Sustainable Land Management Specialist

Overview

Provide technical advisory services for sustainable land management projects.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in a discipline relevant to natural resources management, Agronomy, geography, conservation, and other related areas.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in land management and restoration, similar to Guyana’s agroecological zones.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English, French and/or Spanish and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian.
• Proven ability to redact clear and concise technical reports.
• Extent and relevance of experience in soil and water resources, land rehabilitation and management, particularly in the Caribbean context and Guyana.

Organizational Setting

The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) and FAO are implementing the project Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Development and Management in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (SLDM). The project aims at establishing an enabling environment for promoting sustainable and climate-resilient land development, management, and reclamation in support of Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy through activities working at (i) streamlining policy, regulation, and governance; (ii) developing institutional and human capacities; and (iii) strengthening local governance in three regions where the project is being implemented. The project is implemented at three levels – national, regional, and local – the SLDM project is designed to create an enabling legal and policy framework informed by policy feedback loops nurtured with ground reality and inclusive participation.

Reporting Lines

Based in the Project Management Unit (PMU) Office in GLSC, the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Specialist will work under the overall managerial administrative leadership and supervision of the FAO Representative in Guyana, direct technical supervision by the SLDM project Chief Technical Advisor, in close collaboration with the project’s team, the Geospatial Unit in the Land and Water Division (NSL) at FAO, GLSC and other team members, and under the overall technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and the concerned task force members.

Technical Focus

The main tasks of the Specialist will be to provide technical advisory services and manage the on-the-ground implementation of land reclamation/ restoration or related tasks to support Sustainable Land Management. This is a fit for purpose approach that will be used to complete the SLM interventions in the pilot areas based on the assessments and activities that have been completed. This will be done in consultation with national agencies and relevant stakeholders to ensure the implementation of an integrated approach to planning and sustainable land management within the context of the SLDM project.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The incumbent will undertake the following tasks:

• Compile and review GLSC and FAO datasets, land use and development plans, guidelines for environmental and agricultural planning, past research in land use /catchment planning and territorial development approaches, sustainable land management and restoration research in Guyana; • Review the diagnostic and participatory mapping of land use / soil type and degradation processes (status, trends, drivers and impacts), such as soil erosion, nutrient and pH imbalance, salinization, land mining, contamination and climate change impacts - sea-water intrusion, drought and flooding, etc. • Prepare technical guidance approach and document in support to participatory land / territorial diagnostic methodology and planning process; • Support the decision making mechanisms for intervention in 2 or 3 targeted regions by: - Providing guidance for public awareness, and multi-stakeholder dialogue (event on the objectives of the pilot exercise and site / landscape selection at target sites) and interviews and a consultative process with local decision makers and potential partners, using questionnaires and focus group discussions, on recent land use trends and on experiences in land planning, sectoral support measures, and "best" management practices (sustainability, cost effectiveness, resilience to climate change, accessibility, as well as knowledge of policy and regulations) - Developing a decision support strategy and action plan based on priority uses for sustainable management and land reclamation / restoration taking into account current trends, drivers of change and trade-offs between different land use / management options and identify required technical support and conflict resolution, funding and other incentive mechanisms. This should include a participatory evaluation, selection and documentation of the most effective SLM best practices (to prevent, reduce and restore) for the main land use systems and land users (typology) in 3 targeted regions. • Prepare draft Terms and Conditions for service providers (public agencies and/or private sector) to execute on-the-ground land reclamation / restoration and related measures (built on SLM knowledge bases, local innovations, scientific advances and lessons learned from previous interventions), and promote adoption by land users and communities of adapted SLM practices; • Report on the strengthened capacity for promoting territorial approaches for scaling up of proven SLM practices and rehabilitation measures with assessments of available knowledge and know-how, capacity development needs of service providers identified in target landscapes and districts to select, adapt and promote resilient SLM and Restoration measures, for the implementation of an integrated approach combining LDN, LADA, WOCAT, AEZ, Land Tenure, land suitability analysis and Open Foris; • Perform any other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA

Minimum Qualification Requirements

• Advanced university degree in a discipline relevant to natural resources management, Agronomy, geography, conservation, and other related areas. • At least 5 years of relevant work experience in land management and restoration, similar to Guyana’s agroecological zones. • Working knowledge (level C) of English, French and/or Spanish and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian. For PSA, working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

• Extent and relevance of experience in soil and water resources, land rehabilitation and management and cross-cutting issues impacting on natural resources with particular emphasis on developing countries and knowledge of the Caribbean context and particularly of Guyana. • Extent and relevance of experience of technical assistance provision to field projects on land rehabilitation and management including negotiated participatory approaches. • Extent and relevance of experience in reviewing national processes and undertaking diagnostic studies and field research related to soil and water conservation, land rehabilitation and management. • Proven ability to redact clear and concise technical reports. • Extent and relevance of designing and implementing participatory approaches and to provide assistance in the organization of workshops, consultations, awareness, technical meetings and learning events. • Proven ability to work in multidisciplinary team and including multiple partners. • Track record in planning and implementation of sustainable land management methods/policy.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: fao.org