Senior Forestry Officer (Forest Biodiversity and Drylands)

Lead and manage sustainable forestry initiatives focusing on biodiversity and dryland landscapes.

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Application deadline in 14 days: Thursday 3 Sep 2026 at 21:59 UTC

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Overview

Lead and manage sustainable forestry initiatives focusing on biodiversity and dryland landscapes.

You have:

  • At least 10 years of relevant experience in forestry, biodiversity or related fields.
  • A Master's degree in forestry, environmental sciences, or related fields.
  • Fluency in English, knowledge of other languages is an asset.
  • Experience in planning, managing or leading multidisciplinary teams.
  • Experience in providing technical and policy advice to governments or international organizations.
  • Demonstrable ability to engage and build strategic partnerships.
  • Ability to mobilize resources for forestry projects.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Organizational Setting

The Forestry Division (NFO) leads FAO's work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. It liaises with Members, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to the promotion of forestry and livelihoods, forest conservation and management issues and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Division also collects, analyses and disseminates information on the world's forest resources and on the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products.

The position is located in the Forestry Division (NFO) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines The Senior Forestry Officer (Forest Biodiversity and Drylands) reports to the Deputy Director, NFO.

Technical Focus Sustainable use, management and conservation of forests and drylands across multifunctional landscapes.

Key Results Leadership and technical policy expertise for the planning, development and implementation of divisional and cross-divisional programmes of work, projects, products, services in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

  • Plans, manages or leads highly specialized or multidisciplinary teams; leads, coordinates and/or participates in Organization-wide, cross-divisional committees, project teams and working groups, and/or provides technical leadership/secretariat services on technical networks and/or international technical policy and standard setting bodies.
  • Analyses global and country specific requirements and relevant technical issues to provide critical input into the FAO Strategic Framework, Programme of Work, work plans and the supporting budgets and/or resourcing strategies.
  • Implements and monitors programmes of work involving the development of the approach, evidence-based strategies and related tools, methodologies and the supporting system/database, monitoring and reporting frameworks.
  • Conducts, designs and oversees research and analysis of activities to support the development of technical standards, international instruments, innovation, technical reports, publications and/or ongoing programme development as well as the provision of technical and/or policy advisory services.
  • Provides technical and policy advice to Members and technical support to Decentralized Offices in the development and implementation of their programmes.
  • Leads and/or collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development and knowledge sharing activities within Member Nations such as policy support, organizational development and individual learning events including preparation of related information, learning and online tools.
  • Represents the Organization at international meetings and conferences, identifies and implements strategic partnerships, advocates best practices and increased policy dialogue and develops and negotiates effective working relationships/consensus and agreements with international and national stakeholders.
  • Leads and/or participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.

Specific Functions

  • Provides leadership and guidance to mainstreaming biodiversity in forestry, sustainable forest management and sustainable dryland landscapes management.
  • Supports the NFO lead of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Food and Agriculture Programme Priority Area (BE3) of the FAO Strategic Framework.
  • Coordinates and enhances support to countries in mainstreaming of biodiversity in forestry, including within dryland ecosystems, through technical support to field projects, capacity development and policy advice, in a wider context of the transformation of agrifood systems and contributing to the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors and its Action Plans.
  • Leads technical work with other relevant FAO units to harmonize forest and dryland biodiversity conservation with sustainable production goals.
  • Coordinates forestry inputs to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF); and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), aligning KMGBF with Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets.
  • Fosters, strengthens and manages strategic partnerships with relevant institutions at international, national and local levels, including the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors.
  • Oversees the secretariat services to the COFO Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems.
  • Mobilizes and manages financial resources for programmes and projects.
  • Performs any other duties as required.

Potential interview questions

Can you describe a time when you successfully led a multidisciplinary team on a forestry project? This question assesses your leadership and teamwork skills in complex environments. Discuss a specific project, your role, and the outcomes achieved.
How do you approach policy advising in the context of sustainable forestry? The interviewer wants to understand your experience and methodology in policy development. Pro members can see the explanation.
What strategies do you use for resource mobilization in forestry programs? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Describe a situation where you needed to engage with various stakeholders to achieve a goal. Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
What is your understanding of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its implications for forestry? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
How would you measure the success of a forestry project focused on biodiversity conservation? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Can you provide an example of how you have integrated biodiversity into forest management practices? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
What experience do you have in developing training programs for capacity building in forestry? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Added 6 days ago - Updated 5 hours ago - Source: fao.org