Call for Young Wildlife Professionals internship

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is responsible for Component 1 of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-6) funded project, implemented by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The overall objective of the project is to reduce the rate of illegal wildlife trade in South Africa. This component focuses on strengthening the capacity of the Scientific Authority of South Africa (SAoSA) by improving wildlife trade monitoring systems. A core function of SAoSA is to monitor both legal and illegal trade in species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Currently, fragmented provincial systems pose significant challenges in assessing the scale and impact of wildlife trade. To address this, SANBI has developed the South African Wildlife Population System (SAWPS), a centralised platform to consolidate species and trade data for improved monitoring, assessment, and reporting.  The Young Wildlife Professionals will play a critical role in collecting, validating, and capturing species and trade data, thereby ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of the SAWPS.

Placement opportunities:

• Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Polokwane)
• Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (Mbombela)
• Gauteng Department of Environment (Johannesburg)
• Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Bisho)
• Cape Nature (Cape Town)
• Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform (Kimberley)
• Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Pietermaritzburg)
• South African National Parks (Skukuza)
• South African National Biodiversity Institute (Pretoria)

Requirements:

Candidates must be enthusiastic and have a keen interest in the conservation of biodiversity.

No prior working experience is required.

Conditions:

• Applicants must be South African citizens
• Applicants must be in the youth category (18 – 35)
• Applicants must not be enrolled for higher degrees for the 2026 academic year

Required qualifications:

Bachelor’s / Advanced Diploma or Honours in any of the following fields:

Environmental Science, Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Zoology, Wildlife Management, Data Science, GIS, or any related field

Application procedure:

Complete the application form

Applications are to include:

• a letter of interest reflecting skills and suitability relevant to the internship;
• full CV;
• certified copies of academic record/transcript and highest qualification;
• certified copy of ID;
• one letter of academic reference.

Contact details:

• For queries about the internship, contact Viwe Balfour balfour@sanbi.org.za
• For queries about the application process, contact René du Toit dutoit@sanbi.org.za

SANBI reserves the right not to fill these internships. If no response has been received within 30 days of the closing date, candidates may assume that their applications were unsuccessful.