Technical Specialist (UN REDD)

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been selected among the 9 pilot countries by the UN initiative for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) (http://www.un-redd.net/ ). The UN-REDD in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) supports Government and civil society stakeholders in country so that the DRC is ready for REDD ( Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), once a REDD regime is agreed and recognized internationally as an instrument of climate change mitigation in the post-Kyoto regime.

The UN-REDD in the DRC has a budget of 4.3 million over a period of 2 to 3 years, and will be implemented in a coordinated manner by three UN agencies (FAO, UNDP and UNEP). The REDD process in the DRC is headed by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism (MECNT), and in addition from UN-REDD, has the support of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). It started in January 2009 with a first joint mission with the MECNT, the three partner agencies of the UN-REDD Programme (UNDP, FAO, UNEP), the FCPF and local stakeholders (civil society, NGOs, etc.). In May 2009, an initial budget allocation of UN-REDD allowed to begin work. The program coordinator and a technical advisor were hired. In August 2009 the process was formally launched at a workshop in Kinshasa hosted by Minister in charge of Environment. At the end of March 2010, a second step was taken with the approval of the Readiness Preparation Proposal for REDD (R-PP) by the Board of Directors of UN-REDD and the Participants Committee of the FCPF. Now, the DRC has a robust internationally recognized roadmap and substantial funding to begin implementing the program. Indeed such approval by the Board of Directors of UN-REDD launched the start of Phase 2 of the program for a period of 2 years spanning the period 2011-2012.

The Readiness program for REDD + in DRC consists of 4 components: coordination and overall monitoring, development of the REDD strategy, the experimental program (pilot projects) and the early action programs.  A technical Advisor (TA) must therefore be recruited to drive the implementation of the experimental program (pilot projects) to ensure that it can inform the development of national strategy and lay the foundations for the future deployment of the national REDD strategy in the field.

Under the general supervision of the Team Leader of the UNDP/DRC Poverty Unit and under the technical supervision of the DRC UN-REDD Chief Technical Advisor, the Technical Specialist will assume two main interrelated functions:

1. Supervision of the DRC’s REDD+ experimental program (pilot projects), and
2. Creation and implementation of the framework of implementation progress of REDD + DRC (criteria, procedure and register)

The Technical Specialist will also assume (6) related subtasks:

• Financial management of partnerships
• Production of communication tools
• Training of key personnel
• Technical support in developing the baseline, carbon and socio-environmental MRV and methods of assessing the costs of REDD
• Technical framing and development of partnerships to advance  the implementation of the Mai Ndombe Integrated REDD+ Early Action Program and other major programs related to forest carbon finance in the DRC
• Supervision of part of the Thematic Coordination Groups responsible for the participatory development of the national strategy. 

In his daily duties, he / she will work closely with the national administration, namely the REDD focal point (Director of Sustainable Development) and the National REDD Coordinator.

He / she will be based and will work within the National REDD Coordination in Kinshasa, under the direct supervision a National REDD Coordinator appointed by the government and the UN-REDD CTA commissioned by UNDP. The TA will be a key member of the National REDD Coordination.

Supervision of DRC’s REDD+ Experimentation Program (REDD+ Pilot Projects):

The Technical Specialist is responsible for coordinating the REDD + experimental program of the DRC through the following tasks:

• Planning of the REDD pilot projects in conjunction with project leaders;
• Monitoring the activities of REDD pilot projects;
• Ensuring adequate consultation and participation of civil society and stakeholders in the context of REDD pilot projects;
• Representation of UN-REDD in the major global forums and panels on REDD pilot projects.

The Technical Specialist  will ensure compliance and effective implementation of agreed principles for REDD, namely (i) a single national REDD process, (ii) a participatory process in a spirit of national dialogue, (iii) transparency, (iv ) technical quality, and (v) integration into the regional REDD strategy led by COMIFAC.

Design and set-up of the REDD + experimental implementation framework:

The Technical  Specialist should be a professional with  the relevant skills to provide the government as well as the civil society with key advisory support in the development of REDD+ policies, procedures and management tools related to the issues and challenges of REDD+  at project scale. This support will enable:

• Build / strengthen the capacities of all stakeholders in the development and supervision of REDD +;
• Ensure technical quality and integrity of social and environmental pilot REDD +;
• Facilitate the dissemination of data and significant results from the pilot REDD +, and
• Develop a consensus basis with all stakeholders a framework for implementation of REDD + DRC;
• Supervise the operationalization of the framework to implement interim;
• Monitoring effort compared to the methodologies of REDD +.

Thus, the Technical Specialist should be high-level advisor on  national REDD process, ensuring effective dialogue between the Government (central, provincial and local), the project leaders from civil society (NGOs and relevant population of the forest) and private (corporate agriculture and forestry, local banks, international players in carbon finance). The Technical Specialist  will support the national coordination in advancing the REDD process, ensuring a real contribution to the UN-REDD REDD country. The Technical Specialist and Chief Technical Advisor will assist the Coordinator in their efforts to harmonize activities carried around REDD, both at the technical, financial and operational in the country and region.

Expected  Impact

Implementation and supervision of the experimental program of REDD+ DRC (Pilot Projects). Development and set-up of the implementation framework for REDD+ projects. Contribution to the overall success of the participatory construction of national REDD strategy through the thematic coordination groups.

The key skills required are as follows:

• Leadership and initiative;
• Proven ability to plan, organize and implement activities effectively;
• Capacity to coordinate and work in teams, including in complex environments;
• Proven experience in participatory processes, and facilitating dialogue between government, private sector  and civil society;
• Good communication skills;
• Understanding of the ins and outs of REDD+ at project scale ;
• Understanding of the functioning of the DRC administration;
• Knowledge of procedures and core values the United Nations;
• Demonstrated strong skills in oral and written communication.

Education  

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, Economics and Management, Natural Sciences or other discipline of development relating thereto;

Experience

• Minimum 5 years working experience in international development or a related field, with at least 2 years experience managing projects and programs;
• Understanding of issues and processes relating to climate change and tropical forestry;
• Minimum 2 years experience in supporting policies and / or implementation of projects in Central Africa.

Languages

• Fluency in French and English. Portuguese and / or Spanish are assets.