Applications are invited for a postdoctoral fellowship with BirdLife South Africa (BLSA) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) to support analyses, monitoring and coordination of South Africa’s Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) network.

The postdoctoral fellowship is under the auspices of the project titled ‘Building biodiversity knowledge for action in Southern Africa: Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, Prioritization and Planning in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi’ (hereafter ‘SBAPP Regional Project’), which has been awarded to SANBI by French donors.

The purpose of this project is to develop and/or enhance spatial biodiversity assessments (of key species and ecosystem types) for four countries, and assist with their application in biodiversity prioritisation and planning in those countries. The postdoctoral fellowship will fall within Objective 7.1 ‘A network of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) available for South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi’, and will focus on South Africa’s KBAs. South Africa’s first KBA network is in the process of being finalised as of March 2023, however, substantial coordination with experts and ongoing monitoring, data gathering and curation is required.

Requirements: The postdoctoral fellowship is open to anyone who has been awarded a PhD in the last five years, or who has submitted the final version of their PhD (i.e. letter/form from supervisors noting that all corrections requested by reviewers have been addressed) by the time of applying for this fellowship.

Candidates must have a strong ecological background, including work in South African biomes, and have a desire to transition to a non-academic career path (however some possibilities for research and publication remain). Applicants must demonstrate an ability to synthesise literature and data sources, and use scientific evidence to formulate defendable recommendations.

The position also involves coordination and convening tasks linked to the National Coordination Group (NCG) for KBAs in South Africa. Candidates should also be comfortable working with a range of stakeholders across multiple sectors and should be able to convene necessary coordination meetings and workshops to further the KBA agenda in Southern Africa.

Candidates must be independent and productive with a track record in peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and popular writing. It would be an advantage for applicants to have experience with working with spatial biodiversity data sets, relational databases (basic SQL), as well as fundraising.

Areas of work: The main areas of work for the postdoc are (not in any priority order):

1. Develop a strategic KBA monitoring plan (after reading the international guidance) and liaise with partners to undertake the monitoring for the South Africa KBA network;
2. Assist with coordinating KBA activities in SA (both land and marine), including catalysing conservation action within KBAs through leveraging appropriate partnerships in the landscape;
3. Undertake training for end users and respond to end-user queries about the South African KBA network for how to utilise the data/network;
4. Liaise with all KBA stakeholders (including regional NCGs and KBA experts), and act as the secretariat of the KBA NCG for South Africa – including liaising with contributors and handling applications for new KBAs;
5. Assist with data gathering, analysis and curation to ensure the maintenance and updating of the South Africa KBA network datasets and linkages with the World Database of KBAs;
6. Working with the SANBI and BLSA communication experts, raise awareness about the South African KBA network with relevant stakeholders through publishing in popular literature and undertaking other communication initiatives;
7. Undertake fundraising for future KBA monitoring, research and stakeholder engagements;
8. Contribute to the publication about various aspects of South Africa’s KBAs in peer-reviewed literature.

Value: A fellowship of R350,000 per year for one (1) year is available, with the potential for extension for a second year if progress is suitable. Some running expenses will also be made available each year.

University: The postdoctoral fellow may propose a South African University of their choice or work with BLSA/SANBI to find a host university.

Application procedure: Each application is to be accompanied by a standard bursary application cover sheet (attached to this advert). A motivation letter (no longer than a page) describing the applicant’s suitability for the position in terms of skills, experience and published research is critical. Applications should also include full CV; certified copies of academic records and ID; two letters of reference (one must be from an academic supervisor, the other preferably from a non-academic source); and examples of published work. Send all documents to students@sanbi.org.za and students.sanbi@gmail.com with “SANBI-BLSA KBA Postdoctoral Fellowship” in the subject line.

Contact details

Academic queries can be directed to Mr Ernst Retief (ernst.retief@birdlife.org.za) and Dr Lize von Staden (L.vonStaden@sanbi.org.za).

Questions about the application process should be sent to Ms René du Toit (r.dutoit@sanbi.org.za).

SANBI and BLSA reserve the right not to fill this fellowship. If no response has been received by end July 2023, candidates may assume that their applications were unsuccessful.

Closes: Friday,  23 June 2023 (The successful candidate will be notified before 15 July 2023)
Location: BirdLife South Africa offices in Johannesburg or Cape Town (will consider remote)