Land Restoration Expert

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in October 1945 with the objective of eliminating hunger, improving nutrition and standards of living by increasing agricultural productivity. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through its Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. Accordingly, FAO complements the efforts of governments and technical agencies in programs for developing agriculture, forestry, fisheries, land and water resources. It also carries out research; provides technical assistance on projects in individual countries; operates educational programs through seminars and training centres; maintains information and support services, including keeping statistics on world production, trade, and consumption of agricultural commodities; and publishes a number of periodicals, yearbooks, and research bulletins.

FAO headquarters are in Rome, Italy and the organization has more than 180 members with offices throughout the world. Through the Botswana Office, FAO is collaborating with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, through Department of Forestry and Range Resources, to implement a national project on land degradation assessment, monitoring and development of a restoration strategy. The project has so far completed a countrywide land degradation assessment and an online monitoring system. A national working group was also mobilized, and it managed to set voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets and associated measures, which will enable Botswana to comply with obligations of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). With all the necessary baseline information thus established, the next phase is to formulate appropriate interventions in order to manage the dynamics of land degradation in the country. Therefore, the Land Restoration Expert will lead a process to develop a comprehensive strategy for land restoration in Botswana.

Reporting Lines

The Land Restoration Expert will work under the overall managerial and operational guidance of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Botswana, with technical supervision of a Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and support from a Technical Officer based in FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy as well as guidance from the Project Coordinator.

Technical Focus

Development of a gender-sensitive land restoration strategy for Botswana based on relevant FAO guidelines and other established methodologies, such as IUCN’s Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM).

Tasks and responsibilities

• Identify landscape restoration opportunities and priorities for transformative projects and programmes, based on data and information that is already available from Botswana Land Degradation Monitoring System. • Conduct an economic modelling and valuation exercise to establish costs and benefits of land restoration. • Conduct an analysis of potential carbon benefits that could be achieved through different restoration interventions. • Assess current and potential contribution of gender in land restoration efforts. • Undertake a preliminary assessment of key success factors for development and implementation of restoration activities, including but not limited to policy and legal framework, institutional arrangements, implementation capacity, marketing, as well as ecological and social conditions in the assessment area. The assessment should further explore feasibility for replication and scaling up of restoration efforts. • Investigate types of finance and investment options for the different types of restoration interventions. • Based on the above assessments or analyses, lead the development of a National Land Restoration Strategy for Botswana, linking it with the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought; Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target setting process; Agroforestry strategy; Great Green Wall Initiative; and other relevant initiatives. • Produce technical reports on completed milestones. • Prepare and submit reports of missions containing the main findings and recommendations. • Support gender mainstreaming in all aspects of analysis and capacity building as well as monitoring and reporting. • Carry out any other tasks relevant to this assignment.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree in a relevant area such as Biodiversity Management, Sustainable Land Management, Environmental sciences and Natural Resources Management or other closely related fields. • Ten (10) years of work experience in relevant technical areas. • Working knowledge of English with good writing and communication skills. Knowledge of other language used in Botswana is considered an asset. • National or resident with work permit in Botswana.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in organizing participatory processes and contribution to processes related to program development through engagement of a wide range of stakeholders from the government, civil society, academia, and the private sector. • Experience with development of strategies and environment-based projects. • Specific professional experience with forest landscape restoration or Land Degradation Neutrality processes is required. • Experience with projects in Botswana is desired. • Experience with UN projects is desired. • Good analytical, presentation and training skills. • Leading, engaging, empowering and an excellent team player. • Demonstrated ability to work independently, handle multiple tasks, work under pressure and deliver assignments on time.