Conservation Careers
Job description
Gain pivotal field experience on a private game reserve in the heart of the South African bush AND get career training from Conservation Careers!
Kick-start your conservation career when you join our six-month wildlife conservation internship in Limpopo, South Africa. Learn techniques used by private game reserves and international organisations to conduct wildlife research. Spend your first three months working on real conservation projects. Then put your new skills into practice with a career-boosting three-month work placement.
Overview
Travel to the savannah of South Africa where you’ll work alongside our international research team in a private nature reserve, one hour from Kruger National Park. Working in partnership with highly reputable local and international conservation organisations, like Rhino Revolution and EarthRanger, you’ll learn how to identify predators, like lions, cheetahs, and leopards, as well as megaherbivores like elephants, buffalo and rhinos. Put your training into practice when you complete a three-month work placement at a South African conservation organisation.
Please note the hours in the field may be long, which can be tiring in the heat of the African sun.
As part of your apprenticeship, you’ll take part in community development initiatives. Through partnerships with local schools and education centres, participants play a role in education-focused projects. These projects aim to boost community involvement and strengthen the connections between people and wildlife.
Highlights
• Work placement. Qualify for a 3-month work placement with a partner organisation, kick-starting your career in conservation or animal rehabilitation.
• Hear the call of the wild. Get the full safari experience in South Africa with this chance to work with and live among some of the world’s most beautiful and vulnerable species.
• Kick-start your career. Participate in three months of intensive fieldwork training to ensure you’re ready to launch directly into your conservation career.
• Get a job placement. Work for a conservation partner for three months to get real practical experience and build a network of industry contacts.
• Fast-track experience. Join a targeted career-readiness program that’s based on two decades of experience to grow your leadership and career skills.
• Career guarantee. Our comprehensive apprenticeships guarantee a job offer within 18 months upon completion of all program components and meeting eligibility criteria.
• Advance your career. Gain international experience, receive four recognised qualifications and get a LinkedIn reference to boost your CV.
• Get the edge. We know what it takes to work in conservation – that’s why our apprenticeships qualify for preferential recruitment when applying for our partner’s vacancies.
Our Award-winning Partner
Conservation Careers has teamed up with an award-winning, mission-driven organisation with a team of passionate experts across the globe who will make your experience a truly unforgettable one.
Founded in 1998, they run programs in 26 locations, in 22 countries around the world, each aligned to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as the objectives of local partners. They welcome participants from all around the world and help facilitate their development into global citizens. This is how they achieve their mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.
Their commitment to running high-quality sustainable development and experiential education programs has earned them recognition from numerous organizations such as Panthera, the Seychelles Parks & Gardens Authority, as well as Stanford, NYU, Duke, and Ohio State.
If you register your interest below, you’ll put you in touch with our partner to take the booking and to plan your trip!
Explore all our Conservation Careers Internship opportunities.
Life on base
Live in the heart of the South African savannah, sharing a renovated farmhouse with qualified guides from the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa, other staff, and participants from around the world. The base is incredibly remote, and tourists are unable to visit. Completely open to the bush and close to a dam, animals frequently visit the property, including elephants, buffalo, impala and leopards.
Boasting more than 20 thousand acres of open savannah, our research station in Limpopo features some of the best wildlife viewing of any private South African game reserve. It’s home to all of the Big Five, including the elusive leopard, as well as cheetahs and spotted hyenas.
Rise each morning to the sound of African birdsong at dawn, before heading out in an open-topped safari vehicle to conduct research vital for the conservation of key predator species, like cheetahs and lions. Heading back to camp when the sun is at its height, you’ll input data, study, assist with cooking or tidying, or relax with the team in our shared outdoor social space. In the early afternoon, when the sun starts to set over the Drakensberg mountain range, you’ll head out again to conduct further research. Returning when the stars are at their brightest, you’ll share a meal and the day’s stories with your team. In your free time, visit Kruger National Park, an hour’s drive from your accommodation, travel to the scenic Panorama Route, which takes you through the magnificent Blyde River Canyon, or spend some time in the local town called Hoedspruit.
With one of most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, and home to many of the most threatened African wildlife species, South Africa is a nature, wildlife, and adventure lover’s paradise.
Activities
Some of the example typical activities you could participate in on this program include:
• Expert training. Learn from Field Guide Association of South Africa qualified guides and master radio telemetry tracking skills to record animal movements.
• Fieldwork training. Learn how to identify species, conduct surveys and track animals, including the Big 5.Collect to build an inventory of species in the reserve.
• Focus species monitoring. Collect data on lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, cheetahs and spotted hyenas.
• Ongoing project work. Assist with invertebrate and bird surveys, practical conservation, citizen science databases, and community environmental education materials.
• Fast-track training. Complete various courses, including Impact and Ethics, Intro to Project Management, Effective Communication and Leading Teams for Impact.
• Leadership responsibilities. Take on additional tasks like updating species identification kits or analysing data collected on endemic birds and invertebrates on the reserve.
• Personal project. Work on an individual project that aligns with your personal interests.
• Mentorship. Meet weekly in a small group with other interns and an experienced mentor to receive project guidance and feedback on your leadership style.
• Work placement. Working directly with conservation organisations and local communities, you’ll gain practical experience with equipment and data collection.
Skills
• Data collection
• Data entry
• Population ecology
• Species identification
• Survey research
• VHF telemetry
• Wildlife conservation
• Report writing
• Presentations
• Health and safety
• Impact evaluation
• Fundraising
• Advocacy/Social media
• Leadership
• Project management
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Resiliency
• Time management
• Volunteering
• Cultural awareness
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Easily adaptable
BONUS! Conservation Career Kick-Starter online training programme (worth $495 / £375 / €450)
Do you want to spend your career helping wildlife to flourish, but are feeling a little lost, confused or disillusioned?
Start your career in wildlife conservation with a unique programme of training, support community & jobs from Conservation Careers!
The Conservation Career Kick-Starter is a proven step-by-step system to get you hired quicker as a professional conservationist.
The Kick-Starter is trusted by over 2,500 people, and 40 universities, with 99% ratings. Whether you’re at university and planning your next steps, a graduate in the job hunt or working in an unrelated job but interested to switch into conservation, this course is designed to help you.
After going through the course, you’ll have created a personal career plan which will give you confidence in your job hunt and will make everything quicker, simpler and more fun!
All you need to do is register your interest in the project below, and if you choose to make a booking we’ll save a place for you on the Kick-Starter when you get back from your placement.
Included with the Kick-Starter is a year’s full-access to the world’s biggest conservation job board with over 15,000 jobs, plus access to our private online support community, CC Pro.
Duration, Dates & Costs
Register your interest below to learn about upcoming start dates, durations and costs.
What’s included
General
• Food
• Safe and basic accommodation (usually shared)
• Airport pick up (unless stated)
• All project equipment
• 24-hour in-country support from local staff
• 24-hour emergency desk
• Experiences
Activities
• Sustainable project work
• Data collection and research
• Leadership responsibilities
• Personal project
Placement
• 12-week placement
Mentorship
• Weekly group sessions
• Internship supervisor guidance
What’s included
Pre-program training
• Pre-departure webinar
• Pre-departure training (online)
• University of Richmond endorsed specialisation course
• University of Richmond endorsed leadership course
Welcome training
• Welcome presentation
• Health & safety
• Local culture & environment
• UN SDGs
• Impact & ethics
• Child protection
Register your interest below to learn about additional training included in this program.
What’s excluded
• Flights
• International and domestic airport taxes
• Medical and travel insurance
• Visa costs
• Police or background check
• Personal items and toiletries
• Additional drinks and gratuities
Reserve your place or ask a question
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To apply for this job please visit www.conservation-careers.com.