| Description |
Background:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the world’s least developed country (HDI 2011) with the world’s second largest rainforest ecosystem, presents an incredible challenge and opportunity for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation. Since 2007, the US Forest Service (USFS) has worked to support the sustainable management of the DRC forest complex as part of CARPE. Its primary role is to provide technical support to the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Tourism (MECNT) to reach its goals of land use planning and forest inventory, particularly in the context of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) so that the DRC can pursue its development objectives while meeting its commitments to sustainable forest management at local, national, regional, and international levels.
Position Description:
Responsibilities of the Technical Advisor include, but are not limited to:
- Advising the MECNT in convening and coordinating the implementation of activities of the interministerial national forest zoning steering committee, REDD+, and other technical and administrative programs that contribute substantively to the national land use planning policy, process, and outputs. This work will take many forms including:
- providing training to MECNT employees on land use planning concepts and methods,
- supporting the technical, administrative, and political processes, as well as technical review and validation of products and systems necessary for effective forest zoning as a part of broader land use planning,
- assisting the development of the zoning framework and implementation procedures, and
- working with local, national, and international NGOs to coordinate efforts and ensure participation in biodiversity conservation, land use mapping, and forest zoning, encouraging dialogue between community groups and MECNT officials.
- Coordinating other related USFS technical assistance on national forest inventory processes.
- Providing technical assistance in forestry and land use planning matters to USAID.
- Implementing other related natural resource management technical assistance activities with partner institutions in DRC and as necessary across the Congo Basin.
- Contributing substantively to the preparation and execution of national and regional natural resource management training workshops.
- Working with regional and international partner institutions, such as the United Nations REDD program, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, the German development agency (GIZ), the French development agency (AFD), the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC), and others to maximize the impact of limited resources in a challenging development context.
- Orienting and coordinating the activities of a team of 2-4 USFS employees, as well as coordinating with MECNT counterparts and occasional technical consultant missions.
- Communicating USFS interests and, where appropriate, other USG agencies in national and regional sustainable forest management contexts.
- Identifying other areas where USFS can lend its substantial technical expertise in the areas of land use planning, forest inventory, and capacity development to the sustainable development of a country that is critical to global biodiversity conservation and carbon mitigation.
Qualifications:
- Masters or Ph.D. in conservation biology, environmental sciences, forestry, sustainable development, or related field
- Ability to represent the US government at meetings and in interactions with international donors, local governments, international NGOs, and civil society
- Demonstrated ability to provide technical coordination and leadership with a broad range of interested parties, across cultures, languages and varying capacity levels in order to catalyze improved conservation outcomes
- Skills in broad outreach, including building, maintaining, and managing diverse partnerships with everyone from international donor agencies to local civil society groups
- Flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstances and opportunities
- Ability to think critically and synthetically across fields and topics related to natural resource management and sustainable development in the developing country context
- Demonstrated capacity to plan, organize, and prioritize multiple tasks to ensure their efficient and timely accomplishment
- Familiarity with conservation and development issues in Africa
- Knowledge of climate policy and public lands issues preferred
- Strong ability to work independently in difficult conditions while maintaining productivity
- Ability to manage budgets and staff
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in French
- Experience living in a developing country is preferred; experience in Central Africa a plus
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