Specialist in Analysis of Legislative, Institutional and Regulatory Frameworks

Organizational Setting

GCP/RLA/230/GFF - Binational and integrated water resources management in the Merín Lagoon Basin and Coastal Lagoons.

Reporting Lines

The consultant will report to Gustavo Chianca, Assistant to the Representative at FAO Brazil - Programme

Technical Focus

The Project Profile (PIF) "Binational and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Laguna Merin Basin and Coastal Lagoons", presented by FAO, was endorsed by the GEF Executive Management (CEO) on May 4, 2020 (date of approval of the Project Identification Form-PIF), and was also approved by the 58th GEF Council to be incorporated into its Program on June 2, 2020.

The objective of the project is to strengthen capacities in the public and private sectors of Brazil and Uruguay for the joint and integrated management of water resources in the Laguna Merin and Coastal Lagoons Basin, emphasizing water use efficiency, ecosystem preservation and adaptation to climate change, through the development of a Strategic Action Plan.

It is structured through the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA), the Design and implementation of a Strategic Action Plan (SAP), and the Monitoring, Communication and Evaluation of the Project. The project will be implemented over a period of 60 months. GEF funding will be USD 4,850,000.

The main implementing agencies will be the National Governments, the National Water Directorate (DINAGUA) in Uruguay and the Agency for the Development of Laguna Merín (ALM) in Brazil, under the guidance of the Ministry of Rural development, and the respective FAO agencies involved. The preparation of the GEF project should be completed and the Project Document submitted to the Government and FAO by 3 March 2021 (9 months after the approval of the PIF). These Terms of Reference (TOR) describe the services to be provided by the consultant as approved in the Project Preparation Grant (PPG)).

A coordinated project development strategy among the project teams in both countries is critical to success, and the Specialist in Analysis of Legislative, Institutional and Regulatory Frameworks will be guided by the national coordinator in Brazil, in close consultation with the project coordinator in Uruguay, to contribute to an integrated binational project development process under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative/ OIC and project task force.

Tasks and responsibilities

The consultant will perform the following tasks:

• Support the preparation of inputs for the project document, in collaboration with the rest of the team of consultants and national, regional and local counterparts and FAO;

• Carry out the analysis of the baseline of products and institutional mechanisms to be implemented by the project in support of the design of Component 2 "Design of a Strategic Action Plan" that contemplates the strengthening of existing cooperation mechanisms and mechanisms for joint decision-making by the countries. Collect and analyze the legislation, regulations, public policies and institutions of both countries (Brazil and Uruguay) in the project intervention areas. The consultant must consider treaties and commitments that both countries have adopted for the management of water resources, land and protected areas. The consultant must identify obstacles or gaps that may need to be addressed during the implementation of the project. This function will be performed in coordination with and following the guidance of Ms. Manuela Cuvi, Legal Officer, Development Law Service (LEGN) based in RLC, provided that the language of the documents is either Spanish or English.

• Participate in the development of the consolidated logical results framework and the theory of change for the Project, including the formulation of SMART indicators in relation to institutional and regulatory aspects, and definition of baseline and target values.

In particular, he/she will be in charge of the following tasks

• Formulate and apply a methodology for the objectively verifiable analysis of the capacities of local, national and regional institutions in relation to the formulation and application of the TDA and SAP, and propose corresponding strategies and measures for systemic capacity enhancement.
• Identify the main rules, public policies and regulations linking and supporting the joint and integrated management of water resources in the Laguna Merin and Coastal Lagoons Basin.
• Analyse legislative and regulatory frameworks in the areas of intervention, of relevance to the formulation and application of the TDA and SAP, at municipal, state and national/federal levels as appropriate, including binational and international agreements, treaties and conventions to which the participating countries may be signatories”.
• Characterize and analyze the effectiveness of mechanisms for collective and public consultation in relation to the formulation and application of the TDA and SAP and propose measures for their improvement as needed.
• Determine the efforts made to date within the framework of the Joint Commission for the Management of Laguna Merín, its structure, instruments and capacities.
• Determine the efforts made so far by the Basin Commissions and Agencies formed at national and regional level, their representativeness, operation, and capacities.
• Establish responsibilities for the management of the basin resources and their implications for binational integration in resource management.
• Propose alternatives for the governance model in the basin, based on international experience, best practices and a review of the background in the two countries.
• Establish current instruments and criteria for the approval and management of hydraulic infrastructures in both countries.
• Review current systems and capacities for data generation and management, information and knowledge, and propose corresponding strategies and measures for their improvement in support of the formulation and application of the TDA and SAP
• Establish the scope for the development of a system for common decision-making between the countries.
• Detailed description of the institutional initiatives (environmental and productive) that constitute the baseline and co-financing of the project;
• Assist the National Coordinators, in conjunction with the PPG team, identifying the alternative scenario for co-management and integrated management of the basin.
• Assist the National Coordinators, together with the PPG team, in the development of the Theory of Change, transformative impact and benefits obtained by the implementation of a SAP.
• Assist the National Coordinator in the preparation of a first version of the Project Document in Spanish, incorporating the appropriate responses to the comments of STAP and GEFSEC to the PIF, in collaboration with the team of consultants and strictly following the FAO-GEF format.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING:

Minimum Requirements

• Academic Qualifications: the candidate must be a lawyer with experience in comparative law analysis, hopefully with experience in both countries (Brazil and Uruguay) and with knowledge of both the Spanish and Portuguese languages.
• Knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and written English.
• Work experience of at least 5 years.
• Brazilian citizen.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

  Technical/Functional Skills

• University degree in Law.

• Experience in legislative analysis of water resources, land and protected areas in Brazil or Uruguay (ideally both) and knowledge of environmental and climate change regulations and policies.
• Experience in policy analysis and governance of international waters
• Extensive knowledge of public administration, budgets, public programs of environmental and productive scope, legal foundations.
• Good knowledge of and relationship with national institutions.
• Experience in the preparation and/or execution of projects with international organizations.
• Experience in facilitating workshops and coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
• Writing of technical reports in accordance with United Nations quality standards.

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/