Ecology Young Professional

Young Professional, Spekboom Restoration Project

 

Technical & Carbon Department (Ecology Team), Eastern Cape (Gqeberha), South Africa

 

Location: Gqeberha, Eastern Cape

 

Start Date: 4 January 2027

 

Reports to: Senior Field Technician

 

Are you ready to embark on an extraordinary adventure that will revitalise landscapes, combat climate change, and promote sustainable agriculture? Join NatCarbon Africa: a mission-driven, proudly African organisation dedicated to high-quality implementation of large-scale carbon, climate, and biodiversity projects. We embrace the power of innovative technology to enhance project execution. Community engagement lies at the heart of our projects, driven by a genuine commitment to meaningful and inclusive participation and co-benefits, such as biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic upliftment. 

 

NatCarbon Africa seeks a Young Professional in the Technical & Carbon Department for the large-scale Spekboom Restoration Project in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa.

 

With our partner, Imperative Global, our aim is to restore up to 100,000 hectares of degraded subtropical thicket biome. The Project entails planting Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) on privately owned land to improve ecosystem functioning and agricultural productivity over time, promote biodiversity, improve soil filtration, enhance water storage capabilities, and to reduce soil erosion. The Project is estimated to permanently store large quantities of Carbon Dioxide over the Project life, thus positively contributing towards climate change mitigation.

 

Position Summary: 

 

The Young Professional will report to a Senior Field Technician in the Ecology Team. This is an entry-level position for an early-career ecologist or environmental scientist who wants to build a career in ecological restoration and nature-based climate projects. The role supports the implementation of baseline and monitoring activities across the Project’s Carbon (Soil Organic Carbon and Above-Ground Biomass carbon), Biodiversity and Community work streams. The Young Professional will be deployed across work streams according to the Project’s field schedule and operational priorities, and will be trained to become proficient in a wide range of field, laboratory and data-management methods.

 

The role combines hands-on field data collection, sample processing and data capture with on-the-job training from the Senior Field Technicians and the broader Ecology Team. It carries no line-management or mentoring responsibilities. All work must be completed on time, to the highest technical standards, and in line with the Project’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the requirements of its carbon accounting methodology. The successful candidate will work closely with the wider Ecology Team, and must be able to follow protocols carefully, learn quickly, and ask for guidance when unsure.

 

Roles and Responsibilities: 

 

Field preparation and support:

• Help prepare equipment, consumables, vehicles and field documentation for baseline and monitoring campaigns across the Carbon, Biodiversity and Community work streams.
• Carry out day-to-day field activities as directed by the most senior team member on site. Work must follow the approved sampling design, SOPs and the Project’s health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) requirements, including safe driving of company vehicles on gravel and off-road tracks.

 

Carbon baseline and monitoring:

• Assist with soil sampling, including bulk density and coarse-fragment measurements, and process samples in the Project’s soil processing laboratory (e.g. drying, sieving, root separation, grinding and weighing). Keep samples correctly labelled and documented, with chain of custody from field to laboratory.
• Assist with Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) surveys, and survival, growth and herbivory monitoring of spekboom plantings on permanent plots and transects. Where required, help harvest plant material to develop allometric models.

 

Biodiversity baseline and monitoring:

• Assist with vegetation surveys (species composition, cover and structure) at restoration and reference sites, including collecting and pressing voucher specimens.
• Help deploy, maintain and retrieve camera traps and passive acoustic recorders, and help process the resulting images and audio, including species identification and data annotation.

 

Community baseline and monitoring:

• Assist with stakeholder surveys, interviews and focus group discussions to collect information on the socio-economic context, views, needs and experienced impacts of landowners, workers and local communities, in line with Project objectives.
• Help organise landowner and community stakeholder meetings. Engagements must be respectful and inclusive, and must comply with the Project’s stakeholder engagement and data protection (POPIA) requirements.

 

Data management and quality assurance:

• Capture, store and back up field and laboratory data accurately and promptly, following the Project’s data protocols. Apply routine quality control checks as directed, and flag errors, gaps or anomalies to the Senior Field Technician.
• Prepare basic data summaries, and help test and refine protocols, data-collection tools and templates.

 

Learning and professional development:

• Complete on-the-job training in field sampling, laboratory procedures, species identification, data handling and safe working practices, building proficiency across all work streams.
• Take part in technical sessions, workshops, conferences and other relevant events to develop your skills and contribute to thicket ecosystem restoration in both academic and commercial settings.

 

General:

• This role involves regular physical activity in remote outdoor environments.

• This outline of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive. The employer reserves the right to assign additional duties or responsibilities at any time, provided they are reasonably aligned with the scope of the role or necessitated by operational requirements. The functions and responsibilities detailed within this job description may be subject to modification at the employer’s discretion, based on evolving operational requirements, while remaining consistent with the parameters of the employee’s position.

 

Skills: 

•  Good written and verbal communication skills in English. Afrikaans and/or isiXhosa is advantageous.
• Good organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to follow protocols carefully, move between work streams and adapt to changing field schedules.
• Close attention to detail, sound numeracy and computer literacy, and a commitment to data quality.
• Eagerness to learn, openness to feedback, and the confidence to ask questions and raise concerns.
• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity, with the ability to engage respectfully with landowners, workers and community members.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team and to complete assigned tasks independently.
• Physically fit and comfortable working long days in challenging outdoor conditions, including heat, steep terrain and dense thicket vegetation.
• Initiative, integrity, adaptability, and a passion for ecological restoration and making a positive impact.

 

Qualifications:  

• A National Diploma or Bachelor’s degree (NQF 6 or higher) in ecology, botany, zoology, soil science, environmental science, nature conservation, forestry or a related field. An Honours degree is advantageous.
• Valid Driver’s Licence (off-road driving experience advantageous).
• This role requires driving a company vehicle. The successful candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment driving assessment at an approved testing centre; any offer of employment will be conditional on a successful outcome, and employment will not commence until this has been confirmed.

 

Knowledge and Experience:  

• No minimum work experience is required. Field or laboratory experience gained through academic projects, vacation work, internships or volunteering is advantageous.
• Foundational knowledge of at least one of the following, with a willingness to become proficient in the others: soil sampling and sample processing; above-ground biomass measurement; vegetation surveys; faunal survey methods (e.g. camera traps or acoustic monitoring).
• Exposure to digital data-collection tools (e.g. ArcGIS Survey123/Field Maps, KoboToolbox) and GPS navigation is advantageous.
• Basic knowledge of GIS (e.g. ArcGIS or QGIS) and data-analysis software (e.g. R or Excel) is advantageous.
• Awareness of carbon standards and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements is advantageous.
• Knowledge of Thicket Biome ecology and the ability to identify key plant species is advantageous.

 

Working Conditions 

• Regular travel within the Eastern and Western Cape anticipated, including to remote locations.
• Travel may on occasion cross weekends and holidays to accommodate schedules.
• Work hours may be irregular.

You will join a great team! We are: 

• From diverse locations and backgrounds, but all experts in our respective fields. We bring together a wide range of cross-sector experiences, ideas, and skills.
• Relentless in our pursuit of excellence and innovation, always pushing the boundaries and challenging the status quo. But it is not all work for us – we also believe in celebrating our successes, recognising individual contributions, and taking time to support each other’s growth and development.
• At our core, explorers, constantly learning, evolving, and seeking new ways to deliver impactful solutions. We are not afraid to dream big, take risks, and step out of our comfort zones because we know that together, we can achieve great things.

 

Compensation 

To help us attract and retain top talent, NatCarbon Africa pays employees competitively to the market, depending on experience. Salary is one component of NatCarbon Africa’s total compensation package which also includes health care and life insurance, contributions to each employee’s retirement plan, paid time off and funds to support professional development. We will recognise employees who go beyond expected performance with salary increases and/or promotions.

 

In return, we expect each employee to, at a minimum:

 

• Meet expectations in terms of work effort and performance.
• Take the initiative to build the skills and knowledge needed to do their job effectively; and
• Embody the values of NatCarbon Africa.

 

How to Apply

 

To apply, please send us the following:

 

• Cover letter (not to exceed one page).
• Resume/CV (not to exceed three pages).

 

Please add app.bamboohr.com to your contact list to ensure you receive emails from us.

 

NatCarbon Africa provides equal opportunity for all job applicants and employees and is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination.

 

Only applications received online via the NatCarbon website or LinkedIn Page will be considered.