Forest/Climate Projects Coordinator

Organizational Setting

FAO Representation in Sierra Leone implements an integrated food security programme, focusing on diversification of livelihoods, managing natural resources and building resilience. The office employs diverse team of experts locally, but also attracts the available technical experts from the region and the Head Quarters (HQ). FAO works in close partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone, farmers and other stakeholders, supporting plans and policies that affect the food and nutrition security in the country; our work is part of the corporate commitment to support countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, especially SDG 2 on Zero Hunger.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Sierra Leone and the technical supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor, the Forest/Climate Projects Coordinator will be responsible for the Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate: a focus on West Africa, Support to sustainable forestry in Sierra Leone, Accelerating Action Towards Effective Climate Risk Management in Key Sectors in Sierra Leone, Institutional and technical support for REDD readiness in West Africa and Technical support for strengthening country’s capacity and resource gaps in accessing climate financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other funding windows.

Technical Focus

The Forest/Climate Projects Coordinator will be fully engaged on the NFI implementation through the Support to Sustainable Forestry in Sierra Leone - GCP/SIL/055/EC but will provide coordination support services on the following projects with implementation areas targeting forest, environment and climate change which are to be implemented by FAO, National Designated Authority (NDA) or other delivery partners to avoid overlap and duplication in their implementation. The other projects include (Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate: a focus on West Africa (GCP /GLO/977/SWE) - to only monitor Forestry Department of the Njala University in the implementation of the LoA, Institutional and technical support for REDD readiness in West Africa - (GCP /SFW/005/GCR_BABY05), Accelerating Action Towards Effective Climate Risk Management in Key Sectors in Sierra Leone (GCP /SIL/054/GCR) and Technical support for strengthening country’s capacity and resource gaps in accessing climate financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other funding windows (TCP/3093/C2). The key tasks include but not limited to the following:

Tasks and responsibilities

• Provide technical support and guidance on the design, implementation, and analysis of national forest inventories in Sierra Leone, in line with international best practices and standards. • Support the NFI International NFI Experts and international consultants to develop the methodological design and field implementation of national scale forest inventories. • Support in the building of country capacities in the collection, entry, management, and analysis of data generated from forest inventories. • Provide technical support in the data collection and lead the data analysis and interpretation of NFI results, including forest area and change estimates, volume, biomass, and carbon stock assessments and the preparation of the final NFI report. • Provide the Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) procedures for NFI data collection, management, and reporting. • Review and evaluate existing NFI data and methodologies used in Sierra Leone, and provide recommendations for improvement, including (the identification of data gaps and areas for improvement in the existing NFI system, review of the accuracy and precision of the NFI data, and recommendations for improving the quality of the data, the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of the NFI system and recommendations for optimizing resource use. • Participate in the development and implementation of forest policy and planning processes, including (providing technical support and advice on the use of NFI data to inform policy development and monitoring, facilitating stakeholder consultations and engagement to ensure the NFI system meets the needs of stakeholders, participating in relevant technical working groups and committees related to forest management and monitoring. • Capacity building and knowledge transfer (providing training and technical support to National Forest Inventory team members on NFI design, implementation, and data analysis, developing training materials and manuals for NFI data collection and analysis, facilitating knowledge transfer and exchange between Sierra Leone and other countries with established NFI systems. • Support with resource mobilization and establish strong linkage with donor partners for the submission and approval of bankable proposals in natural resources and other disciplines. • In close collaboration with the other project staff and consultants set up a Joint Project Coordination Committee (JPCC) with three representatives from each of the projects above. • Coordinate with the different project teams in the various projects for effective and efficient implementation to prevent overlap and ensure maximum synergy is reached in the overall implementation. • Organize quarterly coordination meetings with the different project teams and coordinate project implementation and resources use by each project team to prevent duplication of resource allocation for the same intervention; • Prepare briefs and updates as required by the donor and the government. • In close collaboration with the or LTOs or CTAs of all the project, draft periodic and final reports for the attention of the donor and the government • Prepare project progress report. • Always adhere to FAO’s rules and standards of behavior for staff. • Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Must have a Master degree in forest, climate change , environment and other natural resources management, development or any other related disciplines; PhD in forestry is an added advantage; • Working knowledge of English with good communications and writing skills; • Should have 10 years working experience in project coordination, management in related disciplines; • National of Sierra Leone.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/ Functional Skills

• Ability to supervise, manage and support to field activities of the project. • Ability to manage trainings and capacity building programme of the project. • Relevant experience/ exposure, skills and knowledge in results-based approach/management. • Ability to communicate with different stakeholders. • Different types of report writing skills. • Computer skill (Microsoft office, Photoshop). • Good report writing skills. • Experience with the UN agencies in similar position is added advantage. • Previous working experience with UN or international organizations will be an added advantage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.