Director, Science and Marine Governance

Rare; Philippines; On-site; PHP 1,500,000 - 3,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Rare is a global leader in reducing coastal overfishing and revitalizing coastal fisheries. In the Philippines, Rare has worked with 796 communities to establish over 1.2 million hectares of Managed Access Areas and about 10,000 hectares of no-take reserves, benefiting more than 1.2 million people.

The Director of Science and Marine Governance will lead the science team, oversee budgets, and build partnerships at national and local levels while advancing research and governance in marine spaces.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Fisheries (expertise in population dynamics preferred).
• Proven experience in marine spatial planning and governance.
• Experience in training and capacity building.
• Leadership and budget management experience.
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Willingness to travel about 50% of the time.
• Experience in international, cross-cultural environments.
• Fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the science team, including budgeting, donor reporting, and personnel management.
• Serve as the science expert for marine spatial design and fisheries program design.
• Represent Rare and cultivate relationships with national and local fisheries actors.
• Publish research findings in peer‑reviewed journals and present at conferences.
• Create and execute a formal research agenda.
• Support technical aspects of project proposals.
• Design and lead the Science Team’s engagement in the Fish Forever Scale Strategy.
• Lead Applied Science Community of Practice.
• Provide project oversight to keep activities on schedule and within scope.
• Spot friction points and raise proactive solutions to maintain productivity.

Skills

Team leadership

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Scientific writing

English fluency

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in Fisheries

Socio-Ecological Systems Thinking

Marine Biology

Social Sciences

Job description

Position Overview

Rare Overview

Rare is a global leader in reducing coastal overfishing and revitalizing coastal fisheries. Rare works across eight countries to strengthen how communities protect and manage coastal areas and habitats. In the Philippines, Rare has worked with 796 communities toestablishmore than 1.2 million hectares of Managed Access Areas, including approximately 10,000 hectares of no-take reserves, benefiting more than 1.2 million community members.

Position Overview

The Director of Science and Marine Governance reports to the Senior Director for Program Implementation and Shared Services and willbe responsible for:

Technical Expertise and Leadership

• Overall management of science team, including budgeting, donor reporting, and personnel management.


• Act as the key science expert for all science-related aspects of the program including marine spatial design and fisheries program design.


• Represent Rare and build and cultivate relationships with various actors in national and local level fisheries space including academic institutions.


• Provide thought leadership including, but not limited to, publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at conferences.


• Create and execute research agenda.


• Support technical aspects of project proposals.


• Designing and executing the Science Team’s engagement in the Fish Forever Scale Strategy.


• Lead Applied Science Community of Practice.

Project and People Management

• Drive team performance by setting clear goals, conducting regular performance evaluations, and providing continuous feedback to support employee development.


• Manage administrative workflows such as timely approvals for leaves, expense reports, timesheets, and other compliance-related tasks.


• Promote a safe, inclusive, and collaborative team environment through regular check-ins, conflict resolution, and alignment with company values.


• Provide oversight into project execution, ensuring it is within schedule and scope by planning activities and timelines, allocating resources, and tracking key milestones.


• Spot/forecast friction points and raise proactive solutions tomaintainproductivity and alignment

Position Requirements

• Master’s degree or PhD in Fisheries (expertisein population dynamics preferred), Socio-Ecological System Thinking, Marine Biology or Social Sciences.


• Proven experience in Marine spatial planning and governance, and/or working with communities especially for data collection.


• Proven ability in training and capacity building.


• Management and collaborating with different teams.


• Exceptional organizational skills to prioritize projects and initiate follow-through with meticulous attention to detail.


• Willingness to travel for about50% of the time.


• Proven experience in team leadership, program design, and budget management.


• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, verbal and written, including the ability to effectively engage with staff and partners at all levels in a fast-paced work environment.


• Sound business judgment and ability to manage shifting priorities and competing deadlines to ensure accuracy and high-quality standards while applying a system’s view of outcomes andimpact.


• Prior experience in an international, cross-cultural work environment is essential, and a willingness towork onflexible hours (even beyond the regular working hours) as needed.


• Written and verbal fluency in English.

Other Duties

Pleasenotethis job description is not designed to cover orcontain comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Rare is anequal opportunityemployer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic.