Organizational Setting

The Forestry Division leads FAO’s work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. It liaises with member countries, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to forest conservation and management issues and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The EU Forest Governance and Value Chains Programme (FGVC) implemented by NFO supports the implementation of the Forest Partnerships between the European Union and Partner Countries. The Forest Partnerships are a new and key instrument of the European Union’s Action to promote sustainable forest management and value chains. They are based on a holistic and integrated approach to forests, reflecting a high-level commitment to enhancing the role of forests in sustainable and inclusive national development whilst improving sector law enforcement, governance and trade. The Forest Partnerships promote innovative investment and finance models to create efficient, pragmatic and impactful links between government, industry and forest communities.

The FGVC support to the Forest Partnerships revolves around two pillars:
•    improving governance for sustainable forest management, forest protection and restoration, and plantation development;
•    developing legal and sustainable forest-based value chains.
The FLEGT Africa and Latin America (ALA) Facility, implemented by FAO as part of the EU FLEGT VPA Programme (AFD), provides technical assistance to countries engaged in Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) with the European Union. The Facility supports the implementation of roadmaps towards VPA implementation, with the ultimate objective of improving forest sector governance and promoting the production and trade in legal timber.

The purpose of this Call for Expression of Interest is to provide FAO with a list of qualified candidates to support FGVC Programme and ALA Facility implementation in target countries. Assignments pursuant to this Call for Expression of Interest may be at the Organization’s headquarters in Rome (Italy), home based, or on field missions, as required. The Organization frequently engages experts to work on short-term projects as international consultants. The assignment may involve full-time or part-time functions similar to those of staff members. The assignment can be from 1 month up to 11 months. The possibility of further extension is subject to satisfactory performance and depending on the resources and needs of the Organization.

The purpose of this call is to attract talents with experience and background in the areas of:
•    Forest Policy and Economics
•    Value Chain Analysis
•    Digitalisation and Forest Data Management
•    Sustainable Finance
•    Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building

Reporting Lines

The technical expert(s) will be working under the overall supervision of the FGVC Programme Manager, and the direct supervision of relevant Forestry Officers from the FGVC Programme and/or ALA Facility.

Technical Focus 

The incumbent(s) will contribute to the implementation of the FGVC Programme and FLEGT ALA Facility in target countries, and in particular the priority areas of developing legal and sustainable forest-based value chains and the promotion of innovative investment and finance models. Specifically, the FGVC and ALA Facility teams are looking for international consultants with experience and working knowledge on at least one of the following thematic areas:

•    Economics of forestry, ecosystem services and of landscape restoration
•    Value chain and market analysis for legal and sustainable timber and non-timber forest products
•    Forest data encoding, management and analysis, tools and best practices
•    Forest sector finance and investment, including the mobilization of climate and green finance
•    Enabling institutional, legal and policy environment for sustainable and legal forest production and development of sustainable value chains and investments
•    Results-driven capacity development methods for government institutions and/or private sector.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Provide technical expertise related to one or more of the technical focus areas listed above, particularly (1) sustainable forest value chain development, analysis and financing, (2) forest information management and/or traceability systems development, (3) institutional and policy and legal reform in the forest sector
•    Conduct technical assessments or analyses in fields related to the technical focus areas listed above, compiling both primary and secondary data and summarizing relevant data sources, organizations, and studies
•    Support the design of institutional settings and/or frameworks for monitoring and reporting of national and international commitments, strategies, and plans.
•    Develop approaches and tools to assess, monitor, and promote interventions related to one or more of the technical focus areas listed above;
•    Provide direct support to target countries through capacity building and mentoring for government and private sector;
•    Plan and develop capacity building tools and activities including expert exchanges, workshops, online training, etc.;
•    Organize and conduct both online and in-person consultations with experts at the national and international levels, as needed;
•    Conduct duty travel to one or more of the target countries, as relevant for the assignment;
•    Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree in the fields of economics, finance, forestry, natural resources management, business, political science, international relations, information technology, or related studies. A university degree combined with 2 years of additional relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced university degree.
•    At least 8 years of relevant work experience in one or more of the following areas: Forest Economics, Forest Policy, Forestry Statistics, Sustainable Development, Agribusiness, Value Chain Analysis, Development Finance and Investment, IT system development, Institutional Reform or related areas
•    Full proficiency of English (Level C).

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills  

Candidates will be assessed based on one or more of the below areas:

•    Additional proficiency in French or Spanish is an asset

•    Extent and relevance of experience in mobilization of sustainable finance mechanisms, including climate finance, in the forestry sector
•    Extent and relevance of experience in developing or analysing sustainable forest sector value chains
•    Familiarity with technologies and software to promote digitalisation and forest data management
•    Extent and relevance of experience in delivering improved capacity development results for a variety of stakeholders
•    Extent and relevance of work experience in economic or policy analysis of forestry/environmental/sustainability issues
•    Work experience and networks in any of the following countries is an advantage: Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Liberia, Mongolia, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zambia, and the Congo Basin forestry countries
•    Familiarity with international cooperation in the field of forestry, environment or natural resources management
•    Presentation and writing skills with demonstrated records of publications and papers
•    Proficiency in additional FAO languages, or regional languages of target countries, is an asset.