indigenous Peoples, social inclusion and safeguards expertFAO

Organizational Setting:
For more than four decades, FAO has been working with the Government of the Philippines, civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to natural disasters, climatic hazards and armed conflict.
Reporting Lines:
The Indigenous Peoples, Social Inclusion and Safeguards Expert will be under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in the Philippines ad interim, the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative for Programme, the technical supervision of the International GEF expert and the lead national consultant, and in close collaboration with other national experts.
Technical Focus:
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) recently approved the Project Identification Project (PIF) of the project entitled "Sustainable Management of Natural Resources towards Rehabilitation and Preservation of the Key Biodiversity Area along Bataan Province to Manila Bay". The project specifically aims to mainstream biodiversity and sustainable land management (SLM) in key biodiversity areas (KBA) along Bataan Province to Manila Bay In response to the said objective, the project's interventions will focus on the following three components: (i) Provincial level capacity to support mainstreaming biodiversity and SLM and development and implementation of provincial level land use planning and development frameworks; (ii) Capacity building, natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods to deliver global environmental benefits in key biodiversity areas (KBAs) at sub-provincial level in Bataan province; and (iii) Monitoring and evaluation and knowledge management.
In line with this, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Government of the Philippines, will now develop the full project document based on the approved PIF and in alignment with the national priorities, FAO comparative advantages, and GEF 7 programming directions. Project preparation activities will include desktop review as well as multi-stakeholder consultations and workshops to ensure the involvement of key stakeholders in the project design process and generate commitments both at the national and sub-national levels.
The project will focus on the Bataan Province which is directly connected to the bigger natural system of the Manila Bay catchment. Within this project site, the nature and extent of specific target sites for field-level activities will be confirmed during the project development phase, taking into consideration the existence of globally important environmental values and addressable associated threats, community buy-in, and resource availability.
It is expected that through the project implementation, biodiversity and SLM concerns will be successfully mainstreamed across landscapes. Likewise, the project will facilitate better partnerships among stakeholders and provide appropriate tool to decision makers in effectively addressing major threats on SLM and biodiversity conservation in the project sites.
Tasks and responsibilities
The Indigenous Peoples, Social Inclusion and Safeguards Expert will carry out the following tasks:
Prepare an Indigenous Peoples' Planning (IPP) Framework for the project that includes a guidance on the proposed structure, key elements and outline of an Indigenous Peoples' Plan to be formulated during the project implementation; outlines the legal and institutional framework for IPs in Philippines, multilateral agreements relevant to IPs, FAO and GEF's Policy on IPs; implementation arrangements of the framework and grievance redress mechanism, etc. The IPP should also include measures to ensure that affected populations receive appropriate benefits, measures to mitigate the impacts that may result from the high risk activities, as identified during the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process, measures to include representatives of the affected indigenous communities in the Project Steering Committee and decision making processes during implementation, and budgetary allocations from within the project budget to ensure the adequate implementation of the plan;
In line with FAO and GEF's guideline, prepare a matrix of potential social and environmental impacts (access to natural/forest resources, economic displacement, tenurial issues, etc.) of potential project interventions and options for their mitigation and management to serve as a tool for addressing impacts
Identify roles and responsibilities for identification, oversight and monitoring implementation of social and IP related mitigation and management measures and specific training needs for management of safeguards
Provide technical inputs to help ensure that the overall project design reflects and integrates a strong understanding of FPIC challenges and opportunities related to achievement of the project objective. Inputs will be based on the comprehensive understanding of GEF requirements and the approved PIF. Inputs will be generated to ensure that the project design conforms with relevant FAO, GEF, and Government of Philippines policies/practices;
Ensure that the project is designed incorporating FAO's FPIC guidance as well as the existing framework governing Indigenous Peoples in Philippines, incl. the Revised Guidelines on Free and Prior Informed Consent and Related Processes of 2012; the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, whilst catalyzing innovative, replicable and cost effective changes from current unsustainable agricultural and other land use practices at target landscapes to more sustainable practices that directly lead to conservation of global biodiversity values, sustainable land management and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that will still lead to improved local livelihoods as well;
Prepare, conduct, and document the processes related to the FPIC process;
As part of the stakeholder consultation, identify and consult the different Indigenous Peoples' in the project sites and their respective representatives, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and other relevant groups and individuals working on IP related issues.
Document sex-disaggregated geographic and demographic information as well as NRM, land use and livelihood practices, traditional ecological knowledge and relevant cultural practices through participatory mapping and consultation;
Design a participatory communication plan and carry out iterative discussions to which project information will be disclosed in a transparent way
Reach consent and document Indigenous Peoples' needs that are to be considered in the project; identify the role and contribution of IPs in the project activities
Complete and contribute to relevant sections of the project document and supporting materials including: tracking tools, social and environmental assessments, results framework, baseline information, national benefits, results framework, capacity development, etc.
Complete and submit mission reports covering a summary of mission activities and conclusions, key persons/ organizations consulted and recommendations for the finalization of the project documents.
Conduct workshops/ meetings/ consultations as required;
Provide a preliminary outline, proposed methodology, draft and final copies of all expected outputs;
Carry out other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as requested by FAO.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
Advanced university degree in social sciences or any related field;
At least ten (10) years of demonstrated experience in developing IP Plans, including FPIC strategies, implementation, and monitoring especially in the Philippines;
A National of the Philippines.
FAO Core Competencies
Results Focus
Teamwork
Communication
Building Effective Relationships
Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point)
FAO

Philippines
Permanent
Full-time