National Specialist on Land Tenure (Bilecik)

Organizational Setting

This assignment will support the FAO Sub-regional Office for Central Asia (SEC) and the project on ‘Enhancing agricultural land market development to address land abandonment and improve land consolidation procedures’ which was developed under the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme to assist Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan in designing land markets development measures and land consolidation and banking models to reduce land abandonment and to facilitate enlargements of farm.

The project will support the development of the institutional capacity to implement land banking and other land market development measures as instruments to address agricultural land abandonment and ensure sustainable use of agricultural land, facilitate farm structure improvement through better interconnection with the ongoing land consolidation programme in Türkiye and the planned land consolidation programme in Azerbaijan. The project will support the operationalization of land banking instruments in Türkiye and Azerbaijan and assess needs and feasibility of land markets development instruments in Uzbekistan.

The Project also aims to establish a well-functioning collaboration mechanism through knowledge exchange and capacity development between the three partner countries to maximise opportunities and benefits from sharing experiences and lessons learned. The intervention logic envisages activities in selected pilot areas (needs assessment and feasibility study) to inform preparation of secondary legislation and the core land banking methodology.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Türkiye, direct supervision of the Lead Technical Officer of the project, in collaboration with the Project Coordinator, National and International Consultants, and under the operational guidance of SEC Field Programme Unit.

Technical Focus

Ensure the smooth and efficient implementation of the assigned tasks, lead the assessments and development of policy recommendations contributing to the project activities, and organize stakeholder consultations. He/she acts independently in routine matters and interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the organization providing technical support.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate project implementation in the pilot area in Bilecik, Türkiye;
• Act as a technical expert on land consolidation, land banking and land management;
• Facilitate communication and cooperation between FAO and the Provincial and/or Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Türkiye, the General Directorate of Agrarian Reform (GDAR), and the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI);
• Contribute to the preparation of a detailed project implementation work plan for 2022 for activities in the pilot area – Bilecik, Türkiye
• Conduct needs assessment for land market development and feasibility of land banking (both use and ownership rights) and other land management instruments;
• Lead implementation of feasibility studies and needs assessments, including organization and facilitation of local community workshops, data collection, etc. in the pilot area;
• Contribute to the development of a set of criteria for appropriate categorization and monitoring of abandoned agricultural land;
• Contribute to the development of core land banking procedures including a mechanism for incorporation of land parcels into the land bank;
• Support to drafting and amending primary and secondary legislation on land banking and land consolidation in Türkiye;
• Provide support to organize meetings of the Technical Working Group, conduct meetings with relevant stakeholders in the pilot area, and participate in the workshops and seminars as required;
• Contribute to the drafting/reviewing of technical products/reports during project implementation;
• Contribute to the development and implementation of training programmes and awareness raising on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security;
• Assist development and presentation of final documents, recommendations and guidelines to policy-makers;
• Travel, as required, to project sites in Türkiye.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree/technical diploma in economics, land administration, land management or related fields
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in land related disciplines including (but not limited to) surveying, land valuation, land consolidation, expropriation, etc.
• Working knowledge of English
• National or resident of the country

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent and relevance of experience in land management
• Extent and relevance of experience at local level
• Good interpersonal skills
• Experience from international projects and organizations would be an advantage