The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM) have published a Request for Tenders (RFT) for a [full time, salaried] Programme Manager to implement the recommendations of the Deer Management Strategy Group (DMSG), identified as a short-term objective in the DMSG Report published in December 2023.
The RFT sets out a complex tendering procedure for what is intended to be a fixed-term contract position, with responsibility for establishing and managing up to fifteen Deer Management Units (DMUs) in different “deer conflict” zones, where deer are deemed to be present in over-abundant numbers. Tenderers must be able to demonstrate that they have experience in managing a programme involving both public and private stakeholders and have previous experience of working in a wildlife or conservation-based project/contract.
A value of €3.4MN has been placed on the contract over the three-year term of the contract (with the possibility or probability of extension into a fourth year).
The RFT has every appearance of being geared towards corporate tenderers rather than individuals, especially as tenderers have to provide evidence of a significant revenue (€1.25MN) in the year previous to Tender Response.
It can be anticipated that the RFT will attract responses from parties outside Ireland, given the requirement for prior scaled experience.
Key Performance Indicators for the Programme Manager include the following;
• Establishment of up to 15 Deer Management Units (DMU) by the Programme Manager in deer “hot spots”.
• The appointment of a local coordinator to each DMU by the Programme Manager.
• Agreed plans drawn up in each DMU with set objectives and a timetable to deliver on the recommendations of the Deer Management Strategy Group.
• Annual reviews conducted by each DMU to monitor progress and adjustments made accordingly and reported to DMSG, DAFM and NPWS.
• The number of people trained in hunting and game handling.
• The number of events/meetings held with various stakeholders.
• Final report to issue to IDMSG, DAFM and NPWS after the three years with an analysis of the work completed over the three years, what improvements were made, conclusions and future recommendations.
Deer Management Units
The Programme Manager shall establish and manage up to 15 Deer Management Units and appoint a local coordinator in each DMU. The local coordinator is considered a [paid] part time role of 2.5 days per week per DMU. One person may coordinate two DMUs depending on location.
The proposed Deer Management Units will be based on geographic catchments (taking into account differences in deer species range sizes and movement patterns) and ecological assessment as detailed by the Deer Strategy Management Group.
The key duties and responsibilities of the local coordinator will include:
• Working with local groups to establish DMUs engaging the various stakeholders, influencing, and persuading – landowners, private forest owners, Coillte, NPWS and hunters;
• Communicating effectively at different levels with other experts, stakeholders using both written and oral communication skills;
• Developing liaisons between landowners and hunters and improve co-operation and co-ordination;
• Providing progress reports to include science-based findings;
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, as well as strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Increasing awareness for landowners around the mechanisms for control and management of deer;
• Liaising with training providers on the provision of relevant training in hunting and game handling;
• Developing and implementation of a management plan to reduce the number of deer in each of the DMUs.
Qualification
The basic qualifications for each DMU local coordinator should include in-depth knowledge of local conditions and a fundamental understanding of the existing deer species’ biology i.e., population dynamics, reproduction, survival, mortality, habitat use, migration, etc.
The coordinator should have the competencies to organise and supervise an initial survey to establish baseline deer densities. This information should be used to develop a specific Deer Management Programme in conjunction with the stakeholders and include agreed set objectives for the DMU and an annual review to monitor progress and the capacity to make adjustments within the set timeframe. The local co-ordinators will be positioned remotely.
To access the RFT click HERE.
Proceed “Without Authorisation” and go to “Request for Tender Document” and “Tender Response Document”.
