UNDP Jobs - 70815- Sustinable Land Use Specialist (International Cons

Sustinable Land Use Specialist (International Consultant)

Location :

Dili, Timor Leste

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

13-Mar-2017

Application Deadline :

02-Mar-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 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 Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor project, is aimed at strengthening the resilience of communities living in the Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor to climate-induced disasters such as floods and landslides and to reduce the risk of damage to road infrastructure.

The Dili to Ainaro Road comprises a joint investment by the Government of Timor-Leste and the World Bank aiming to upgrade the road infrastructure linking Dili to the district capitals of Aileu and Ainaro. This road infrastructure and the communities living in the Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor (DARDC) are at risk to climate-induced natural disasters such as floods and landslides. Damage to road infrastructure is expensive to repair and restricts: i) economic development; ii) market access; iii) access to services such as education and health care; iv) evacuation during natural disasters; and v) provision of disaster relief. Furthermore, the risk of damage to road infrastructure is exacerbated because of ecosystem degradation resulting from existing land-use practices such as: i) timber logging; ii) slash-and-burn agriculture; iii) overharvesting of fuel wood; and iv) burning for hunting and fodder production.

The “Dili-Ainaro Project”, which is financed through the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) and implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) with support from UNDP, seeks to address the expected increase in climate-induced natural disasters due to climate change and reduce the potential risks and damages to the Dili-Ainaro road infrastructure and the communities in the DARDC. The project aims to achieve this by strengthening capacities and providing investments for disaster risk management (DRM) measures using ecosystem-based approaches.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Sustainable Land use consultant will conduct the following tasks:

Develop procedures and processes for sustainable land use methods and its application to climate-induced disaster impacts specific for the identified programs per micro-watershed.
Integrate approaches for sustainable land use measures into watershed management plan design and implementation.
Analyse the current and existing land-use practices within the targeted micro-watershed (in collaboration with the Climate-resilient Watershed Specialist) that threaten the sustainability of production systems at house hold and landscape level.
Based on the existing land use practices analysis result, design specific land use practices tailored for each micro-watershed based on their geo-ecological and agro-climatic zonation and prescribe how such practices can be sustainable while addressing the impact of climate-induced disasters.
Guide during the design of micro-watershed plans on the specific sustainable land use programs and advice on the implementation schedule of such programs.
Advise the project on the specific sustainable land use interventions that can be implemented in addition to the identified programs such as soil erosion and slope stability, climate-smart agriculture, reforestation and agroforestry.
Develop and incorporate systems for monitoring and evaluation of the identified land use based interventions into the project M&E framework. This help the project to track progress towards achieving specific outcome indicators.
Develop guidelines and manuals for the implementation of sustainable land-use interventions such as conservation agricultural, home gardening that will reduce risks in these hotspots, based on international best practices.
Develop knowledge management products on the application of sustainable land use practices and create awareness among communities and MAF to be able to replicate best practices for land use interventions.
Strengthen the capacity of technical staff, extension to enhance the knowledge and skills of communities to implement sustainable land use practices using innovation and technologies through training workshops and on the job training.
Develop a land use profile for each targeted micro-watershed and associated budget required to implement the prioritised sustainable land uses.

Competencies

Excellent communication and presentation skills;
Ability to work with a team of diverse people with diverse cultural and ethnic background;
Excellent writing and reporting skills; and
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines without compromising the quality of the work.

Required Skills and Experience

I. Education:

Hold a Master degree in Environmental management and Sustainable Land use, Sustainable natural resource management, DRM and climate change adaptation.

II. Experience:

At least 7 years related practical experience in sustainable agriculture, land use measures with emphasis on the integration of land and water resources management at landscape level.
Familiarity with sustainable land-use practices relating to forestry, agriculture and soil conservation and management including other rural livelihood activities.
Proven experience with designing sustainable land-use methods to address climate-induced disasters.
At least seven years’ experience using participatory approach is designing sustainable land use programs for communities that vulnerable to climate change impacts.
Thorough knowledge of climate change and its potential effects, related environmental problems in Timor-Leste.
Demonstrated knowledge and experience in developing procedures and processes for sustainable land use methods.
Knowledge of designing monitoring and evaluation systems for land use methods.
Demonstrate a good understanding of watershed development, management, stakeholder engagement process and governance process.
Knowledge of developing knowledge products for communities and government counterparts and proven experience in conducting workshops and trainings.

III. Language Requirements:

Excellent English writing and presentation skills.
Knowledge of Portuguese, Tetum and/or Bahasa Indonesia is advantageous.

TOR, P11 form and financial proposal template are accessible from this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=35838

Additional note: Application documents composed of Proposal/Cover Letter and Methodology, P11 form and Financial Proposal must be submitted in one package document as the online submission allows for only one time document uploading.