Project Officer

Location: London

Contract: Full-time. Hybrid working (3 days in office; 2 days home working)

Salary: £36,000 - £42,000 (based on experience)

Other Benefits:

• 22 days leave (and statutory holidays), increasing by 1 day for the first year worked and then by 2 days for each year of service after. Extended paid leave over Christmas / New Year.

• Generous pension contributions, increasing for each year of service

• Private health insurance and cycling to work scheme

About EJF

EJF exists to protect the natural world and defend our fundamental human right to a secure environment. We believe in equity and justice and a need to respect, defend, and empower communities most at risk from habitat loss, biodiversity collapse and global heating. We campaign for environmental justice.

EJF drives policy and changes to the very ‘architecture’ of environmental governance, securing permanent solutions through our determined, efficient, and effective approach to the protection of the natural world. Our campaigns focus on five priority, interlinked areas: ocean, climate, wetlands and forests, sustainable fashion, and environmental defenders.

About the role

EJF seeks a highly motivated candidate to join our programme on Participatory Fisheries Governance and lead the deployment and use of a bespoke smartphone application (DASE) that empowers small-scale fishers to report illegal industrial fishing.

The successful applicant should be proactive, have excellent organisational skills, and think practically and strategically. They will be closely coordinating with teams across Southeast Asia and West Africa, standardising processes and practices where relevant, to ensure the successful deployment of the app.

The role requires balancing technical expertise in data analysis and digital tools with a deep understanding of the realities faced by small-scale fishers in the Global South.

Key responsibilities:

Support Strategic Community Engagement with In-Country Teams

• Work with in-country teams to develop innovative and creative approaches that effectively engage communities in monitoring illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing

• Under the supervision of the EJF team, work to standardise systems, centralise information, develop protocols, and share best practices across country teams

• Organise the review of existing training and guidance materials on participatory fisheries governance

• Contribute to the creation of new training or guidance materials where relevant

• Participate in growing the mobile application’s (DASE’s) visibility through conferences, events, and communications (where appropriate)

Manage the DASE App and Database

• Monitor, maintain, and improve the DASE database

• Liaise regularly with the DASE platform provider to raise issues with the app and explore creative solutions

• Collate and augment evidence of suspected IUU fishing infringements gathered through the DASE app into detailed briefings that can be provided as evidence to relevant states

• Coordinate translation of the DASE app text into relevant languages

• Ensure the safe and appropriate handling of sensitive data

Innovation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

• Develop practical and effective monitoring systems to collate and track key DASE metrics such as the number of fishers trained, the number of vessels prosecuted, users’ feedback on the app and other qualitative data

• Ensure that lessons learnt are shared across teams and integrated to continuously improve the project (reviewing sites and selection of communities, engagement practices, etc.)

• Stay up to date with technology and AI advances that could support coastal communities and involvement in fisheries governance.

Requirements

Required experience and skills:

• University degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. environment, international development, social sciences, etc.)

• At least two years’ professional work experience in a relevant field (e.g. environmental action, international development, project management, natural resources governance, etc.)

• Fluency in English

• Proactivity and persistence

• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail

• Problem solving and creative thinking

• Strong writing skills to develop clear templates and training materials

• Emotional intelligence and understanding of behavioural changes

• Passionate about environmental and social justice, as well as community empowerment

• Strong interest in using technology to support communities

• Willingness to undertake some international travel

Desirable skills and experience:

• Additional language fluency: French, Spanish, Thai, Bahasa, Filipino, or Wolof

• Experience coordinating projects

• Previous experience in fisheries governance and IUU fishing

• Experience developing templates and standardising practices (SOPs, M&E, feedback processes, training materials)

• Experience with community engagement & using tech to support them

• Experience critically reviewing existing projects (gap analysis, developing & implementing practical recommendations)

Applications: Please send your CV and a cover letter (maximum 1.5 pages) explaining why you are the right person for this job to: recruitment@ejfoundation.org

Closing date for applications: 5 pm Monday, 28th July 2025.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates must have the legal right to work in the UK.

EJF is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity within the workplace.