Job Description

Application deadline: 23 June 2026, 23:59 (Fiji time)

Budget: Up toFJD 120,000

Location: Site focus 1: Greater Tomaniivi Protected Area, Greater Delaikoro Protected Area.

Site focus 2: Nakauvadra Range, Nakorotubu Range, Natewa-Tunuloa Peninsula.

Site focus 3: Kadavu, Ringgold Islands

Workspace: At project sites, own working space, with meetings at BLI and/or MECC or other pre-determined locations.

Expected start date: 1 July 2026

Duration: 18 months

Questions and Clarifications:

• Questions and/or clarifications can be submitted via email up till 2359 hours on Tuesday, 09 June 2026.

• Questions and clarifications received after this deadline will not be entertained.

• Responses will be compiled and shared with all known bidders on Friday, 12 June 2026.

The SAMBIO Project is a five-year initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by Conservation International. The Government of Fiji through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC), is the Executing Agency, with the support of BirdLife International (BLI).

SAMBIO was approved in 2022 as part of the GEF-7 Biodiversity Focal Area to address biodiversity loss across Fiji’s key terrestrial and marine ecosystems and to improve the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services that support island communities. The project builds on Fiji’s commitment to expanding and effectively managing its protected area network, both on land and at sea, and aligns with national biodiversity strategies and international conservation goals.

Fiji is globally recognised for its rich biodiversity, including forests, freshwater systems, coral reefs, seagrass beds and coastal ecosystems that underpin livelihoods and ecological resilience. These ecosystems face increasing pressures from habitat degradation, unsustainable resource use, climate change and socio-economic drivers. SAMBIO seeks to strengthen Fiji’s capacity to confront these pressures by strengthening biodiversity management practices, expanding protected areas, and reinforcing the legal, institutional and financing frameworks required for effective conservation.

SAMBIO is designed with multiple synergistic components that work across sites of high biodiversity value, including both terrestrial landscapes and marine seascapes. The project emphasises collaborative approaches, bringing together government agencies, conservation partners, traditional custodians, and local stakeholders. It also contributes to national priorities such as Fiji’s commitments to marine protected area targets, sustainable financing mechanisms for conservation, and improved management effectiveness for Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and protected areas.

Objectives:

The central objective of the SAMBIO project is to establish and enhance effective protection of marine and terrestrial biodiversity in priority areas of Fiji, while strengthening governance, policy, and financing mechanisms that support sustainable biodiversity management into the future. This objective is implemented through a set of complementary components aligned with GEF-7 outcomes.

The project’s key aims include:

1. Improving management effectiveness and expanding protection of terrestrial key biodiversity areas (KBAs), focusing on priority forest and freshwater ecosystems on Fiji’s main islands to safeguard threatened species and habitats.

2. Establishing new and strengthening existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), particularly in biodiverse regions such as the Eastern Division, Kadavu archipelago, Ringgold Islands and Lau Seascape, to enhance marine biodiversity protection while supporting community livelihoods.

3. Strengthening enabling conditions for protected area expansion and improved management through policy, legal, institutional and financing improvements that accelerate biodiversity conservation efforts and align with national priorities.

4. Enhancing monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management. Ensuring that up-to-date information systems inform project decision making, improve oversight, and facilitate learning for adaptive implementation and resilience.

Together, these objectives aim to protect Fiji’s most threatened biodiversity while building lasting capacity, governance and financing structures that secure ecosystem services and benefits for communities dependent on healthy terrestrial and marine environments.

Scope of work:

The consultant will develop, refine and finalise management plan guides and management plans and co-management frameworks, integrating community priorities, biodiversity and environmental conservation fundamentals, and governance systems, to strengthen the effective management of protected areas.

Key responsibilities include:

Management Planning & Documentation

• Conduct a literature review and gap analysis of existing protected area management plan guides and management plans to inform the development of an updated, fit-for-purpose template.

• Develop, refine, and finalise protected area management plan guides and management plans that are evidence-based, technically sound, and aligned with national and international standards.

• Ensure management plans include livelihood development, biodiversity assessment, protected area delineation, and conservation planning components.

• Integrate community priorities, traditional governance systems, and customary resource management practices into all management plan frameworks.

• Regularly review and update management plan drafts to reflect inputs gathered through community consultations, technical assessments, and stakeholder engagements coordinated by the Site Management and Coordination partner.

• Ensure management plans clearly define governance structures, roles and responsibilities, enforcement mechanisms, and adaptive management provisions.

Community Engagement & Integration

• Work closely with the Site Facilitator in all community consultations to ensure that community priorities, perspectives, and traditional knowledge are accurately and meaningfully captured and embedded in management plan documents.

• Ensure that community consent and input, as documented by the Site Facilitator, is fully reflected in the design and content of management plans and templates.

• Draw on historical, cultural, and contextual information provided by the Site Facilitator to ensure management plans are locally relevant and culturally appropriate.

• Support the Site Facilitator in communicating management plan content, objectives, and implications to communities and stakeholders in an accessible and culturally sensitive manner.

• Ensure all management plans uphold environmental and social safeguard requirements, consistent with the standards applied across all community and stakeholder interactions.

Cross-Consultant Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with species specialists to ensure management plans incorporate up-to-date biodiversity data, species-specific conservation measures, and habitat management prescriptions.

• Work with the livelihood consultant to ensure livelihood development strategies and income diversification opportunities are meaningfully integrated into management plan frameworks.

• Coordinate with the sustainable financing consultant to ensure management plans include realistic, long-term financing strategies and mechanisms to support protected area management.

• Liaise with the data management system consultant to ensure monitoring and evaluation frameworks within management plans are compatible with project data systems and reporting requirements.

• Consult with the protected area policy consultant to ensure appropriate alignment of management plans and co-management framework with policies.

• Advise on past or ongoing management planning initiatives at each site and identify opportunities to align new plans with existing or parallel processes where appropriate.

• Maintain consistent communication with all SAMBIO Site Facilitators across project sites to ensure alignment in management plan approaches, terminology, and structure.

• Ensure the Project & Capacity Manager is appropriately informed and consulted on key management plan decisions, particularly those with significant governance or policy implications.

Training & Capacity Building

• Develop clear, practical, and accessible training materials on protected area management planning for use with communities, government agencies, and other stakeholders.

• Conduct train-the-trainer training sessions and workshops for communities and stakeholders on the development, monitoring and implementation of management plans, including governance, monitoring, enforcement, and adaptive management.

• Avail relevant capacity building resources to train-the-trainer sessions facilitated by the Site Facilitator, enabling community members and local partners to support ongoing plan implementation.

• Support communities in understanding and applying co-management frameworks, including the roles and responsibilities outlined in MOUs and Community Conservation Agreements.

Working with MECC and BLI Teams

• Guided by the SAMBIO GIS Specialist, incorporate GIS outputs, remote sensing analyses, and Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) mapping data — produced in collaboration with the Site Facilitator — to inform protected area delineation and zoning within management plans.

• Contribute to stakeholder mapping processes for KBAs and co-management agreements to ensure management plans reflect agreed governance arrangements.

• Participate in and contribute to workshops on forest KBAs and co-management frameworks, and incorporate outputs into management plans for freshwater species, ecosystems, and other priority habitats.

• Ensure management plans for each site are consistent with and contribute to national protected area policy frameworks and CBD commitments.

Eligibility and Selection

Qualification in a relevant field plus explicitly relevant experience in protected management plan development in Fiji and/or the Pacific.

Specific Expertise Requirements

• High level of technical skills related to marine and terrestrial biodiversity and environmental conservation management within protected areas and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) in Fiji and/or the Pacific.

• A good understanding of community priorities related to tradition, livelihood, resources management, protected area risks and threats, and biodiversity conservation in relation to modern conservation paradigms, including community-based conservation needs in and around protected areas in Fiji.

• Relevant, conservation-focused, management plan design, implementation and management experience in communities heavily dependent on natural resources.•

• Good understanding of environmental conservation, climate resilience & adaptation, development and political issues in Fiji and the Pacific in relation to protected area establishment and development.

• Excellent knowledge of M/PA Policy and Legislation in Fiji and the Pacific, its complications and advantages in the practical application towards protected area management and development.

• Highly skilled in drawing up collaborative work across organisations incorporating sound technical expertise in management plan development and implementation.

• Exceptional management plan development experience and knowledge.

• Experience in preparing donor reports, delivering capacity-building and training programs in developing countries, and designing and applying project management tools. Demonstrated understanding of and experience working with NGOs and community-based development initiatives.

Selection Criteria

Selection of Proposals will be centred on the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method with a technical score weighting of 80% and a financial score weighting of 20%.

Emphasis will be placed on the candidate’s demonstrated experience in project implementation of similar nature and complexity, particularly in relevant technical or thematic areas, as well as their proven familiarity with the Fiji and/or Pacific Islands context.

FULL TERMS OF REFERENCE:

Before submitting the application, please ensure you have read through the full terms of reference here