Responsable des opérations - Airwing

Virunga National Park, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, is Africa's oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its rich biodiversity, including mountain gorillas and diverse ecosystems. It comes under the management of the DRC national park’s service in partnership with the Virunga Foundation, a UK charity established in 2005. It’s responsibilities include the national park, but also the Kivu Kinshasa Green Corridor initiative aims to protect the environment by promoting sustainable development and protecting the vast forests of the Congo Basin within a protected area approximately the size of France.

Essential to these efforts, the Virunga National Park's Airwing provides vital aerial support for conservation, antipoaching operations, and park management. This unit currently operates 12 light pistonengined aircraft and is looking to increase it’s fleet with larger turbine aircraft in the coming years. Purpose of the Role for AIRWING: The Director of Operations will oversee the daytoday operational aspects of the aviation company, ensuring the safe, efficient, and effective delivery of aviation services in support of tourism, wildlife conservation, and park management across the Congo Basin.

They will also lead the business strategy to ensure the long termviability of the airwing. Key Responsibilities: 1. Operational Management: Develop, implement, and monitor operational policies and procedures to ensure compliance with aviation regulations and safety standards. 2. Safety and Risk Management: Establish and maintain safety management systems and practices. Conduct regular safety audits and risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential operational risks. 3. Personnel Management: Supervise and support operational staff, including pilots, ground crew, and maintenance personnel. Facilitate training programs to ensure staff are knowledgeable about safety procedures and operational best practices. 4. Financial Oversight:

Develop and manage the operational budget, ensuring cost control while maintaining service quality. Monitor financial performance and identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue enhancement. 5. Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with park authorities, conservation organizations, and other actors to align aviation services with the Foundation’s conservation and development goals. Maintain positive relationships with clients, ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction. 6. Strategic Planning: Assist in the development and implementation of the company’s strategic objectives aligned with conservation efforts in Virunga National Park and on the Congo River Corridor. Identify opportunities for service expansion and improvement in operational efficiency. 7. Reporting:

Prepare regular reports on operational performance, safety metrics, and financial assessments for executive leadership. Provide recommendations for operational improvements based on analytical assessments. Qualifications: -Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, or related field. -Knowledge of aviation operations, safety regulations, and compliance standards, or similar experience coupled with a demonstrated ability to acquire such knowledge rapidly. -Proven experience in operations management. -Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. -Fluency in English. Proficiency in French is an advantage. Term and Employment:

The Director of Operations will be employed on a fulltime basis, based out of a country with a similar timezone, with regular missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo.