National Project Coordinator (NPC)

Organizational Setting

FAO in collaboration with the Government of Finland is aiming at supporting the government of Myanmar in the development and implementation of a two-phase project for a new national scale Forest Inventory System over the years 2020 - 2025. Phase 1 of the project covers activities of Readiness and Testing, and Phase 2 the full Implementation. A particular and innovative feature of this project is to develop a “globally relevant approach to National Forest Inventory (NFI) and National Forest Monitoring and Information Systems (NFMIS) explicitly within the framework of a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and conflict sensitivity”, and support the Government of Myanmar in its implementation in the national territory”. Thus, the project fills an important gap in (global) approaches to National Forest Inventory and Myanmar´s existing National Forest Monitoring System, with no national forest inventory having ever been fully conducted in the country. In addition, at present, no guidelines nor best practices are available in terms of how to implement inventories and other monitoring activities in areas with security and conflict issues or territories with mixed governance systems.

Myanmar is the country with the third highest deforestation rate in the world, after Brazil and Indonesia, and has significant potential for Climate Change mitigation through REDD as well as related multiple benefits. A functional NFI system is necessary not only for decision making in the national context but also an essential requirement for the fulfilment of conditions, which enable the country to participate in REDD including results-based payments. The latter is potentially a source of substantial development finance for the country after 2020 and communities where REDD actions are eventually implemented will directly or indirectly benefit from them.

The project will establish the capacity in Myanmar to develop updated reports on the state of the forests at national scale and the scale of states and regions as well as for several other sub-national user-defined reporting units. The results of the NFI are expected to contribute to evidence based strategy and policy planning in the forest sector and to reduce controversies among stakeholders and sectoral policy actors derived from different, sometimes opposing, views in forest policy discussions through updated data on the state and quality of forests.

Through the UN-REDD Programme a general design, sampling approach and initial elements of a data analysis and management system have already been established during 2017 - 2019. Testing of NFI field methodologies has been conducted in several land areas and forest types in central and North-western Myanmar as well as in Mangroves during 2019. The final NFI field methodology, data collection approaches and a draft estimation design have been developed too, in collaboration with the Myanmar Forest Department, FAO and the Finnish Natural Resources Institute, Luke, and is available as of end of 2019.

The project will be divided in two phases, namely: (1) Phase I of Readiness and testing, and (2) Phase II of full implementation. Phase I will cover the development of a package of safeguard instruments aimed at guaranteeing that the project is implemented in the framework of a HRBA, and that conflict sensitivity and do-no-harm strategies are demonstrated throughout the project. These instruments will be established and institutionalized into country level actions through an open access based data sharing policy, development of a stakeholder engagement and communication plan that includes how to communicate grievances and approaches for their resolution, with linkage to the Myanmar REDD Safeguard Information System. During Phase I data collection and some initial reporting for areas not considered as conflict prone will also be developed. Phase II will involve the completion of data collection in the remaining areas. When data collection is complete for all areas, a full data analysis and national scale reports as well as results for other reporting units can be developed. Phase II will also develop full reports on the state of the forests and tree resources in Myanmar. During Phase II, the NFMIS will be completed with agreed data sharing protocols, web-based data and information retrieval tools for interactive and customized reporting, corresponding support services and the medium to long term institutional and operational arrangements supported for a permanent NFI and NFMIS in Myanmar including the corresponding capacity building for relevant Myanmar stakeholders.

This project will be strongly linked to other projects and programmes working in similar areas and therefore needs to collaborate and coordinate its activities with those projects. These refer particularly to: the Mangrove project under the global UN-REDD TA Programme under its outputs 2 (A comprehensive monitoring system of land-use and land-cover along coastal areas of Myanmar); the GCF readiness project for “developing systems and capacities for ecosystem-based climate investment, decision making and monitoring” particularly the development of the biophysical component for the Decision Support System and the deliverables under the “Emission Assessment from Forest and Land Use Sector” for piloting sites of the Chindwin river basin; the OneMap project of Myanmar with support from the Swiss Development Cooperation; the Servir Mekong Spatial Data for Development Programme, which developed a new draft wall-to-wall Forest and Land Cover map for Myanmar with time series 2000 – 2017 as part of the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (LCMS) project; the Myanmar component of the Japanese-funded project “Mitigation potential of global actions to enhance forest carbon stocks”; and the UNREDD National Programme, which is in its final stages of concluding in 2020, among others.

Reporting Lines

The NPC works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the general supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), and the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor (NFI-NFMIS-HRBA) and will have the following key functions and tasks:

Technical Focus

• Coordination between FAO, Forest Department and other agencies and partners in the project for effective delivery of project results and outputs and the achievement of outcomes
• Facilitation of knowledge building, management and dissemination related to project outputs and results
• Monitoring and reporting on progress of project implementation

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Develop and implement workplans, budgets and reports
• Coordinate participation of all relevant stakeholders and collaborate with the Forest Department, specifically the appointed National Project Director (NPD), and the Director and relevant staff in the Planning and Statistics Division in planning and implementing the project
• Work closely with the NPC of the UN-REDD Programme in matters related to outcome area 4 of the Myanmar UN-REDD Programme and the MRV component of the REDD Programme of Myanmar in general
• Facilitate and arrange consultations and meetings in order to secure inputs from partners and stakeholders as required
• Support the work of consultants (national, international) including operational arrangements, meetings and the review of reports, workplans and translations (Myanmar – English – Myanmar) if required
• Coordinate the collaboration with other relevant projects and initiatives (especially ICI project of LUKE with FD and the OneMap project)
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, documentation and publications
• Ensure data availability for Monitoring and Evaluation (M E)
• Coordinate work with CTA, HRBA Advisor, project team and FAO offices in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw for effective and timely delivery
• Monitor project progress (physical and budgetary)
• Identify risks and opportunities for the project/ assess risks regularly
• Any other relevant tasks assigned by FAO, in coordination with the CTA, HRBA Advisor and the NPD

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Postgraduate degree in Forestry, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Geography or a closely related field.
• At least 7 years of work experience in coordination of programmes and projects in the area natural resource management, environmental conservation or a closely related area.
• Fluency in both English and Myanmar language, written and spoken.
• Myanmar Nationality

FAO Core Competencies

• Strong inter-personal
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Functional Skills

• Ability to share knowledge and experience.
• Active towards continuous personal learning.
• Strong analytical skills to master new subjects.
• Ability to manage priorities and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work towards results based management and reporting.
• Capacity for leadership and management.
• Commitment to FAO´s mission and values.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in leading teams, planning and organising work in teams.
• Experience in working with government agencies, UN-agencies or International NGOs.
• Experience and in-depth knowledge of the REDD process in Myanmar.
• Experience in working with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in Myanmar, specifically in land and forestry related projects is a strong advantage.
• Experience in forest monitoring, forest inventory, land assessment or a related field is an advantage.
• Strong networks within Myanmar government institutions and with non-government organisations.
• Proficiency (user level) of computer applications (Word, Excel, PPT, etc.)

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
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/