors in the Maldives. The areas drawn by survey respondents will help fill data gaps on the distribution of various ocean uses and activities, and the data will be used to weigh trade-offs and cultivate solutions that meet as many planning objectives as possible. The ocean use survey aims to solicit input from the Maldivian community that will be factored into the marine spatial planning process by providing an opportunity for respondents to identify areas of value and use. 

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Survey Implementation

The Maldives OUS will be made accessible on a desktop or laptop via the SeaSketch tool and on a mobile device using the Maptionnaire community engagement platform. Paper maps will be provided when necessary and then paper map surveys will be reproduced in SeaSketch by a member of the survey facilitation or site team. To complete the survey, respondents will need to provide a name and email address, an island of primary residence, identify what sector they are representing, and provide spatial data on what areas they find important via shapes they draw on a map. 

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Ocean Use Survey Coordinator

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Duties and Responsibilities

The OUS Coordinator will serve as key on-the-ground field staff to the Noo Raajje program and will be responsible for overseeing logistics for OUS Facilitators deploying the Ocean Use Survey. The coordinator will: 

• Oversee the implementation of the Ocean Use Survey 

• Supervise and train OUS facilitators 

• Support field team in managing travel, organizing group meetings, and facilitating survey responses 

• Organize data, reproduce paper maps in SeaSketch, and other related tasks (trainings will be provided) 

• Liaise with the Noo Raajje Site Manager to ensure work advances as planned and survey targets are being met 

• Track survey responses and provide progress updates to the Noo Raajje Site Team 

• Adapt the Ocean Use Survey strategy as needed to meet objectives 

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Minimum Qualifications Skills & Experience 

• Qualified Project Manager with 2 years job experience OR Bachelor’s degree in marine or fisheries science, environmental science, policy, economics, law, sociology, psychology, or a related field with 2 years job experience 

• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to efficiently and successfully manage, prioritize, and track multiple tasks and requests from multiple sources 

• Excellent interpersonal skills 

• Prior work supporting senior staff or government officials 

• Ability to work well independently and as part of a team 

• Demonstrated experience in report writing and editing with excellent attention to technical details 

• Strong commitment to sustainable progressive ocean management 

 

Salary 

Coordinator will earn $1,250 per month for up to four months working from home and in the field. In addition, any work-related travel expenses including a per diem will be covered. 

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Contact information 

Kindly send an email of your resume & cover letter written in English with “Ocean Use Survey Coordinator” in the subject line of the email to Waitt Institute’s Program Manager, Ms. Robin Ramdeen, rramdeen@waittinstitute.org and Noo Raajje Site Manager, Ms. Fathimath Nistharan fnistharan@waittinstitute.org by 28 September, 2021 to be considered for a position.