Senior Forestry Advisor -Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international non-governmental organization working in Ethiopia since 1988. We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives. Our strategy has three pillars: agricultural expertise, management and preservation of ecosystems, and the power of business to drive prosperity. We believe Africa has the power to feed itself and are helping make this happen by establishing and spreading the best farming and forestry techniques so that poor farmers and herders have more food to feed their families and sell. We help smallholders manage their natural resources sustainably so that they can withstand climate change challenges and shocks and ensure their families have enough food in the future as well as now. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for the maximum impact of our projects.

JOB TITLE: Senior Forestry Advisor

REPORTS TO: Programme Manager

REPORTING TO POSTHOLDER: Senior Forestry Officers (2)

NUMBER: 1 (one)

LOCATION: Farm Africa Country Office, Addis Ababa

DURATION & HOURS: Three years with a probation period of 90 days with a probability of extension based on availably of funds

PROGRAMME BACKGROUND, PURPOSE & ROLE

Farm Africa and SOS Sahel Ethiopia have been jointly implementing the Bale Mountains Eco-region REDD+ Project since 2012. The first phase of the project has demonstrated a model for institution building for integrated PFM-REDD+ implementation that has been adopted by the national REDD+ programme of the Government of Ethiopia. The current project, the Bale Eco-region REDD+ Project Phase II – funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy is under implementation – builds on the progress and achievements made in Phase I, and now at a crucial stage in ensuring the sustainability of Bale REDD+ project initiative through a gradual integration or nesting of it into the jurisdictional Oromia Forested Landscape Program (OFLP). Phase II is also designed with the objective of making the Bale REDD+ project continue becoming the knowledge hub for REDD+ best practices in the country. Phase II applies a process of reviewing and learning potential; further developing forest product enterprises and access to markets to manage the high expectations of local community for carbon finance so as to make it a self-sustaining forest management scheme; continue building the capacity of CBOs and other stakeholders including law enforcement agencies, and strengthen the national REDD+ actors network to make it an effective platform for knowledge and experience sharing and policy debates and others. The project implementation requires collaboration with multiple REDD+ stakeholders in the country, principally MEFCC, Oromia Environment, Forest and Climate Change Authority *OEFCCA), Oromia REDD+ Coordination Unit (ORCU), The WBG, and the national REDD+ secretariat.

More specifically, the Bale Mountains REDD+ phase II project was planned to strengthen the managerial and organizational capacities of 64 PFM/REDD+ CBOs that have been organized within 11 woredas of the Bale eco-region and now planning to scale up/out to additional woredas of the Bale eco-region and Guji Borana Woredas. The overall implementation is coordinated by Programme Coordination Core (PCC) based in Addis Ababa while the direct activities implementation is carried out by Field Office Coordination Centres (FOCCs) based in Robe, Bale, and Guji-Borana field offices. The PCC coordinates the execution of Programme operations as per the Programme design document, and strategic direction given by the Strategic Leadership Group (SLG), and in line with donor and government requirements. It is also responsible to oversee effective operations of field office coordination centers and FOCCs directly report to PCC led by the Programme Manager based in Farm Africa HO

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The overall responsibility of the position holder is to coordinate the planning and execution of forest and natural resource management through the participatory forest and participatory rangeland management approaches. The Senior Forestry Advisor performs specialized professional resource management duties and supervises the activities of senior forestry officers and/or woreda-based community development officers. Professional duties include planning, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating a variety of forest management activities. This position is in the Programme Coordination Core and functions under the direction of the Programme Manager. This position must have the ability to work with multicultural communities in the Programme intervention areas and multidisciplinary teams. The position holder he/she will also work closely with other experts in the crop, livestock, and markets to ensure coordination and synergies of activities are correctly implemented. Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager for the Forest for Sustainable Development Programme and direct supervision of the Senior Forestry Officers in close collaboration with the field offices coordinator and Deputy coordinator in the program intervention area, the Senior Forestry Advisor will perform the following tasks:

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key areas of responsibility are:

·         Prepare detailed Project Implementation Strategy and annual work plans of the forestry in line with the project budget, objectives, and outcomes in collaboration with project partners and stakeholders, and make necessary arrangements for their successful implementation in a timely manner;

·         Coordinate and follow up the day-to-day forest-related activities implementation through effective and efficient use of resources in close collaboration with the field office Operation;

·         With the guidance and coordination with the Programme manager, make sure the project fulfils project reporting duties (Project Progress Reports, annual Project Implementation Report and etc.) according to donor and Farm Africa principles;

·         Align the Model Forest approach with concepts and activities planned under the project

·         Assigns, schedules, reviews and supervises the work of Senior Forestry Officers, and woreda-based community development officers.

·         Coordinates forest management activities with multi-disciplinary teams including agriculture, agronomist, business management, and other senior staff of Farm Africa and partners.

·         Supervises and participates in fieldwork on forest management, restoration, agroforestry practices, and other support activities.

·         Plan, and implement forest management projects including inventory, monitoring, researching, and evaluating forest conditions in the project area; prepare and maintain a variety of records, maps, reports, plans, and resource inventories for this purpose

·         Support the preparation of technical specifications to procure goods and materials for implementation of project activities such as rehabilitation of degraded lands, restoration, and pasture rehabilitation;

·         Support the development of an Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan for the Project Area. Review and implement planned ecotourism routes, review ongoing and planned ecotourism initiatives within the Project Area

·         Support activities related to the integration and sustainable management of forest, agricultural and other production systems in the Bale eco-region and associated Guji Borana landscapes.

·         Makes sure that the agreed concepts, approaches, and strategies of the program are well taken and implemented by the partner

·         Enhance awareness, understanding, and capacities to integrate management for conservation and climate-smart agriculture production across landscapes

·         Develop ready-to-use strategies and technical concepts, including guidelines, manuals, and procedures

·         Document and disseminate good experiences from the site and actively work with other Farm Africa Country Office and regional teams on the adoption of good lessons

·         Develop and/or improve innovative and efficient/effective ways of addressing the goal and objectives of the program and addressing the problems on the site.

·         Prepares appropriate input for various project reports including annual reports and contributes to the other reports required by the Programme manager.

·         To do follow-up and monitor the progress of activities based on the agreed operational plan

·         Collect and document monitoring relevant data in the project monitoring system

·         Represents the Farm Africa county office for forest-related issues with other governmental agencies on joint forestry and natural resource landscape projects

·         Participates in the development and presentation of publications, manuals, and other knowledge generations and lessons or training programs

·         Perform other related tasks and other duties and travel as required.

These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required. All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established.

Job Requirements

PERSON SPECIFICATION

 

Essential Desirable
Education, Qualifications & other knowledge
MSc in, Forestry, Natural Resources Management, and other related fields.

MSc or MA

Knowledge of Forestry policy in Ethiopia

Knowledge of gender and social inclusiveness

Experience
12 years’ work experience in the related field in the similar development organizations Previous NGO work experience forestry, natural resource management
Experience in the area of natural resources management, small business group development, agro-forestry and good knowledge of gender and social inclusiveness and organizational capacity building of community-based institutions  
Experience of project planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation  
Experience working in the area of value chain and economic strengthening of rural community  
Skills & Abilities

Very good English language skills (written and spoken)

Knowledge of local language is a must

Computer literacy, excellent record keeping and report writing

Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Good team building skills and the ability to work in a multi partner approach ,.

Budget and financial management, training need assessment and training facilitation

 

Willingness to reside in rural/marginal areas, ability to work with minimum supervision

 
Strong sense of integrity and personal commitment to the goals and values of Farm Africa  
Good community level facilitation and coordination skills  

 

OUR VALUES

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specialising in growing agriculture, protecting the environment and developing businesses in rural Africa.

EXPERT. Deep expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.

GROUNDED. Positive change starts with Africa’s people, so our experts work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.

IMPACTFUL. We take a long-term view so we can deliver lasting changes for farmers and their families.

BOLD. We model innovative new approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.

How to Apply

Those who meet the above requirements should submit their short CV (maximum of 3 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 1 page) addressing ethrecruitment@farmafrica.org with the subject line of Senior Forestry Advisor for the FSD Program and FOW based in Farm Africa Ethiopia Country office) by February 5, 2023.

 Documents cannot be returned and due to large number of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Applications are especially welcomed from female applicants.

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