UNDP GEF Jobs - 51459- Project Technical Advisor

Project Technical Advisor - Part Time basis (Nationals of Swaziland Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UNDP GEF

Location :

Mbabane, SWAZILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

30-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

12 months renewable based on performance

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Despite the global significance of its biodiversity, Swaziland’s formal Protected Area (PA) estate is comprised of relatively small and vulnerable PAs, covering only 3.9% of the country and inadequately representing the countries varied ecosystems. There is therefore a need to expand the PA estate, while strengthening PA management competencies. This will in turn require the participation of a broad range of stakeholders, including private landholders, local communities and the tourism industry, to establish new State PA, private and community managed reserves. A landscape approach is needed, to strategically place these different PAs in proximity to one another, and manage land in immediately adjacent areas to reduce threats to biodiversity and improve connectivity between the PA sites. The long term solution is that Swaziland adopts a landscape conservation paradigm that allows a broader range of stakeholders to work together to manage biodiversity more effectively. Under this approach, PAs will be established and managed in critical biodiversity areas as clusters—different sites managed by the State, private landowners and communities in proximity to one another. These PAs will need to be managed as part of a matrix of land uses across landscapes that allow biodiversity management objectives to be integrated in the strategies, production practices and decisions of a range of land and resource users occupying land immediately adjacent to PAs (and between them—so as to maintain functional corridors).
The project’s goal is to strengthen the management effectiveness of the PA system of Swaziland to ensure a viable set of representative samples of the country’s full range of natural ecosystems are conserved, through a network of PAs. The project objective is to effectively expand, manage and develop Swaziland’s protected area network in order to adequately protect the biodiversity and landscapes of the country. This will involve devising a system of integrating land and natural resource management that transforms the current PA patchwork into a protected areas network, while creating incentives for all Swazis (land management agencies, conservancies, private landowners and tourism operators) to work together toward conservation and sustainable economic development.

In order to achieve the project goal and objective , the project’s interventions have been organised in three components:

Component 1: Knowledge based platform operationalised at the National and regional level to address current and emerging threats to PAs and biodiversity conservation;
Component 2: Landscape approach operationalised and leads to expansion of PA network;
Component 3: Strengthening PA functioning through improved Conservation management and Operational support for existing and new PAs, including both formal and informal PAs.

Objective:

The SNTC – Project Technical Advisor (TA) will be responsible for providing oversight and technical advice in all project activities as well as providing quality control ensuring that Project objectives are met.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project TA will work closely with the NPM, SNTC PM and BGP PM and report to the PSC Chairman (NPM) and:

Provide technical and strategic assistance to the BGP CEO, SNTC CEO, NPM, SNTC PM, BGP PM and other counterparts in areas of project management and planning, in particular the development of annual work plans, monitoring progress, providing quality assurance for outputs, and ensuring that annual, mid-term and end-of-project targets will be met;
Bring technical experiences to project planning and implementation to ensure that full use is made of global and national lessons learned, and that best practices are used to achieve the project goal of realising sustainable PA management within the landscape context, securing biodiversity and ecosystem services;
Provide technical advice to the Project Manager in preparing Terms of Reference for consultants and sub-contractors, and provide assistance in the selection process;
Provide technical advice to the SNTC and BGP PMs and community co-ordinators for target landscape level activities;
Provide technical support to the Project Manager in coordinating the work of all consultants and sub-contractors, ensuring timely and quality delivery of expected outputs, effective synergy among the various sub-contracted activities, and integration of project outputs into Government work;
Provide technical guidance for management of site activities, monitoring, and impact assessment, as well as technical support in the areas of: inter alia, biodiversity conservation, strategic planning, landscape planning and associated institutional capacity development, PA integration and mainstreaming, as well as conservation finance;
Assist and advise the SNTC and BGP and relevant private and community PAs in key strategic and policy issues related to biodiversity, protected areas, institutional strengthening processes, and appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems and knowledge management systems;
Guide the PSC Chairman and Project Manager with technical input in preparation of the inception report, Combined Project Implementation Review / Annual Project Report, and technical reports for submission to UNDP, the GEF, other donors and the Government, as required;
Advise the PSC Chairman and Project Manager in mobilizing staff and consultants in the conduct of a mid-term project review, and in undertaking revisions in the implementation programme and strategy, based on evaluation results;
Provide capacity building support to the BGP, SNTC and relevant private and community PA staff and BGP PA managers;
Advise the PSC Chairman and National/Project Manager in liaison work with project partners, donor organizations, NGOs and other groups to ensure effective coordination of project activities, and coordination with local, national and international complementary projects and programmes;
Advise the National/Project Manager in documenting lessons learned through implementation of the project and assist in making recommendations to the PSC for more effective implementation and coordination of project activities;
Produce policy briefing papers and technical reports to support decision-making processes, advocacy and knowledge management;
Perform other tasks as may be requested by the PSC Chairman.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strong knowledge about the political and socio-economic context related to the CFS Master Plan, protected area system, biodiversity conservation at national and state levels;
Knowledge of the GEF and UNDP funded projects and their technical and operational requirements;
Good management, coordination and organization skills to facilitate production of quality outputs in a timely manner;
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as a member of a team to produce quality outputs in a timely manner. Exceptional presentation, reporting and facilitation skills to affect consensus building among the stakeholders at various levels;
Negotiation, organization, coordination, skills to influence a win-win position to facilitate achievement of results;
Ability to communicate effectively complex, technical information together with an excellent command of English.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree (preferably MSc) in a subject related to Natural Resource Management, Environmental Sciences, Development Studies or related discipline; A PhD in any of the disciplines will be an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 10-15 years of experience in natural resource management (preferably in the context of PA planning and management);
At least 10 years of demonstrable project/programme management experience;
Working experience through provision of advisory technical support with ministries, national or provincial institutions concerned with natural resource management and environmental protection is a plus;
Konowledge of Swaziland and Regional PA organisation would be an added advantage

Language:

Proficiency in English language.