UNDP Jobs - 59308- Individual Consultant to Undertake Ecological Base

Individual Consultant to Undertake Ecological Baseline Study of Protected Area Network in Southern Tanzania

Location :

Iringa/Ruaha National Park, TANZANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

28-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

60 Working Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

60 Working Days

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

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) in collaboration with United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) has committed funds to support strengthening the Protected Area Networks in Southern Tanzania; by implementing measures that will contribute to improving the effectiveness of National Parks in addressing threats to biodiversity conservation. The project therefore aims at creating a coordinated landscape management approach in the Greater Ruaha and Greater Kitulo-Kipengere landscapes to serve as a shield against human-induced pressures on southern Tanzania’s threatened biodiversity. In addition the project will provide planned, targeted and effective support to the operational capacity of core protected areas within those landscapes. These two landscapes will be managed for the conservation of biodiversity and landscape values, including aligned revenue generation opportunities and enhanced economic performance, for ecosystem services (which are better managed at landscape level), for optimum ecosystem functioning, and for sustainable protected area management.

The project entails the creation of active and functioning inter-sectoral District land management coordination mechanism between TANAPA, district authorities and the Wildlife Division (WD) and will also involve planning, implementation, and monitoring by key state and civil society partners. The resulting coordination mechanisms will be used primarily for integration of management of NPs and broader landscapes in Southern Tanzania in both the Greater Ruaha and the Greater Kitulo-Kipengere landscapes through ensuring both that biodiversity management in National Parks, and wildlife migration corridors and dispersal areas is factored into decision-making governing land use management and that operational capacity is sufficiently enhanced to manage PAs effectively.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tanzania and TANAPA, the key implementing partners in the project seek to engage a qualified expert/consultant to carry out an Ecological Baseline Assessment of the Greater Ruaha and Greater Kitulo –Kipengere landscapes involved in the project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Collate and assess baseline ecological, biological and physical geographical information including the state of biodiversity (i.e. species, habitats and ecosystem processes) of southern Tanzania, of the Greater Ruaha and Greater Kitulo –Kipengere landscapes;
Produce a land cover change map using free Landsat imagery for two epochs 2004/2005 and 2014/2015 specifically for the Greater Ruaha and Greater Kitulo –Kipengere landscapes.
Analyze the existence of previous monitoring efforts including of indicator species and habitats;
Provide an assessment of the reality and dynamic of wildlife movements, migratory corridors and human-wildlife conflicts and prior interventions, with outline recommendations.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strong skills on research and analysis;
Extensive experience in natural resources management and biodiversity monitoring;
Proven ability to plan, organize and effectively implement activities;
Proven experience in participatory processes, and in facilitating dialogue between Government, development partners, private sector and civil society;
Strong capabilities in GIS and remote sensing applications;
Good writing and communication skills.

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least Master’s Degree or PhD in the environmental Sciences or related field of natural resources management, with experience in research, biodiversity and ecological monitoring.

Experience:

A minimum of ten (10) years of post-graduate professional experience in the study area with practical working knowledge of the developing world including East Africa and Tanzania.
A strong capability in GIS and remote sensing applications and knowledge of landscape conservation approach is an added advantage.

Language:

Fluent in written and spoken English;
Swahili will be added advantage.

How to Apply:

Applicants should download the application documents (presented in compresses file) from UNDP procurement notice site http://procurementnotices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice
Applicants should separate technical and financial proposals;
Applications with no financial offer or missing P11 form or CV or the required documents for the technical evaluation will not be considered for evaluation;
Applications without submitting a financial offer instead of other format will not be considered due to the ease comparison of the received offers;
All necessary information for this post (TOR, Deliverables, Target dates, etc. are presented in the ICPN) therefore applicant must download it from the website as mentioned above;
Do not send CV only to the Email account mentioned above without Cover Letter and Methodology as it will be considered as incomplete application;
The documents are available in PDF (the TOR, ICPN and IC guidelines).