lead national Consultant - natural resource management 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 Lead National Consultant - Natural Resource Management 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 FLO (GEF Coordination Unit) and LTO, with support from the International GEF Expert.
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 Lead National Consultant - Natural Resource Management Expert will serve as the team leader of the FAO-GEF project national team.
Specifically, the Lead National Consultant - Natural Resource Management Expert will carry out the following tasks:
Prepare the PPG implementation plan, with technical support and inputs from the International GEF expert. The plan will guide the PPG implementation team in ensuring that all pertinent information, analysis, data, stakeholder engagement, and other information required for the formulation of the project document are completed in a timely and professional manner. The plan will also include a listing of information needs, and target dates for the deliverables by the team;
Support the International GEF expert in the project design team formation and their orientation to ensure that the entire PPG team are familiar with the proposed project concept, GEF requirements, key FAO concepts and requirements relevant to the project, as well as the comments/concerns from the GEFSEC and STAP that needs to be addressed during the project design phase;
Lead the development of the project landscape assessment report including the environmental threats, baseline initiatives and barriers to address the environmental threats in the project site. This also includes the gathering of relevant geophysical and social information, including the sourcing of detailed GIS base maps as well as the liaising with national and local project partners and stakeholders;
Lead the pre-selection of possible pilot sites through consultations. For the selected project area, determine the appropriate biodiversity conservation models and techniques, SLM, and biodiversity-friendly practices and enterprises;
Provide technical inputs and support to other consultants to ensure that the overall project design reflects and integrates a strong understanding of existing BD and SLM challenges and opportunities related to the achievement of the project objectives;
Prepare the Results Framework, including the BD and SLM indicators and targets, baseline information for relevant indicators, means of measurements, risks, and assumptions;
Develop an effective monitoring and evaluation framework and implementation strategy which incorporates gender and safeguards consideration;
Define the sustainability plan, which outlines the principles and guidelines for ensuring long term sustainability of project achievements. The plan should also outline an exit strategy, seeking continuation of key activities/achievements without the need of long-term international financing;
Complete and contribute to relevant sections of the project document and supporting materials including, but not limited to the following: tracking tools, social and environmental assessments, baseline information, capacity development, among others.
Review inputs of PPG team members to ensure clarity and consistency as well as alignment with GEF7 programming priorities and national priorities;
Preparation of METTs and core indicators worksheets;
Support the International GEF Expert in the detailed elaboration of institutional and project management arrangements for project implementation (at local, project area and landscape levels, state, as well national levels) as well as the detailed activities;
Develop and facilitate co-financing arrangements, including the review of the current status of co-financing, conduct of consultations, and the obtaining of co-financing commitments from relevant agencies;
Organize and lead consultations, including, the following: (i) regional inception and multi-stakeholder mapping and consultation workshops to aid in the identification of priorities and possible project sites; (ii) at least one inception workshop and one PPG validation workshop. The PPG completion workshop will engage project partners, government executing partners, and civil society organizations, representatives from beneficiaries and other potential stakeholders identified during the initial consultations. The draft project proposal will be presented and the following information will be discussed: (i) endorsement of project activities, results matrix; (ii) endorsement of budget plan; (iii) validation of institutional arrangements for implementation; (iv)confirmation of co-financing arrangement; (v) comments and recommendations on project document. The output will be a workshop report that summarizes final recommendations on the above issues that will contribute to finalization of project document;
Respond to GEFSEC review comments received upon project document submission to GEF;
Represent the project design team in meetings and presentations, as required; and
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 natural resource conservation related field;
At least twelve (12) years of professional experience in multifocal environmental project design for international cooperation funding, particularly for the GEF portfolio.
A National of the Philippines.
FAO Core Competencies
Results Focus
Teamwork
Communication
Building Effective Relationships
Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
Experience working in Manila Bay regions related projects also an advantage
Extensive working knowledge on biodiversity, SLM, and community-based natural resource management; experience in protected area management and facilitating private sector- community partnerships on sustainable livelihoods is an advantage
Demonstrated ability to lead national level GEF project development teams resulting in approved and effective GEF and UN Agency Project Documents;
Previous working experience with FAO is an advantage;
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