Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, East Timor
Location: Based in Dili with travel to the districts.
Duration: 3 years with possible extension of two years
Commencement date: 1 February, 2011
Closing date for applications: 26 November, 2010
Remuneration: A competitive package will be offered
Description of the organisation:
Seeds of Life (SoL) is a program within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) in
East Timor (Timor Leste). The third phase of Seeds of Life (SoL III), 2011-2016, aims to
improve food security in East Timor through increased productivity of food crops. The
Governments of East Timor and Australia collaboratively fund the program. Australian
funding is provided through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and is managed
by ACIAR. The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) within The
University of Western Australia (UWA) coordinates the Australian funded activities.
SoL III will commence in February 2011 with a team consisting of more than 60 professional
Timorese staff plus 9 international advisors. The Climate Change Advisor (CCA) will work
closely with the Directors and staff of the National Directorate for Agriculture and
Horticulture (NDA&H) and the National Directorate for Research and Special Services
(NDR&SS) to assess the likely impacts of climate change on foodcrop production in Timor
Leste, and developing appropriate responses. He/she will report to the SoL Australian Team
Leader (ATL).
General description of position
The CCA will:
? establish and maintain close counterpart relationships with the Directors of the
NDR&SS and NDA&H;
? Provide technical support to these Directorates in relation to assessing the likely
impacts of climate change on foodcrop production in TL, and developing appropriate
responses.
Key tasks and responsibilities
The CCA will:
? Establish a close working relationship with the Directors of the NDR&SS and
NDA&H as primary counterparts, and actively guide and mentor staff of these
Directorates on climate change issues.
? Analyse how climate is likely to change in TL in the medium term as a result of global
warming, and how this is likely to impact on food crop production and national food
security. Spatial variation of climate change within TL will also need to be considered.
? Lead the MAF/SoL Program in identifying strategies and priorities that build national
food security by buffering farming systems from projected climate change impacts.
Specific response strategies might include:
o advise on the selection of species/ varieties that are better adapted to climate
change;
o use of a more diverse range of species/ varieties;
o adjustment of sowing dates, seeding rates, ratio of various crops grown and
production areas;
o soil improvement through incorporation of N-fixing legumes into the system
and crop residue retention;
o improved weed control, intercropping and other adaptive agronomic practices.
? Ensure that reports are produced in a form that can be easily accessed, understood and
applied by key target audiences.
? Actively promote key results and findings to target audiences, both within and outside
MAF.
? Correlate SoL’s multi-year on-farm demonstration trial (OFDT) yield data with local
climate data to provide a field-based assessment of the actual impacts of climate
change on yields, providing a possible basis for crop yield and food security
projections.
? Assist MAF/SoL to coordinate with other research groups (especially UNTL), as well
as with suitable international R&D agencies, to support priority areas of research
related to climate change.
? Contribute to the development of a formal climate change adaptation policy and
implementation strategy within MAF, and liaise with donors regarding potential
assistance for implementation of the strategy.
? Identify the need for, plan and manage the implementation of targeted capacity
building activities designed to support the professional development of MAF staff in
relation to assessing the potential impact of and planning for climate change.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
(Qualifications/Experience/Skills/Knowledge)
The successful candidate will have:
Essential
? A graduate degree in environmental science or agricultural science.
? Demonstrated understanding of and experience in analysing available data sets to
assess the likely nature of climate change in a particular area.
? Demonstrated understanding of and experience in assessing the possible impact of
climate change on crop production and development of strategies responding to these
impacts.
? Strong communication skills.
? Strong analytical and report writing skills.
? Advanced computer literacy.
? Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team.
? Fluency in English.
Desirable
? Experience in SE Asia or East Timor.
? Training or capacity building experience.
? Post-graduate qualifications in environmental science or agricultural science.
Apply:
Interested candidates can submit a short covering letter, CV, names of three referees and a
document addressing the required skills and experience electronically to Dr Harry Nesbitt,
Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia (h.nesbit@bigpond.net.au). Further
enquiries can be addressed to Professor William Erskine, tel. (+61 8) 6488 1903. For further
information on the SOL II program, SOL III design and Terms of Reference for advertised
SOL III advisors positions see http://www.seedsoflifetimor.org/
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