The World Initiative for Sustainable pastoralism (WISP) is an advocacy and capacity building
project that seeks a greater recognition of the importance of sustainable pastoral development
for both poverty reduction and environmental management. WISP seeks to support the
empowerment of pastoralists to sustainably manage drylands resources and to demonstrate
that their land use and production system is an effective and efficient way of harnessing the
natural resources of the world’s drylands.

WISP works in a consultative manner through global, regional and national partnerships to
ensure that appropriate policies, legal mechanisms and support systems are established to
enhance the economic, social and ecological sustainability of the pastoral livelihood system.
We aim to provide the social, economic and environmental arguments for pastoralism to
improve perceptions of pastoralism as a viable and sustainable resource management system.
For more information about the project please visit the website: www.iucn.org/wisp/

Terms of reference
Under the guidance of the WISP Project Officer the intern will work on WISP’s communication
and information systems as outlined below. The timeframe for the internship is set at 6 months.

Specific responsibilities
1. Compiling the WISP monthly newsletter, facilitating the translation into French, Spanish
and Arabic and sending it out through WISPnet with the guidance of the WISP GC.
2. Managing the production of WISP outputs (studies, reports, policy notes, etc), including
proof reading, recommending amendments to the products and getting them translated
and finalized using the in house production team.
3. Prepare content for the WISP Website as the main resource centre for the project, keeping
it current with new WISP products and information and identifying relevant sources of
information that would be suitable to be hosted on the web-site thus adding value to the
site as a resource on pastoralism.
4. Actively manage WISPnet through the online marketing utility Lyris Listmanager. WISPnet
is a collection of WISP stakeholders and currently numbers over 1400. Managing WISPnet
involves effectively disseminating information through the WISP network, managing its
members (adding and deleting members, coordinating communication between members
and WISP Global Coordinator, and ESARO Regional Drylands Coordinator)
5. Supervise the research and compilation of country specific pastoralist data, within predefined
parameters, to populate the global database. This will include actively searching
for data as well as following up after possible sources of data which have been
recommended by the GC.
6. Verbal reporting will be carried out on a weekly basis and a written report will be prepared
for the end of the internship. Reports may be requested on individual activities to assist
internal learning and institutional memory.

Competencies
1. Minimum of a first degree in Social Sciences, Natural Resource Management or related
field.
2. Strong knowledge of Drylands and Pastoralism Development and the conservation issues
associated with these themes.
3. Excellent IT and communication skills (outlook, spreadsheet, word processing, database,
website management)
4. Excellent written and verbal skills in English, knowledge of Spanish, French and/or Arabic
an added advantage

Personal attributes
1. Strong inter personal skills, cultural sensitivity, and a very good communicator
2. Able to work on own initiative
3. Innovative and dynamic

Interns are required to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that is compatible with their
responsibilities as IUCN interns and in accordance with the standards of conduct expected by
IUCN as set out in the IUCN Staff Rules.

Applicants are asked to submit their CV and a supporting letter of motivation and provide the
names and contact details (including e-mail addresses) of three referees one of whom must be
from your learning institution. The letter must specifically address the selection criteria in the
order presented above and submitted on or before 12th June 2009 by e-mail, to: IUCN
Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, IUCN- The World Conservation Union, P. O. Box
68200-00200 Nairobi, Email: earohr@iucn.org ONLY SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES WILL
BE CONTACTED.

IUCN is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from qualified men
and women.

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/wispintern_tors___final__2_.pdf