BATLIFE EUROPE PROJECT MANAGER

BatLife Europe Project Manager Specification BATLIFE EUROPE PROJECT MANAGER A freelance project manager to gather information on priorities, skills and current activities from NGO members of BatLife Europe; working for the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) on behalf of BatLife Europe. Date for return of tenders: 7 th September 2012 Address for tender submission: Hannah Rawnsley BatLife Europe Project Bat Conservation Trust Quadrant House 250 Kennington Lane London SE11 5RD Email: hrawnsley@bats.org.uk jhanmer@bats.org.uk lworledge@bats.org.uk Number of electronic and hard copies 1 emailed copy required: Contact for information relating to this project specification: Proposed ownership of Intellectual Property BCT (contractor or BCT): Proposed start-date (if known): October 2012 Hannah Rawnsley, Julia Hanmer or Lisa Worledge HOW TO TENDER FOR THIS CONTRACT In summary, please provide the following with your tender: Details of your experience as a contractor e.g. your or your company s background, details of previous clients, and full details of any third party suppliers involved as part of your offering Details about how you would approach delivering the project using sections of this document as a basis An approximate plan for delivering the contract (reflecting the timescales set out in this document) Two references of previous clients showing your previous work in this context Costs for delivering the service Questions from applicants are welcomed up until the application deadline. Please note all BCT responses will be subsequently made known to all other applicants to ensure a level playing field. HOW THE TENDER WILL BE ASSESSED The tenders will be assessed using the following criteria: Experience Track record of success Value for money Understanding of the issues

BatLife Europe Project Manager Specification SPECIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS A project to gather information from members that will enable BatLife Europe to build capacity of bat conservation NGOs, share knowledge and experience and speak up on internationally important issues in Europe and surrounding countries. 1 AIM To gather information on priorities, skills and current activities from members of BatLife Europe in order identify opportunities for knowledge and experience sharing across the BatLife Europe network. 2 OBJECTIVES The successful contractor will be expected to deliver the following objectives: 2.1 Gather a picture of overall activity of bat conservation NGOs in Europe and gaps in activity (geographically and by key areas of work) through engagement with members of BatLife Europe 2.2 Consult members of BatLife Europe on the priorities they see for their country/region 2.3 Develop an analysis method and pilot this with five countries and then roll out across the remaining 30 members of Bat Life 3 OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME The overall outcome from the project will be a clear picture of: 3.1 Priorities and conservation issues of international concern; BatLife Europe will then take these forward at an international level such as through the European Habitats Network and EUROBATS Agreement, and to raise directly with national governments. 3.2 Capacity building needs/asks (e.g. training needs, access to best practice guidance, etc.) and gaps in activity and offers of help; from which BatLife Europe can then prioritise capacity building work and enable member NGOs to directly support each other, share knowledge and experience. 4 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE 4.1 Background to BCT The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) is the only UK wide organisation solely devoted to the conservation of bats and their habitats. Since its formation in 1992, BCT has been working towards a future where everyone, everywhere can enjoy watching and hearing bats as part of their natural environment. With the dedicated support of our members, volunteers and the independent local bat groups, BCT helps bats through practical conservation projects and research, by supporting and educating people who find bats in their property, and by encouraging everyone to appreciate and enjoy these fascinating animals. 4.2 Background to BatLife Europe There are 45 species of bats in Europe, a remarkable fifth of our mammal species. Sadly many of these species are under threat, due to habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, development and persecution. To address these threats it is vital to build NGO capacity and influence, both at an international level and in each country.

BatLife Europe is a newly formed international NGO built from a partnership of national bat conservation organisations. BatLife Europe aims to step change bat conservation across Europe and beyond, by capacity building NGOs, sharing knowledge and speaking up for bats and addressing national and international conservation issues see www.batlife-europe.info (Appendix A has the full list of partner NGOs by country). BCT was invited to set up BatLife Europe by the IUCN Bat Specialist Group and agreed to take on this role at a meeting of the EUROBATS Agreement (www.eurobats.org) in Luxembourg. In 2010 BCT recruited 5 other founding NGOs and together we launched BatLife Europe in August 2011. BCT is administering BatLife Europe and its finances for the first few years until we have dedicated BatLife Europe staff and projects up and running, and we are in the process of registering it as a charity in the UK. Julia Hanmer, BCT CEO, is chair of BatLife Europe, and there are a total of 14 trustees elected for three years at a time. BatLife Europe follows a membership model based on that of BirdLife International s, which allows NGOs from across Europe and beyond to participate, giving BatLife Europe representation wider than the trustees alone. At the launch meeting in Lithuania last August there was huge interest in BatLife Europe and since then 30 NGOs from across Europe and beyond, into the Russian Federation and even Egypt, have expressed interest in being part of the new organisation. Many of these have now joined or are in the process of joining (see appendix for a list of members). BatLife Europe has raised a small amount of funding from NGO member s subscriptions (2,000 Euros to date). From the success of the launch it is clear that there is interest from a whole range of NGOs in countries across Europe. These include countries with no specific bat NGO, to those with active NGOs participating in a full range of bat science, monitoring, conservation and education programmes. Some NGOs are small groups of bat researchers or volunteers who given access to the wealth of knowledge, experience and guidelines available to BatLife Europe could do so much more. Some countries have no activity at all and some do not have long-term bat monitoring programmes, so have no evidence on the status of bat populations. However, all share a common goal to secure bat populations across Europe and beyond, and are committed to working together as BatLife Europe to achieve this aim. 4.3 Background to the Project We are developing a work plan for the first three years of BatLife Europe. Key priorities include capacity building and sharing knowledge across the partnership, as well as influencing policy internationally. The first step towards these goals is to gather information about what each NGO currently does, gaps in their work, what they see as bat conservation priorities in their country/region and what opportunities there are for sharing knowledge and experience (e.g. through twinning/exchange visits). Through BatLife Europe and partners such as BCT we have access to huge amounts of expertise and knowledge and we are already getting offers of help, however we need an effective way for pairing up requests for help with those offering help. 5 DETAILED REQUIREMENTS The key tasks to be under-taken are: Induction with relevant staff at BCT Develop a set of questions, working with a small group of BatLife Europe trustees and BCT s Partnerships Officer, that will be used to understand: overall activity of bat conservation NGOs in Europe gaps in activity (geographically and by key areas of work) priorities members see for their country/region August 2012-2 -

Pilot the questionnaire with five members of BatLife Europe through telephone or Skype interviews Refine the questionnaire as necessary and continue information gathering with remaining members of BatLife Europe Write up of results Language skills are an advantage for this project and applicants should specify which European languages they speak/write and their level of proficiency. 6 QUALITY & SECURITY ASSURANCE Those tendering for this work must display a good understanding of the issues involved. They should be familiar with the wildlife sector and bat conservation NGOs. They should also have the ability to edit and present written material in a clear, concise and informative style. They should provide a quality assurance plan that demonstrates how the quality of inputs and outputs will be maintained. All work will need to adhere to BCT s policies and guidelines. 7 MANAGEMENT The freelance Project Manager will be line managed for the duration of the contract by Lisa Worledge, BCT s Partnership Officer. BCT has developed a very effective partnership working model which will be valuable in informing the development of European partnership working. In addition the Project Manager will also work closely with Hannah Rawnsley, the part time BatLife Europe Administrator. Hannah s role is to communicate with BatLife Europe partner NGOs and Trustees as well as administer BatLife Europe s work. 8 TIMING (dates may vary slightly) DATE October to December January February to March KEY MILESTONE Develop method and undertake information gathering with BatLife Europe members Initial results Final write-up 9 BUDGET The total budget available for the work set out in this invitation to tender is 6,000 including any VAT charged. The Bat Conservation Trust. Registered Charity No. 1012361. Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in England No: 2712823. Registered office: Quadrant House, 250 Kennington Lane, London, SE11 5RD. Vat Reg No: 877158773. August 2012-3 -

APPENDIX A BATLIFE EUROPE PARTNER NGOS BY COUNTRY Austria: Austrian Coordination Centre for Bat Conservation and Research Belgium: Plecotus Natagora Working Group Bosnia and Herzegovina: Speleological Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina Czech Republic: Czech Bat Conservation Trust (CESON) Egypt: Nature Conservation Egypt Estonia: Suurkõrv Finland: Chiropterological Society of Finland France: French Mammal Society (SFEPM) Georgia: Field Researcher`s Union CAMPESTER Germany: Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU); Stiftung Fledermaus Hungry: Nature Foundation Ireland: Bat Conservation Ireland Italy: Italian Chiroptera Research Group (branch of Italian Research Group) Lithuania: Lithuanian Society for Bat Conservation Macedonia: Bird Study and Protection Society of Macedonia Netherlands: Dutch Mammal Society Norway: Norwegian Zoological Society (NZF) Poland: Polish Society for Nature Conservation (Salamandra) Romania: Romanian Bat Protection Association Russian Federation: Russian Bat Research Group Serbia: Wildlife Conservation Society "Mustela" Slovak Republic: Slovak Bat Conservation Society Slovenia: Slovenian Association for Bat Research and Conservation (SDPVN) Spain: Spanish Association for the Study and Conservation of Bats (SECEMU) Switzerland: Centre for Coordination (west) for the Study and Protection of Bats Turkey: Boğaziçi International Speleological Society (BUMAD) UK: Bat Conservation Trust; The Vincent Wildlife Trust Ukraine: Ukrainian Centre for Bat Protection August 2012-4 -