Sustainable forest management specialist Full-Time

The consultancy is part of the technical assistance provided by FAO to the Government of Mozambique to implement the country’s Forest Investment Programme (FIP) activities, as per objectives and activities defined in the project UTF/MOZ/123/MOZ.

The consultant will deliver the following activities proposed in the project work plan in collaboration with the expert on forest concession and the CTA:

• Activity 2.1.3: Conduct gap analysis of current practices with selected forest managers to direct improvements for Sustainable Forest Management;
• Activity 2.1.4: Revision of guidelines for sustainable forest management, including clear guidance for sustainable forest management plans of forest concessions.

This short term-consultancy will focus on Mozambique’s sustainable forest management practices, specifically gap analysis of current practices of forest managers, revision of guidelines for sustainable forest management, updating the guidelines for sustainable management plans of forest concessions accordingly and coordinate capacity building and training on forest management.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant will report directly to the project´s CTA and/or Budget Holder (BH) in close collaboration with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO).

Technical Focus

Sustainable management of production forests.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the supervision CTA and/or Budget Holder (BH) and in close collaboration with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and the other FAO staff and specialists involved in the implementation of the project UTF/MOZ/123/MOZ, the National Directorate of Forest under the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development (DINAF), the National Fund of Sustainable Development (FNDS), the World Bank and the FAO Forestry Department, the consultant will:

1. Build on reports and proposals elaborated in the context of the MozFIP project and the results from the national forest inventory, assess the existing legislation and institutional arrangements for formulating, implementing and monitoring sustainable forest management plans to identify coherence with forest environmental capacity derived from recent national forest inventories, land zoning and recent studies on biophysical and socioeconomic information on Mozambique’s forest biomes;
2. Conduct a gap assessment for selected forest management entities and industry, comparing current practices to draft national standards for certification and to international best practices for SFM including chain of custody practices;
3. Build on results from activities 1 and 2, revise guidelines for sustainable forest management, including guidance and criteria for sustainable management plans of forest concessions;
4. Conduct training sessions for forest agents (national and provincial) and relevant stakeholder groups at national and provincial level on explaining the project and harmonizing information on the fundamentals of sustainable forest management plans;
5. Organize a Workshop with DINAF and AQUA agents (national and province level) for enhanced monitoring of forest of management plans; and logging registers.

• Advanced degree on Forestry, Natural Resources Management, or related areas;
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in sustainable management of production forests;
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of a second official UN language.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus;
• Teamwork;
• Communication;
• Building Effective Relationships;
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement.

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent and work experience on sustainable management of production forests;
• Extent and relevance of experience in developing countries and knowledge of their forests;
• Extent and relevance of experience in conducting gap assessments;
• Ability to analyze complex forestry-related  issues from an economic, social and environmental point of view;
• Experience in integrated landscape management approaches is an asset.

Additional Selection Criteria

• Fluency of Portuguese is an asset

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing);
• Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list;
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications;
• Candidates with acceptable language certificate/s should upload them when submitting their application. For details, visit http://www.fao.org/3/I8446EN/i8446en.pdf
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page.