National Climate Change and Land Use Planning (CCLP) Specialist

The project “Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal” (BRCRN) was approved by the 24^th meeting of the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in November 2019, and is Nepal’s first full-size GCF project. FAO, as the nominated Accredited Entity (AE) for the project, is responsible to the GCF for implementation of the project and is also co-Executing Entity (EE) with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) of the Government of Nepal (GoN). The BRCRN project will be implemented in 26 critical river systems in the southeast region of Nepal, covering parts of Provinces 1, 2 and 3, linking the Churia hills and upper Terai, and aims to promote widespread adoption of climate-resilient land use practices, confront the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation, better maintain the forest ecosystem in the Churia hills, and build resilience to climate-induced hazards.

In its capacity as co-EE, FAO will provide intensive technical support during the first two years of the project to develop the detailed plans for project investment over years 3-7, to develop capacity among relevant national, provincial and local institutions for project implementation, to ensure quality control of the technical services provided through project implementing partners, and to provide technical advice to the project management team. A national expert is sought to design and provide the technical advisory services required.  The consultant will be part of the global FAO REDD+ and National Forest Monitoring (NFM) cluster, which supports developing countries to implement robust and transparent national forest monitoring systems for the monitoring and reporting of REDD+ activities, and will draw on the pool of global expertise and experience available in this team.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall operational supervision of the FAO Representative in Nepal, direct supervision of TA team Manager, in close consultation with AFAOR (programme) and technical supervision of LTO FAORAP and in close cooperation with international expert on Climate Change and Land Use and in coordination with the BRCRN National Project Director under MoFE, with guidance of the senior forestry officer in RAP, and in coordination with the wider REDD+NFM cluster team in FOA HQ and in the Asia Pacific region.

Technical Focus

• Strengthen provincial institutional capacity on climate change and land use planning;
• Support the international GIS and CCLU experts in developing a scoring systems for ecosystem and ecosystem services that leads to the development and validation of CERPs in 26 target river systems of BRCRN project;
• Prepare for subsequent local capacity building interventions of the project, in order to develop municipal (70) and provincial (3) competence and institutional enhancements in planning and implementation of climate-resilient SNRM and DRR:

Tasks and responsibilities

The National Consultant-Climate Change and Land Use Planning (CCLP) Expert will be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Strengthen provincial institutional capacity on climate change and land use planning:

• Support the capacity assessment of national institutions, especially the provincial authorities, including Ministries of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment (MoITFE) and Ministries of Agriculture, Cooperatives and Land Management (MoACLM) on the technical competencies required for implementation of the investment phase of the project from years 3-7.
• Support the design of technical materials, manuals and establishment of technical partnerships with relevant provincial (i.a. universities and colleges, provincial centres and institutions)(e.g. Provincial Centres for Good Governance) as well as municipal institutions.
• Backstop the delivery of provincial level training of trainers for a climate change resilient development policy and planning, foremost for provincial and municipal authorities, this includes updating of training materials based on training outcomes and feedback;
• Provide training and mentoring, as required, to personnel of national and provincial government agencies;

Task 2: Support the international GIS and CCLU experts in developing a scoring systems for ecosystem and ecosystem services that leads to the development and validation of CERPs in 26 target river systems of BRCRN project:

• Assess from a provincial and municipal viewpoint together with relevant stakeholders the design of a methodology for planning process in targeted river systems, to prioritise, identify and plan the implementation of project interventions based on climate impact parameters. Especially planning based on the multi-criteria analysis (MCA)  in watersheds
• Develop Training material for climate change and climate-resilient land use planning & management  to strengthen planning and monitoring capacity of the Provincial and local governments
• Support the design of training and capacity building programmes for BRCRN project stakeholders necessary to support the development of CERPs in the project area

Task 3: Prepare for subsequent local capacity building interventions of the project, in order to develop municipal (70) and provincial (3) competence and institutional enhancements in planning and implementation of climate-resilient SNRM and DRR:

• Support the needs assessment in long term human resource planning and capacity.
• Support the assessment of budget constraints and opportunities for service delivery in selected municipalities regarding land use planning (and enforcement).
• Any other relevant task related to Climate Change and Land Use Planning assigned by the Team Leader

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• National of Nepal
• Advanced University (Master) degree in Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science or a closely related field
• At least 10 years of work experience on rural development and land use planning projects in Nepal
• Working knowledge of English and Nepali
• Candidate should have knowledge of computer skills in English and Nepali (MS Office package: word, excel and power point)

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience of inter-sectoral strategy development, rural development planning;
• Experience on designing and delivering technical training on climate change and land use planning to government counterparts;
• Proven track record of advising and collaborating with government institutions and other stakeholders such as NGOs;
• Proficiency in both spoken and written English;
• Strong inter-personal skills and excellent oral communication skills.

Selection Criteria

• Advanced university degree;
• Relevant Work experience;
• Language skills;
• Extent of relevant technical experience in the related areas
• Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team
• Good working knowledge of English (Written and Spoken)
• Experience with similar internationally funded development projects will be an added advantage