Technical Officer for Fisheries - Liberia

Based: EJF office in Monrovia, Liberia

Contract: One year full-time with the possibility of a renewal

Salary range: Competitive, up to US$28,000 (gross) per annum, dependent upon experience.

Benefits:

• Support for healthcare costs
• Annual leave of 17days plus all 11 Liberian national public holidays, increasing by 2 days each year of service, plus 1 personal day per year
• Travel allowance to facilitate access to the office in Monrovia

Position overview

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Fisheries Technical Officer to implement and develop our oceans programme in Liberia. Based in Monrovia, with travel to project sites as required, you will be responsible for providing fisheries-focused technical input to programmes aimed at reducing illegal fishing and improve the sustainability of fisheries. The role requires a range of skills and abilities and offers many opportunities for career development including but not limited to effective project management and data collection/research skills. As EJF’s Liberia Fisheries Technical Officer, you will be working closely with the Liberia Chief Representative, West Africa Regional Manager, and our international communications team to develop and deliver an ambitious oceans programme that aims to secure sustainability and social equity in Liberia’s fisheries sector.

Key responsibilities:

• Ensure that ocean programmes are implemented effectively and with the full support and participation of local and national stakeholders as appropriate.
• Provide input into the design and implementation of EJF ocean activities and approaches to ensure that they are appropriate for the local context and target groups. Gather and document critical issues facing different target groups, including those that could interact positively or negatively with Ocean programmes and help identify local opportunities.
• Engage with national and local fishery stakeholders and decision makers to promote sustainable and legal fisheries.
• With community mobilisers, and Technical Officer (Community Management & Gender) and using a co-design process, conduct stakeholder engagement with fishing communities (and other important sector stakeholders) around community management and Collaborative Management Associations (CMA).
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and skills sharing within and between enforcement agencies and small-scale fishermen and create a strong network for information exchange.
• Build capacity of target groups as required by EJF and monitor impact. For example, key fisher associations on advocacy in legal and policy development processes, co-management and rights-based fisheries management; the technical capacity of the fishing communities, CMAs and other key stakeholders to enable them to document IUU fishing and implement initiatives required for sustainable fisheries management.
• With the Technical Officer (Community Management and Gender) conduct stakeholder and community-based data analysis, including considerations of gender, economic vulnerability, and food security/nutrition of target groups across the fishing sector.
• With data from the analysis and other inputs, conduct a needs assessment, including a full understanding of roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders across the sector.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and skills sharing within and between enforcement agencies and small-scale fishermen.
• With community mobilisers, help organise and enable local meetings and events as appropriate. Provide ongoing monitoring as required.
• Work with policymakers at meetings and events (local and national) to entrench progress towards sustainable and legal fisheries, recognising the national asset for livelihoods and food security.
• Document and disseminate best practices and lessons learned for project activities and co-management.
• Provide input, and as appropriate, draft policy briefs and policies.
• With the communications team, provide input into the design of communication strategies and outreach materials, and support the implementation and distribution of the key messages for each target audience. As appropriate, collect monitoring data to help measure the impact of key messages.
• Support comms staff with regular story ideas, an up-to-date list of local stakeholder contacts, and assistance with journalist briefings.
• Produce a short weekly written report of all actions, outputs, opportunities and planned follow-up.

Provide monthly reports.

Carry out any other relevant activities that may be assigned by EJF.

Essential skills and attributes:

• Education: University degree.
• Professional experience: Successful professional experience in a comparable position - experience of community-based fisheries and participatory approaches to ensure inclusion of marginalised community members.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Ability to communicate in the main local language in the programme locations.
• Computer literate.
• Ethical, responsible, and enthusiastic.
• Strong organisational skills
• Good leadership traits and strong interpersonal skills
• Diplomatic and tactful under pressure.
• Demonstrable ability to work within teams and produce agreed outputs in line with deadlines.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience in conducting research (including data collection and analysis) and monitoring projects.
• Experience of working on a large, complex project.

Applications: please send your CV and cover letter explaining why you are the right person for this job to: recruitment@ejfoundation.org

Deadline for submission of application is 3 October 2025. Applications will be considered on an ongoing basis.

Candidates must have the legal right to work in Liberia.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

EJF is an equal opportunities employer, committed to diversity within the workplace. We encourage minorities and underrepresented groups (especially women) to apply.

Background

Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife and defend the fundamental human right to a secure natural environment, recognising that all other rights are contingent on this.

EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable and sustainable futures. Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe.