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Mona Mabandla

@monamabandla

Project Coordinator at WWF South Africa, coordinating environmental programmes and developing a Sustainable Blue Economy Benchmarking Tool.

South Africa

Message

What I'm looking for

I want to help WESSA turn its mission into measurable change in schools and communities across Gauteng and surrounding provinces. I’m seeking to deliver projects on time and within budget, grow school participation, build evidence of impact, and strengthen partnerships.

At WWF South Africa, I coordinate environmental programmes, including the South African component of the Sustainable Blue Economy project. I also coordinated the development and pilot rollout of a Sustainable Blue Economy Benchmarking Tool to strengthen monitoring and evaluation.

Earlier, I coordinated the LIMPET rocky-shore citizen science programme with schools and supported marine research and environmental monitoring at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries & Environment (DFFE). I’m aiming to help WESSA deliver measurable change in schools and communities through timely project delivery, strong partnerships and evidence of impact.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Project Coordinator

Current

WWF South Africa

Aug 2022 - Present (4 years 2 months)

Expanded community environmental engagement to 687 participants across Port St Johns and Port Edward. Delivered capacity-building programmes to 24 cooperatives and managed funder budgets and reporting.

Project Coordination Budget Management Stakeholder Engagement Monitoring and Evaluation Proposal Writing Blue Economy Community Engagement Reporting

Project Coordinator Intern

Centre for Conservation of Education

Feb 2021 - Jul 2022 (1 year 5 months)

Coordinated the LIMPET rocky-shore citizen science programme, organising school visits, fieldwork and safety compliance. Strengthened relationships with schools and partners to expand conservation education programming.

Citizen Science Program Coordination ecological database management Logistics Safety Compliance Stakeholder Relations

Biological Oceanography Intern

Department of Forestry, Fisheries & Environment (DFFE)

Apr 2018 - Mar 2020 (1 year 11 months)

Supported marine research and environmental monitoring, including species sampling and ecological data collection. Assisted senior scientists during field and vessel-based monitoring trips, operating marine instruments.

Marine Science Research Ecological data collection CTD Sensors GPS Data Management Technical Documentation

Marine Biology Intern

Natural History Museum (Iziko)

Jun 2017 - Dec 2017 (6 months)

Contributed to Marine Week educational exhibitions, supporting content preparation and public environmental engagement. Assisted with marine species cataloguing and environmental education activities.

Environmental Education Species Cataloguing Marine Biology Public Engagement